As you know, the long-planned renovations of the Museum facility at UConn have finally begun. The renovated 2nd floor will house the Connecticut Archaeology Center and feature a new large-scale permanent exhibit funded in part with grant funding secured by FOSA.

Last winter, FOSA President Roger Thompson worked with Nick Bellantoni, Collin Harty and me to prepare a substantial proposal to the Quinebaug-Shetucket Heritage Corridor. This proposal requested funds to support the completion of the $250,000 exhibit, and FOSA was notified of the success of this proposal a few months later. The grant of $25,000 is the largest given by the QSHC, and will make a big difference as we work to complete the exhibit. More importantly, the partnership with FOSA in this endeavor will also demonstrate FOSA's state-wide role in public education about archaeology and historic preservation in our state.

The exhibit will tell a story that explores the connections between Connecticut's cultural history and its natural history - how the physical and biological processes at work in southern New England have shaped, and continue to shape, the lives of the people who live here. The way we feed, shelter and clothe ourselves; our social, political and economic structures; the way we recreate, meet our spiritual and aesthetic needs; and the advancement of our technologies have all been influenced in unique and unexpected ways by the region's climate, geology, hydrology, nutrient and energy cycling systems, and plant and animal life.

The story will be told by professional scientists and scholars working today. Visitors will walk through a series of four story stations; in each, they will meet a new scholar, via a multimedia presentation, who will share what the unique lens of his discipline reveals about the dynamic relationship between nature and culture. Each story station will cover a specific theme: people and geology, people and climate, people and animals, and people and plants. The stories will be guided by Nick, who will introduce us to four unique individuals:

1. UConn "Stonewall-ologist" Robert Thorson will explore how stone walls reveal the far-reaching impact Connecticut's geology has had on the history of the state.

2. Walt Woodward, our State Historian, will explore how a significant climate fluctuation in the 16th and 17th centuries, dubbed the "Little Ice Age," changed forever the lives of the people living then.

3. Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel, Executive Director of Cultural & Community Programs, Mohegan Tribe, will introduce visitors to the life of Mohegan Medicine woman Gladys Tantaquidgeon, whose 106-year life as an anthropologist and herbal healer revealed the intimate connection between plants and human health and gives insight into the Mohegan concept of "health."

4. UConn Entomologist Dr. David Wagner will explore how the evolutionary adaptive strategies of animals as small as moths and butterflies have had an enormous impact on the products we buy, and spurred an entire industry in Eastern Connecticut - silk production.

Each of the stations in the exhibit will contain a multimedia presentation using an engaging technique called object theater, which combines real artifacts, lighting controls, projected video, sound, and even fluctuations in environmental conditions to create a three dimensional dramatic learning environment. At each station the visitor will be introduced to a new individual, and be invited to look back into the past through the unique lens of their discipline to better understand how people's lives are shaped by their environment.

We appreciate very much the ongoing efforts of FOSA to support the Office of State Archaeology and the Museum's new Archaeology Center. We look forward to the exhibit's grand opening this spring and to inviting FOSA members in for a special celebration and tour. Thank you!