The Brooklyn Historical Society

MAKE THE VIBRANT HISTORY OF BROOKLYN TANGIBLE, RELEVANT AND MEANINGFUL FOR TODAY'S DIVERSE COMMUNITIES AND FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

EDUCATION: BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S AWARD-WINNING EDUCATION PROGRAMS SERVE OVER 15,000 K-12 STUDENTS, TEACHERS AND ADULTS ANNUALLY (80% FROM TITLE I SCHOOLS) THROUGH TOURS, IN-CLASS & AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS, DIGITAL CURRICULA, YOUTH INTERNSHIPS, AND TEACHER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING WORKSHOPS THAT CONNECT BROOKLYN EVENTS TO U.S. AND WORLD HISTORY. BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY EDUCATION PROGRAMS EMPOWER CHILDREN, YOUTH, TEACHERS AND FAMILIES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE INTERPRETATION OF BROOKLYN HISTORY AS THEY BUILD CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS THAT WILL SHAPE THEIR PRESENT. EDUCATION PROGRAMS ARE GROUNDED IN BHS'S UNIQUE AND RESONANT PRIMARY SOURCE MATERIALS, DATED BETWEEN 1620 AND 2020. IN THESE COLLECTIONS STUDENTS AND TEACHERS FIND A MYRIAD OF CASE STUDIES TO ENHANCE, ENLIVEN, AND BROADEN THEIR UNDERSTANDING AND TEACHING OF AMERICAN HISTORY NARRATIVES AND STEM SUBJECTS FROM PRE-K TO GRADE 12.BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S PROGRAMS SUPPORT THE COMMON CORE LEARNING STANDARDS AND NEW YORK CITY SOCIAL STUDIES SCOPE AND SEQUENCE AND CAN BE INTEGRATED INTO ELA, ART, SCIENCE, AND MATH CURRICULA. OUR EMPHASIS ON DOCUMENT ANALYSIS, CRITICAL THINKING, AND EVIDENCE-BASED REASONING WITH ORIGINAL PRIMARY-SOURCE TEXTS HELPS TO BUILD TRANSFERABLE SKILLS THAT BENEFIT STUDENTS ACROSS DISCIPLINES.IN 2020-2021, BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY PARTNERED WITH BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY TO DELIVER EXPANDED VIRTUAL EDUCATION SERVICES THROUGHOUT BROOKLYN DURING THE PANDEMIC AND ITS CONTINUED IMPACT ON STUDENTS. BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY IS A REGISTERED VENDOR WITH THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (VENDOR ID: BRO-120000). BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY IS AN AUTHORIZED PROVIDER OF NYS CONTINUING TEACHER & LEADER EDUCATION (CTLE) CREDITS.

MUSEUM: EXHIBITIONS AT BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY CONNECT BROOKLYN'S MULTILAYERED HISTORY TO THE HISTORY OF OUR NATION AND TO ISSUES THAT CONTINUE TO SHAPE THE BOROUGH TODAY. BHS HAS FIVE GALLERIES FEATURING LONG-TERM AND ROTATING EXHIBITIONS. PUBLIC PROGRAMMING SERIES ALSO ACCOMPANY MANY EXHIBITIONS, AND ADDITIONAL ONLINE RESOURCES ALLOW VISITORS BEYOND THE GREATER NEW YORK CITY AREA TO EXPLORE THESE STORIES. EXHIBITIONS AT BHS HAVE FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHS CHRONICLING NEW YORK CITY'S FOOD PANTRIES, EXPLORED A CONTESTED HISTORY THROUGH THE VOICES OF VIETNAM VETERANS, CELEBRATED JACKIE ROBINSON'S LEGACY AS THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN TO PLAY PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL, EXAMINED PHOTOGRAPHY AND LETTER-WRITING IN CIVIL-WAR BROOKLYN, AND LOOKED AT THE UNSUNG HEROES OF BROOKLYN'S ANTISLAVERY MOVEMENT.

COLLECTIONS: BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY HOUSES A WORLD-RENOWNED ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS LIBRARY ON THE SECOND FLOOR OF ITS LANDMARK BUILDING. THE OTHMER LIBRARY'S MAGNIFICENT READING ROOM, WITH ITS STAINED-GLASS WINDOWS AND CARVED WOODEN COLUMNS, TRANSPORTS THE VISITOR TO AN EARLIER ERA. THE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND PUBLIC SERVICE DEPARTMENT COLLECTS, PRESERVES, AND MAKES ACCESSIBLE ONE OF THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE COLLECTION OF MATERIALS RELATED TO BROOKLYN'S HISTORY AND CULTURE. ITS HOLDINGS INCLUDE OVER 33,000 BOOKS, 1,600 ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS, 1,200 ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS, 50,000 PHOTOGRAPHS, 8,000 ARTIFACTS, 300 PAINTINGS, AND 2,000 MAPS WHICH DOCUMENT THE COMMERCIAL, RESIDENTIAL, COMMUNITY, AND CIVIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE BOROUGH. THE COLLECTIONS FOSTER NEW AND CUTTING-EDGE SCHOLARSHIP, SUPPORT PUBLIC LEARNING AND RESEARCH, AND ENRICH BHS'S EXHIBITIONS, EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES, AND PUBLIC PROGRAMMING. THE LIBRARY IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FOR RESEARCH.BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY IS THE ONLY CULTURAL INSTITUTION IN BROOKLYN THAT MAINTAINS A PERMANENT ORAL HISTORY PROGRAM. BEGUN IN 1973, BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S ORAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS NOW INCLUDE OVER 1,200 INTERVIEWS. THROUGH AN INTEGRATED DESCRIPTION PROGRAM WITH THE LIBRARY & ARCHIVES, THESE ORAL HISTORIES BRING THE VOICES OF HISTORY TO BROAD AUDIENCES THROUGH EXHIBITIONS, DIGITAL HUMANITIES PROJECTS, K-12 AND POST-SECONDARY CURRICULA, PUBLIC PROGRAMS, AND VIA THE BHS BLOG AND FLATBUSH + MAIN PODCAST. THE COLLECTIONS PROVIDE A WEALTH OF HISTORICAL EVIDENCE ABOUT THE LIVES OF TWENTIETH AND TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY BROOKLYN RESIDENTS AND REVEAL HOW DIVERSE INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES HAVE SOUGHT TO PRESERVE VITAL SOCIAL, POLITICAL, RELIGIOUS, AND CULTURAL TRADITIONS AS BROOKLYNITES, NEW YORKERS, AND AMERICANS. THE COLLECTIONS CONTAIN INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, CANTONESE, AND MANDARIN, WITH NARRATORS BORN AS EARLY AS 1880. RECORDING THE VOICES OF TODAY AND YESTERDAY'S BROOKLYNITES IS JUST ONE OF THE WAYS THAT BHS FULFILLS ITS MISSION TO MAKE THE VIBRANT HISTORY OF BROOKLYN TANGIBLE, RELEVANT, AND MEANINGFUL FOR TODAY'S DIVERSE COMMUNITIES, AND FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.DURING 2020-2021 BHS COMPLETED ITS WORK ON THE MULTI-YEAR REVEALING LONG ISLAND HISTORY, A GROUNDBREAKING COLLECTIONS AND RESEARCH INITIATIVE THAT MAKES MUCH OF BROOKLYN HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S WORLD-RENOWNED COLLECTIONS OF BROOKLYN AND LONG ISLAND DIGITALLY AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC FOR THE FIRST TIME. IN FACT, THIS PROJECT REPRESENTS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE CATALOGING AND DIGITIZATION PROJECT AT BHS SINCE THE INSTITUTION'S OTHMER LIBRARY REOPENED TO RESEARCHERS IN 2006 AFTER BEING CLOSED FOR ALMOST A DECADE DURING AN EXTENSIVE RENOVATION OF BHS'S LANDMARK BUILDING. AS COLLECTIONS ARE AT THE HEART OF ALL BHS PROGRAMMING FROM EDUCATION PROGRAMS, TO EXHIBITIONS, TO PUBLIC PROGRAMS THIS PROJECT MARKS A TURNING POINT IN OUR INSTITUTIONAL HISTORY, AS WE MORE FULLY TECHNOLOGIZE THE CARE, MANAGEMENT, AND ACCESSIBILITY OF OUR INVALUABLE HISTORICAL RESOURCES.IN 2020-2021, BHS LAUNCHED TWO MAJOR ONLINE COLLECTIONS PROJECTS, INCLUDING PORTAL TO THE PAST, A COMPREHENSIVE WEB PORTAL THAT INCLUDES DIGITIZED VERSIONS OF BHS'S EXTENSIVE MAP COLLECTIONS. THE SECOND ONLINE INITIATIVE LAUNCHED IN 2021 WAS AN ONLINE COLLECTION OF ORAL HISTORIES FROM WOMEN WHO WORKED AT THE BROOKLYN NAVY YARD DURING WWII.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS: BHS OFFERS ROBUST AND VARIED PUBLIC PROGRAMS THAT BRING NEW AND DIVERSE AUDIENCES INTO ITS LANDMARK BUILDING. FROM INTERVIEWS WITH AUTHORS AND LUMINARIES, TO DOCUMENTARY FILM SCREENINGS, PANEL DISCUSSIONS ON CURRENT EVENTS, AND ARCHIVE TALKS, PROGRAMS ARE OFFERED AS OFTEN AS THREE OR FOUR TIMES A WEEK. PANEL DISCUSSIONS HAVE EXPLORED HUNGER IN AMERICA, MUSLIM-AMERICAN WOMEN, MILLENNIAL FEMINISM, AND THE USE OF FORCE IN PRISON. DURING THE 2020-2021 PUBLIC PROGRAMS SEASON, BHS CURATED AND OFFERED HIGH-PROFILE PUBLIC PROGRAMS THAT PROVOKED, ENGAGED AND ENTERTAINED VISITORS OF ALL AGES AND CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS (TICKETS WERE FOR FREE OR A SMALL FEE). WE CONTINUE TO DESIGN PROGRAMS WITH AN AIM TO CAPTURE AND SERVE THE DIVERSITY OF BROOKLYN, AND TO DRAW UPON HISTORY TO FOSTER COMMUNITY DIALOGUE ABOUT DEEP-ROOTED SOCIETAL ISSUES. TOPICS COVERED IN 2020-2021 INCLUDED CONTENTIOUS POST-ELECTION ISSUES, SOCIAL AND RACIAL JUSTICE, BROOKLYN FOOD CULTURE, COLUMBUS DAY/INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY, IMMIGRANT WORKERS' RIGHTS, AND MORE.