Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians | Now Open

Photo by: John E Rodgers/Ogahpah Communications 

Experience the range of Indigenous cultures across the country in a new exhibit series created in close partnership with Indigenous communities. Each exhibit case is shaped by Indigenous community curators who select the objects on display and their accompanying stories.

In the first rotation, Keeping Traditions Alive, learn about the Quapaw Nation, an Indigenous community living and thriving today in Oklahoma. Community curators Betty Gaedtke or Te-mi-zhi-ka (Little Buffalo Woman), an artist specializing in Quapaw pottery, and Carrie Vee Wilson, NAGPRA Director for the Tribe, share the rich cultural traditions of the Quapaw Nation in their own words. The curators discuss the history of Quapaw displacement from Arkansas to Oklahoma and how traditions tie the community together today.

Ceremonies, games, and food are at the heart of how the Quapaw people stay connected to their culture in our ever-changing world. In Keeping Traditions Alive visitors may take an up-close look at traditional pottery and clothing made by Gaedtke, shake a rattle can and imagine the sound of many rattles shaking during a stomp dance, and learn about staple and special foods like corn gravy, grape dumplings, and fry bread.

The museum is honored to care for and share these special objects and stories.

Photos by: John E Rodgers/Ogahpah Communications 

About the Community Curators in Their Own Words

Carrie Wilson

My name is Carrie Vee Wilson. I’m a member of the Quapaw tribe. I have served as Director of the Quapaw Cultural Resources Office and I’m currently the NAGPRA representative for the tribe. I was born in 1954 to Edna McKibben and artist Charles Banks Wilson. 

Betty Gaedtke

My name is Betty Gaedtke or Te-mi-zhi-ka (Little Buffalo Woman). I am an enrolled member of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma (Quapaw Nation) and part of the Buffalo clan. My passion is creating pottery in keeping with our culture. In 2012 I learned how to make our pottery with the styles and decorations of the past. My pots are not antique but are authentic Quapaw pottery and all of them are signed and smoked. 

Celebrating 125 Years Since the Discovery of Dippy

Celebrate Dippy, the legendary dinosaur whose discovery 125 years ago sparked popular imagination and inspired the global dino craze that thrives today. Named Diplodocus carnegii to honor Andrew Carnegie’s support for the expedition, Dippy proved too massive to be housed in the original exhibition halls, necessitating the expansion of Carnegie’s museum — sometimes referred to as “the house that Dippy built” by people of the day. Arguably the most visible dinosaur fossil in the world, Dippy’s many plaster replicas have thrilled museumgoers in London, Berlin, Madrid, Vienna, St. Petersburg, Paris, Bologna, La Plata, and Mexico City, while the genuine article has delighted millions here in Pittsburgh.  

Join us this July to fete Dippy with programs for all ages, including a members-only birthday party at the museum for families, a 21+ night, a day of lectures about the discovery of and science behind Pittsburgh’s literal oldest icon, and much more.

There are no upcoming events.

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A History through Photos

New York Journal article from 1898 titled, “Most Colossal Animal Ever on Earth Just Found Out West.”

Diplodocus carnegii (Dippy) excavation field photo, Sheep Creek, Wyoming, 1899

Dippy excavators standing together for a photo at Sheep Creek. 1899

Dippy excavators eat at camp in Sheep Creek. 1899

Dippy excavators crating fossils for transport to Pittsburgh. 1899

Construction Apatosaurus louisae next to Diplodocus carnegii in historic Dinosaur Hall, ca. 1915

Dippy on display in historic Dinosaur Hall.

A cast replica of Dippy, 1904

Diplodocus carnegii in new position in Dinosaurs In Their Time.

Diplodocus carnegii face to face with Apatosaurus louisae in Dinosaurs in Their Time. 2007

Torso of the Dippy statue on its way to assembly in front of the museum. 1999

Head of the Dippy statue next to Vertebrate Paleontology Curator Dave Berman for scale prior to assembly. 1999

Attaching Dippy’s tail to the body of the statue. 1999

Fitting Dippy’s legs onto the torso of the statue. 1999

Dippy statue under veil prior to public display. 1999

Children and adults meet the new Dippy statue up close. 1999

Blogs about Dippy

A museum conservator cleans an ancient Egyptian stele.

More than 5,000 objects from ancient Egypt are in the museum’s care, and each object, whether or not it has been on display, requires careful conservation. Through science and art, conservators and researchers preserve and investigate these objects to tell their stories.

After over 30 years, Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt closed in 2023 for conservators to work with the objects displayed there. As conservation work continues, new exhibit areas will open and visitors will have the opportunity to learn from conservators firsthand.

Exhibits at the Museum

On Display

Front Egypt to Pittsburgh:
Sacred Scents

Follow the journey of objects that have never been on view before—from their creation thousands of years ago to present day in the museum’s care. From Egypt to Pittsburgh changes periodically, and currently features four objects focused on the religious use of incense in ancient Egypt.

Learn More about From Egypt to Pittsburgh

The Stories We Keep: Conserving Objects from Ancient Egypt

Every Egyptian object in the museum’s care has stories to tell, about its creation and original use, its journey to Pittsburgh, and about the lives of those in ancient Egypt. The Stories We Keep features more than 80 ancient items—including the 4,000-year-old Dahshur boat, one of only four in the world. Engage with these objects like never before, have conversations with museum conservators, observe the care and restoration of objects in real time, and attempt the work yourself by reassembling replicas of ancient artifacts.

The Stories We Keep invites visitors to see these objects—cared for by the Museum for more than a century—in a new light and to witness the work that will preserve them for future generations. 

Learn More about The Stories We Keep

Currently Closed for Conservation

Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt

Walton Hall of Ancient Egypt is currently closed as conservators analyze, clean, and preserve objects in preparation for future exhibitions. See conservators at work in the Object Conservation Lab in R.P. Simmons Family Gallery.

Events

There are no upcoming events.

Ask a Conservator

Have you ever wondered how scientists save ancient, fragile objects, what the most persistent museum pests are, or how we know what an object is made of? Now you can ask all your conservation questions right here.

Watch Videos of Conservators Answering Past Questions

Blogs