Join us for Lewis H. Latimer’s 170th birthday celebration on Saturday, September 8th, 2018, with wine & beer tasting, art & poetry silent auction, and tour of the museum!
Latimer House Receives Multi-Year Federal Grant
Flushing, NY—The Lewis H. Latimer House Museum receives a two-year federal grant totaling $67,807.00 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as one of 26 grantees in fiscal year 2018, through the Museum Grants for African American History and Culture.
The Latimer House will use this grant to hire and train an Education Coordinator to enhance the museum’s educational programs and strengthen its relationship with schools and families in Queens. This is the second grant the museum has received from the IMLS within the past 2 years.
Ran Yan, Executive Director of the Latimer House Museum, said “We are excited to have a new staff member join the team and expand our educational programs. This will help the museum reach more young people in the city, teach them about Lewis H. Latimer’s legacy in electric lighting, and implement projects in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math). We are grateful for the support from local school districts and Congresswoman Grace Meng for obtaining this grant.”
Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY 6th District) said she was pleased to have once again helped the Lewis Latimer House Museum secure an important federal grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. “The Lewis Latimer House is a wonderful facility right here in Queens and these funds will play a critical role in the expansion of its important education programs.” she said, “This money will also go a long way towards increasing the number of people that visit the museum, and it will educate more people, especially students and families, about the pioneering contributions that Lewis Latimer made to our nation. I thank the Lewis Latimer House for keeping Lewis Latimer’s legacy alive, and for preserving the rich history of our borough.”
The Latimer House Museum launched its key educational program, Tinker Lab, in 2016, to focus on STEAM subjects for Pre-K through 12th Grade, and has since organized various weekend workshops, school trips, holiday tinker festivals, and summer camps. The museum also hosts public events for adults to celebrate Lewis Latimer and other minorities’ contributions to technology, poetry, and American life.
A Special Month Here at Latimer House
February is a special month at the Lewis H. Latimer House Museum. We celebrated both Black History Month and Lunar New Year with the Flushing community. Here are some highlights from the busy but fulfilling past month.
Documentary 13TH.
The Joy Luck Club.
Audience discussion after the viewing of 13TH.
The documentary 13TH tells a powerful story of mass-incarceration in America. It was screened at the museum on February 18th. After the viewing, the audience engaged in a passionate discussion on the topic.
The film Joy Luck Club (screened on February 11th), on the other hand, invites audience to reflect on the emotional bondage between mothers and daughters and the reconciliation between different generations in immigrant families.
We didn’t forget to celebrate Lewis H. Latimer’s literature talent and the emerging writers in Queens — Malcolm Boyd and Sherese Francis read their works in fiction and poetry in the museum parlor, accompanied by live performance from saxophonist Leonardo Love.
At the Lunar New Year Tinker Fest, families from across Queens and Brooklyn enjoyed making ink arts to celebrate the Year of Dog and collaborated on a large scroll of dragon, now ready to fly off from the wall in Tinker Lab.
See you soon again at the Latimer House Museum!
Light up A New Year at Lewis H. Latimer’s Home
On 12/16, we lit up the Christmas tree at Lewis H. Latimer’s home. Local families and children from Latimer Gardens Community Center celebrated at the event with Congresswoman Grace Meng, Councilman Peter Koo, and volunteers from HSBC. The audience also participated in Tinker Fest, organized in partnership with AIA Queens. You can view more photos from the event here.
Support the Lewis H. Latimer House Museum for another bright year in 2018!
Your donation of any amount is valued by the Lewis H. Latimer House Museum and the Lewis H. Latimer Fund, Inc., a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization operating the Museum.
Elias’ Adventure at the Latimer House Museum
Elias with summer Tinker Lab participants from Latimer Gardens Community Center. Photo Credit: Latimer House Museum
I came to the Latimer House for the first time on a school trip in the Second Grade, in 2009. Since I was a kid, I’ve had a passion for history. I would go to the library and pick up books on random topics. People always ask me “how are you so good at history?” I just laugh and tell them I read. I knew Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb but I learned during the school trip that it was Lewis Latimer who improved on the carbon filament. I also learned that Latimer worked with Alexander Graham Bell on securing a patent for the telephone. I remember being so captivated by this new information and it has stuck with me since.
Latimer House Receives IMLS Grant in Support of African American Heritage
— The Museum Aims to Reach Local School Population
Flushing, NY—The Lewis H. Latimer House Museum has received a federal grant totaling $24,950.00 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as one of 16 grantees in fiscal year 2017, through the Museum Grants for African American History and Culture.
The Latimer House will use this grant to further its mission in education by upgrading its School Program including lesson plans and packages connected to Lewis Latimer and meeting the New York City Common Core and New York State Standards. The funding will also enable the museum to carry out extensive outreach activities in surrounding School Districts.
Thank You Delta Sigma Theta Sorority!
The Queens Alumna Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. holds up an honored tradition by making a contribution of $1245.00 on 6/10/2017 to the Lewis Howard Latimer Fund, Inc., to help the museum enhance its educational and programmatic projects, in addition to various activities that pay tribute to Lewis H. Latimer and showcase the contributions of African American scientists to the American way of living.
From right to left, Diane Webster from Delta Sigma Theta, Alfred Rankins and Ran Yan from Lewis H. Latimer House.
Want to join the league of Delta Sigma Theta in affirmation of humanity and support for African American heritage? Make a donation today.
Queens Writes Weekend & Wavelengths Reading
Lewis H. Latimer House participated in the annual Queens Writes Weekend on 5/20, with the site theme “Rainbow Haikus,” and Queens-based writer Sherese Francis as Site Captain. We were surprised and delighted to learn the love of haikus many writers share, eg. Richard Wright, Sonia Sanchez, and Jack Kerouac all published books of haikus.
Here are some of the haikus the participants wrote we’d like to share with you:
“My face is changing:
a constellation of spots
brands me to the sky”
brands me to the sky”
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“Bedbug so tiny
moving materialism
almost telepathically”.
— Nancy Agabian
Light Spectrum Opens at Latimer House Museum
On April 15, visitors gathered around under the last blossom of cherry trees to see the new outdoor sculpture piece of Lewis H. Latimer House, Light Spectrum, created by Queens-based artist Antonia A Perez. NY1 reporter captured the view of Light Spectrum before the event in this video:
“A Flushing museum brings in a new sculpture to encourage people to learn about an unsung pioneer of electricity.
LatimerNOW Tinkerer – Electronic Instrument Wrap Up
The participants of the Electronic Musical Instrument project at The Lewis H. Latimer House Museum have completed their musical instruments!
For the past eight Sundays, the participants of these projects have been experimenting with new digital media and design practices to bring to life the beauty of expression born of two disciplines which often seem diametrically opposed – art and technology.
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Our exploration into the conductive properties of matter began as an enquiry through the following question: Are human beings conductive? Participants tested their understanding by forming a human circuit composed of people and electronics. Participants realized that the electrons in their own bodies helped to close a circuit linked to electronic devises, turning on computer-programmed sounds.
