Current Exhibits

Inventing Brooklyn: People, Places, Progress

Exhibition Dates: Ongoing

Exhibit opening Thursday, June 2, 2011, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Inventing Brooklyn: People, Places, Progress traces the evolution of Brooklyn into the place we know today. From Native American roots and Dutch colonial influences to icons such as the Brooklyn Bridge and the Dodgers, Inventing Brooklyn examines how various people, places, and historical events have shaped the development of the borough.  Drawing on archival documents, photographs, prints, artifacts, and oral histories from the Brooklyn Historical Society collection, Inventing Brooklyn takes on 400 years of Brooklyn’s history. The exhibit includes items relating to the Battle of Brooklyn, Brooklyn's first newspapers, and Brooklyn’s diverse immigrant populations in order to capture the complexity and dynamism of the process of Inventing Brooklyn.

Inventing Brooklyn: People, Places, Progress is created by the high school students in Brooklyn Historical Society’s Exhibition Laboratory program.  Now in its fifth year, Ex Lab invites students from four local high schools to help curate and design a new BHS exhibit.  The Ex Lab students work closely with BHS staff, consulting historians, and professional exhibit designers to conduct archival research, choose objects, and write exhibit text in order to bring Inventing Brooklyn to life.

Check out Brooklyn Tech junior Neil Alacha’s blog post about Inventing Brooklyn.

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