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Clarke Historical Library Exhibit:
Exhibit Popup.jpg

On exhibit through January 2021
in the Clarke Historical Library 

Celebrating the acquisition of over 600 pop-up books collected by Dr. Francis and Mary Lois Molson, the exhibit documents the delights of pop-up books for children and adults, as well as the very serious work of authors and paper engineers, who make the surprise and wonder occur. What is fascinating about pop-up books is that the person who picks one up becomes director, performer, and audience, controlling a performance engineered for them but completely under their power.

Because of the difficulties in travel and physical access caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have created an extended virtual exhibit that can be enjoyed online which we hope you will explore and enjoy.

Our hope is that you will be able to enjoy the exhibit in person during the library's normal operating hours sometime during the summer or fall of 2020.  However, because of the many uncertainties related to the pandemic, please contact the library staff before visiting to determine if physical access to the exhibit is possible and if it is if there are any limiting conditions that you will need to observe. Speak to us before setting out to see the exhibit either by email (clarke@cmich.edu) or by telephone (989.774.3352) to confirm in advance that we can accommodate your visit. Rules make it impossible for us to allow a person or group who arrives unannounced to enter the building or the exhibit area. Please contact us in advance to confirm that you will be able to enjoy the show in person.

Explore the Surprise and Wonder

While movable parts within a book have been a part of book design for centuries, originally they were almost always used in scholarly works and in books for adults. How better to illustrate an anatomy text, for example, than with little tabs, allowing you to see what lay beneath the skin? It was not until the 19th century that these techniques were applied to books that were designed to entertain and delight children. Once children became the audience, the story began to emerge, particularly stories like fairy tales and mythology, as well as adapting stories from the theater.

The main feature of a moveable book is its interactivity. The book's mechanisms cause the content of its pages to transform, engrossing the reader through the element of surprise. Its effects cannot be completely anticipated, and in general, when a good moveable book is opened, each page is like a Christmas present, provoking a sense of wonder.

Imaginative paper engineers continue to explore and to innovate new ways to fold paper, devise complex pull tabs that create movement, design intricate three-dimensional pop-up forms, and use cut paper, string, and other mechanisms to make figures magically twist and turn. The possibilities seem endless. Today, the simple, dynamic quality of the cut paper forms and mechanisms can create books that are a sculptural work of art.

The exhibit was curated by Doctors Gretchen Papazian and Anne Hiebert Alton, both faculty members in CMU's Department of English Language and Literature. Janet Danek, the Libraries' Exhibits, and Projects Coordinator designed the show. Opening on March 17, 2020, the exhibit will run through the fall semester. 

To learn more about the exhibit we encourage you to watch an extended interview with Janet Danek, the exhibit designer.

Clarke Historical Library Speaker Series


THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED.
PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR UPDATED EVENT INFORMATION.
From before Matthew could remember, art always took center stage. Throughout childhood, his sketchbook was always nearby, a constant friend wherever his family roamed. Being creative just felt right to him, whether just drawing pictures or crafting wild contraptions out of anything he could scavenge around the house. He loved reading and learning about nature, science and ancient history, but his school notebooks often had more drawings than actual notes!

After high school, Matthew studied biology in preparation for medical school, thinking an art-related job might be impossible. College life was busy and interesting, but it never felt right. A career in medicine, while challenging, did not make him happy. After a year of thinking things out in New York City, Matthew decided to take the plunge and follow his dream. He was accepted at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and studied industrial design, focused on designing toys. After graduating Pratt, Matthew apprenticed with an acclaimed children's book author. In a few years, he discovered his true calling: becoming a children's book author, illustrator and paper engineer.

His first big break into the pop-up book world came with the strange but beloved The Pop-Up Book of Phobias. Many pop-up books followed, both collaborations and solo creations like the New York Times best-selling Encyclopedia Prehistorica trilogy, its sister trilogy Encyclopedia Mythologica, the collaboration Mommy? with the renowned Maurice Sendak, the biblical retelling The Ark, and classic pop-up versions of stories including The Jungle Book and Cinderella. An avid comic, fantasy and science fiction fanatic, Matthew has created a huge array of pop culture pop-ups like his best-selling blockbuster STAR WARS: Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy, Game Of Thrones: A Pop-Up Guide to Westeros, Disney Princess: A Pop-Up World, Transformers: The Ultimate Pop-Up Universe, Frozen: A Pop-Up Fairy Tale, Lego Pop-Up and many, many more.

This presentation is made possible by the David M. and Eunice Sutherland Burgess Endowment.

 
The challenge of mosquitoes and malaria to early settlers of Michigan was profound. Alexis de Tocqueville, who visited Michigan in July of 1831, commented several times as to how burdensome the mosquitoes were. The state of Michigan was known to early 19th century Americans as an area profuse with swamps, disease and other hardships. Malaria was so widespread throughout the region that all expected to suffer from it and it was viewed less as a disease than simply a reality of life. Efforts by early Michiganders to find relief from mosquitoes included the use of smudges and other techniques of limited efficacy. Quinine was a highly sought after to relieve ague (malaria) symptoms. Three aspects of early Michigan made for significant populations of mosquitoes and associated malaria: topography, the extent of forests, and the amount of wetlands. Efforts to develop land through wetland drainage, and the lumber industry that cleared much of the virgin forest in the state, altered and in many cases reduced much of the mosquito habitat. Yet, many of the land attributes remain and still contribute to a significant mosquito burden in parts of the state.  Picture2.png

Dr. Doud obtained his PhD in entomology from Kansas State University. He is currently the Director of Midland County Mosquito Control (MCMC) in Sanford, Michigan. Dr. Doud came to Midland County in 2014 following retirement from the US Navy as a Medical Entomologist in the Navy Medical Service Corps. He is active in the Michigan Mosquito Control Association (MMCA), currently serving as Chair of the MMCA 
Legislative Liaison Committee and served as MMCA
President in 2019.
 
Jim Gillingham joined the CMU Biology Department in 1976. From 1985 until his retirement in 2009, he served as the director of CMU’s Biological Research Station on Beaver Island. He will discuss the history of the Beaver Island Station, based on his many years as director as well as the research he conducted while working on the recently published history of the CMU Biology Department.

In 1942, CMU purchased 48 acres of land on Beaver Island for $1. The University has offered courses at the Biological Station since 1966.

In 1989, the first building devoted totally to research was constructed. Today the station is anchored by the 11,300 square foot James C. Gillingham Academic Center. Completed in the summer of 2007, the center houses three teaching laboratories, a 120-seat lecture hall, computer laboratory, and academic library. Research facilities are located adjacent to the academic center and contain several research tools and programs. In 2012, the station opened a mesocosm research facility. A mesocosm is an experimental system that examines the natural environment under controlled conditions. Mesocosm studies provide a link between field surveys and highly controlled laboratory experiments.

 

Both events are free and open to the public. Those in need of an accommodation
should call (989) 774-1100 or email clarke@cmich.edu. 









Clarke Historical Library | Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 | clarke@cmich.edu | Phone: (989) 774-3352 | Fax: (989) 774-2160
If you need accommodations due to a disability while using the library facilities, please contact the Research Help Desk, either in person or via email.
Please be prepared to state what type of accommodation you require, e.g. reaching a book, stack retrieval, use of adaptive equipment, or other requests.