Front of MuSE: A Community Museum
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    MuSE: A Community Museum

    Hosted by the Center for Environment and Society, this public space in downtown Chestertown exhibits collaborations between students, faculty, staff, and the wider community.

    MuSE hosts rotating exhibits that highlight Washington College teaching, experiential learning, and research. Each exhibit will be informational, interactive, and highly visual, creating a dynamic community space for learning and sharing on the Eastern Shore.   

    MuSE is currently open on First Fridays from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm, Saturdays from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, and by request for groups. 

     

    Request for Proposal is OPEN

    Deadline: January 15, 2025

    Request for Proposal

    Guidelines for a MuSE Exhibit

    Current Exhibit

    Nest Alchemy

    Open: Current - December 21. 

    Nest Alchemy is a thought-provoking series created by Deirdre Murphy, a contemporary visual artist, who explores the intersection of art and science through the lens of natural patterns, data visualization and climate change. Her interest in avian migratory patterns and the effects of climate change have led her research to a variety of residencies, most recently with Washington College’s Center for the Environment & Society’s Foreman Branch Bird Observatory.

    Nest Alchemy investigates birds' nest throughout the four seasons and revels in the architectural wonders of the avian species. Murphy challenges the traditional assumption that nest building is a purely instinctual process by highlighting the learning and memory abilities of birds. 

     
    This Exhibition is open on First Fridays and Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM through December 21.

    Past Exhibits

    Three people talk in an exhibit at MuSE.

    Digital Scholarship in Museum Partnerships Program

    In the fall of 2023, the Digital Scholarship in Museum Partnerships Project was the first collaborative effort featured in MuSE, which hosted a collection of exhibits created by students from five museums in Kent County – Sumner Hall, The Waterman’s Museum, The Worton Point Schoolhouse, Betterton Heritage Museum, and Kent Museum. With the goal of preserving and providing greater access to the local histories of our community, the exhibition highlighted the mission of the space by providing digitized looks into each museum, viewable through virtual reality with 360-degree virtual tours, digitized collections, oral history interviews, and interactive panels.
    Students in Muse reviewing their journals and art

    Teaching & Transformation: Semester in the Chesapeake Classroom 

    Exhibit Dates: March 1 – July 27

    This exhibit showcased the nature and culture of the Chesapeake Bay region through the final projects created by Washington College's Chesapeake Semester students. Their hand-drawn maps and visual journals provided visitors a sense of the unique Chesapeake ecosystem, analyze solutions to environmental problems, and explored the nexus between science, policy, and people's everyday lives in the region.