Exhibit Design 101

We’re in the last days of installing our new exhibit, Git fer Vegas , Cowboy! Exhibit development includes ingredients of staging a play and of creating a book. The writer, or curator, establishes a storyline. Inspiration comes from any number of sources — a song, a person, a newspaper article. In this case, our curator found a compelling story in the programs and poetry of the Cowboys’ Reunions. The curator chooses pieces of the Museum’s collection as illustrations. Next, the story and the “illustrations” are turned over to the exhibit designers. This team decides how the objects, images and text will best demonstrate to the visitor the curator’s concepts and how these elements will be arranged in a gallery. Fabricators build casework, platforms and other apparatus to house objects or hang images. Many pieces in museum collections are fragile and require special handling. This is especially true when these artifacts are displayed. Preparators create special mounting devices that hold objects securely without harming the object’s material or form. All of these elements are choreographed in the gallery and come together in a flurry of activity, so I guess exhibits have a little bit of dance in them, too.

Linda Gegick

Museum Administrator

Western Women's Saddlery

In Europe, sidesaddles have been in use since the Middle Ages primarily to provide women the opportunity to ride with modesty. Over the centuries, women adapted sidesaddles to their personal preferences. In 1915, Mrs. Esther Stace, riding “aside,” cleared a 6’6” jump.

In the early days of Western American expansion, “no lady straddled a horse,” but many expert horsewomen rode the prairies, ranched, and performed trick riding in their sidesaddles. After witnessing a severe riding accident, Charles Goodnight (1836-1929), a well-known cattle rancher, approached his friend and expert saddle maker, S. C. Gallup (1834-1904), Pueblo, Colorado, to make a sidesaddle suitable for the Western rider’s needs. By 1870, the Goodnight-Gallup Sidesaddle was born and came into popular use in the American West.

Until this new version appeared, sidesaddles were dangerous, hard on the horses’ backs, and uncomfortable for the riders. The new Goodnight-Gallup sidesaddle was built on a standard man’s saddle tree—higher in front over the horse’s withers. It had double-layered, square skirts, a mohair double cinch, and a downward-facing, adjustable side horn--where the rider secured her left leg. These adaptations, along with the traditional adjustable stirrups, made for a better fit for the horse and a more solid seat for the rider. These saddles were also fancy, with floral tooling on the skirts, embroidered buckskin seats, and white angora side pockets.

The Museum’s new exhibit, Git Fer Vegas, Cowboy!, opening October 23, includes an S. C. Gallup #85 Western Sidesaddle, purported to have been purchased by Ludwig Ilfeld, Las Vegas businessman and supporter of the Cowboys’ Reunions, and offered to one of the Reunion Rodeo trick riders as a courting present. Alas, she spurned him.

Pat Romero
Guest Curator - Git Fer Vegas Cowboy! exhibit

Play Time at the Museum Brings Las Vegas Alive!

Last Thursday we had another group visit, and it might have been the most successful trial of Las Vegas Alive yet! A group of home school children, along with their parents, participated in playing Las Vegas Alive!, and all seemed to enjoy it.

We began in the morning with a tour of the museum, and then separated everyone into three groups for the learning stations. At station one the children learned to wash clothes using a wash board and bucket, at station two they learned how to make butter and had a tasty treat, and at station three the children sewed their own money bags, which they used in Las Vegas Alive later that day. Each station was educational as well as interactive, and the groups rotated so each one participated in all of the hands-on activities. At first, the children didn’t seem too excited about sewing, especially the boys, but once they were doing it they loved it! They grew a real attachment to their money bags because they made them. It was neat to connect the sewing activity with the game Las Vegas Alive!.

The afternoon was dedicated to playing Las Vegas Alive!. Some of the parents played too, and those that didn’t remained involved by assisting the younger children. Everyone really got into their characters, parents included, and everyone enjoyed bartering and buying artifacts. (Each player was given play money that they carried in the bags they made earlier.) Almost everyone completed all of their tasks, and commented that they really enjoyed playing. The only shortcoming was that a few of the children were too young for the game. However, the children that were within our target age group completed the game successfully and had a great time!

We are continuing work on Las Vegas Alive! and look forward to the next visit!

Laura Gonzales
Humanities Consultant