the john muir exhibit - current and upcoming events
Current and Upcoming Events
2011
August 6, 2011 - January 22, 2012
Oakland Museum of California presents an Intective Exhibition Exploring John
Muir's Legacy
"A Walk in the Wild" offers a fresh look at Muir’s life
and work, including the Modern Day Muirs who keep his legacy alive today
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) presents A
Walk in the Wild: Continuing John Muir's Journey, on view August 6, 2011,
through January 22, 2012, in the Museum's Great Hall. John Muir's experience
in the Golden State led to his becoming a founding figure of the environmentalist
movement. In this provocative new exhibition, OMCA celebrates the legendary naturalist's
life, work, and legacy in California and beyond. Told through OMCA's collections
of art, history, and natural science, as well as interactive digital technology
and extensive loans - Muir's journals, manuscripts, original drawings and plant
collections - the exhibition pays tribute to the "Father of the National
Parks," whose
legacy continues to inspire environmental stewardship in California today.
See more in Museums Featuring John Muir.
Press Release | Available Images
July, 2011 - PBS documentary John Muir in the New World Now
available on DVD 
April 18, 2011 - National Television Premiere: John
Muir in the New World
DebutngApril 2011: John
Muir in the New World - New film on PBS American
Masters TV series :
Watch the full episode. See more American Masters.
March - Publication of My First Summer
in the Sierra: 100th Anniversary Illustrated Edition
of the American Classic by John Muir
with Photographs
by Scot Miller, Foreword by
Dayton Duncan and
Ken Burns. Timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the
book's original publication, "My First Summer in the Sierra" is
illustrated with Scot Miller's stunning photographs, showcasing the dramatic
landscape of the High Sierra plus John Muir's illustrations from the original
edition and several previously unpublished illustrations from his 1911 manuscript.
A video Book
Trailer on YouTube is available.
January 9 - March 27 - “Nature’s Beloved Son:
Rediscovering John Muir’s Botanical Legacy” traveling exhibition
begins its first location at Bedford
Gallery in Walnut Creek. The exhibition
of 23 enormous photo re-creations of Muir's botanical collections as represented
in Bonnie Gisel and Stepheon Joseph's book Nature's
Beloved Son will
then travel to
museums and galleries around the country, and, next year, in Muir’s
birthplace in Dunbar, Scotland. For more about this event:
Preview online:
2010
August 29 - Book signing in Montello, Wisconsin, of a Limited
Edition reprint of Heart
of John Muir's World by Millie Stanley. This book has been out of
print for years.
June 19 - Montello
Historic Preservation Society exhibit "Muir is Still
Here" opens to celebrate John
Muir's boyhood ties to Marquette County, Wisconsin.
A series of special events were held along with the exhibit over the course
of the year celebrating "The Year of John Muir" in Marquette County,
including guest speakers, book signings, field trips, hikes, and a special
book, Muir
is Still Here, by
Daryl Christensen and Kathleen McGwin.
June 5, 2010 - Both
Mariposa and Tuolumne counties have designated Highway 132 from Coulterville
to Highway 120, a major route into Yosemite National Park, as the John Muir
Highway. A dedication ceremony will be held on Saturday, June 5,
2010 in
Coulterville - For more information, see: Yosemite
Highway Dedicated to John Muir - Press Release by Yosemite/Mariposa
County Tourism Bureau
April 2-24, 2010 - John Muir: Naturalist and Scientist Symposium - The
John Muir Center of the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California,
hosts a regular California History Institute symposium devoted to John Muir's
achievements. The April
2010 Symposium is entited; John Muir: Naturalist & Scientist,
and will be held April 22-24, 2010. Symposium events are
free and open to Pacific students, faculty and staff.
Thursday, April 22, 2010: The symposium kicks off with a
day-long field trip to the John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez, Muir's
residence during his last years in California.
Friday, April 23, 2010: Academic papers on Muir's contributions
in science and natural history will be read in Grace Covell Hall on the University
of the Pacific Stockton campus. A luncheon and dinner with keynote speakers
are also planned.
Saturday, April 24, 2010: Papers on Muir's promotion of mountaineering
and outdoor recreation will be read, and the symposium will conclude with a
luncheon and a keynote speaker. More details will be forthcoming, and registration
will start in February, 2010.
For more information please contact
the Director of the John Muir Center, W.
R. (Bill) Swagerty.
April 21, 2010 - Celebrating John Muir’s 172nd Birthday,
Sierra Club unveils revamped
John Muir Exhibit website. See Press
Release - Celebrating Environmental Pioneer John Muir’s 172nd Birthday
Sierra Club Unveils Revamped Muir Historical Website (See also local
file: Press Release
on John Muir Exhibit
April 9, 2010 - The Scottish Government and Sierra Club
held a special tree planting ceremony for A Celebration of the
Treasured Life and Legacy of
John Muir- Honored Son of Scotland and Sierra Club Founder at the
Dr. Edgar and Peggy Wayburn Redwood Grove, The Presidio, San Francisco,
followed by a special presentation on John Muir’s Legacy in a
Climate-Challenged World with featured speakers Carl Pope, Chairman
of the Sierra Club, and Michael Russell, Scotland's Minister for Education
and Lifelong Learning and former minister for the environment. See John
Muir's Legacy Lives On - by The Scottish Government, News Release,
April 9, 2010. Michael Russell is quoted about Muir's inspiration to combat
climate hange today, and the Sierra Club stated: "The Sierra Club
is honored to share John Muir's legacy with the John Muir Trust and the
Scottish Government. Together, we can face the greatest global challenge
of our generation. Together, we can bend the arc of history and beat climate
change." - Carl Pope (April 9, 2010).
April
5, 2010, Scotland's Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning and former
minister for the environment, Michael Russell, in an editorial, Prizing
the Power of the Sea said, "Muir
was never deterred by those naysayers who thought his idealism misplaced.
He won many battles, and some he lost. But he built movements for change
that inspired millions, forced political leaders to join his cause and changed
not only hearts, but minds. Muir was always more than an idealistic naturalist;
he was a persuasive advocate, as adept as any politician at winning public
support. Muir would have been excited by the prospect that the natural resources
around us may actually be the key to solving the climate crisis. The potential
of wind, solar and wave energy to produce renewable, clean sources of power
and reduce our dependency on methods that damage our environmental future
should be at the top of our list of solutions. Read
more....
2009
October 17, 2009 - A Sierra Club Radio interview of Bonnie
Gisel,
John Muir author and scholar, and curator of the Sierra Club LeConte Memorial
Lodge, airs on Saturday October 17, 2009. If you're in the Bay Area, you'll
hear it on 960 AM (the Air America affiliate) at 3pm on Saturday. Anywhere
else in the world, you can listen online anytime after 3:00 PM Pacific Daylight
time on Saturday at: www.sierraclubradio.org .
September 27, 2009 - Ken Burns six-part series, "The
National Parks: America' Best Idea" premieres on PBS television, along with a companion
book.
September, 2009 - John Muir
- A Great Scot -
Nomination of John Muir for Scotland TV contest for "Greatest Scot." -
from Friends of John Muir's Birthplace (with comments by John Muir Exhibit
webmaster)
July 30, 2009 - US
Muir coin designer in Dunbar
AN AMERICAN [Garrett Burke] who designed a 25 cent coin in memory of Dunbar-born
conservationist John Muir has said that East Lothian "looks a million
dollars". (offsite
link - East
Lothian Courier, July 30, 2009) Note: this article incorrectly states
that Burke helped create the sand sculpture above, but everyone involves affirms
the sand sculpture was solely the creation of Jo Moulin and Duncan Smeed.
See also a photo of
a sand-sculpture of his quarter dollar design on the East Beach at Dunbar,
as part of the John Muir Birthplace annual sandcastle modelling competition.
See also:
April 22, 2009 - John Muir to be Inducted in the Extra
Mile Volunteer Pathway
The Extra Mile — Points of Light Volunteer Pathway is a new national monument
dedicated to the spirit of volunteering in America. Honoring heroes of
our Nation’s volunteer movements, the Extra Mile is formed by a series
of bronze medallions creating a one-mile walking path in the heart of downtown
Washington, DC.
www.extramile.us <http://www.extramile.us>
John Muir, along with Rachel Carson
and several other notable volunteers of American history were inducted
into the Extra Mile Volunteer Pathway at a luncheon Induction Ceremony at
the Grand Hyatt Hotel on April 22, 2009. The Induction Ceremony is in
recognition of National Volunteer Week, and will feature five 2009 honorees,
unveil the medallions onstage and re-introduce the mile with a new relevancy
as a living monument. From founders of major service organizations to leaders
of the civil rights and suffrage movements, the 24 honorees to date
selflessly championed causes to help others realize a better America.
Their legacies are enduring social movements that continue to engage
and inspire us today.
Event Experience: 120 guests will witness the official unveiling of the
five new 2009 Extra Mile Inductee medallions, museum-mounted and dramatically
lit on stage, before they are installed in their permanent places along the
Extra Mile Pathway.
- Thea E. Becton
On behalf of Points of Light Institute
2009 - The John Muir Odyssey - East Lothian 2009
One of the flagship events
of Homecoming Scotland 2009, the John
Muir Odyssey, will follow in the footsteps
of John Muir, celebrating the life and legacy of this great Scot, regarded
as "the Father of modern day conservation." From his birthplace
in East Lothian, with an exciting itinerary, by land and sea, the Odyssey promises
dramatic scenery, spectacular coastline and the amazing wildlife that inspired
John Muir. With a programme including:
the John Muir Celebrity Lecture, "Muir’s
World by Land and Sea", "Our Wee Planet", a festival featuring
art, music, film, walks, talks and boat trips, this event promises to be one
of the highlights of Scotland’s National celebration for Scots 'coming
home' in 2009. Set in the heart of John Muir country, in Dunbar and North Berwick,
visitors will have the opportunity to experience at first hand what inspired
John Muir’s passion for wild places, a legacy that continues across the
world today. Visitors will be able to walk on the beaches and in the countryside
he loved, visit his home and find out about the influences, as a boy, that
would endure throughout his life. Look out for the John Muir Homecoming booklet
JOHN MUIR: a Scotchman Comes Home on sale at John
Muir’s Birthplace. Intended publication date 21 April 2009 - John
Muir's Birthday.
See Programme
Schedule for more information (off-site link).
April 6, 2008 - Harold Wood, the Chair of the Sierra
Club John Muir Education Committee, was a featured
guest on SouthwestBlend.com's ‘Champagne Sundays’ Online Radio
Show. This show was a special Eco & Environment
show that aired live on April 6th, 2008. Click
here to listen to the audio of the show (Shockwave Flash).
Features information about the Sierra
Club John Muir Education Committee.
February 7, 2008 - Couple retrace John Muir's walk from San
Francisco to Yosemite for third year in a row.
Peter and Donna Thomas are writing a guidebook that retraces the route famed
naturalist John Muir took in the spring of 1868. Read story from Union Democrat.
July 18, 2007 - Announcement of "John Muir in the New
World" Proposed
2-hour Film Documentary.
International Cultural Programming in partnership with GreatFull Productions
of Seattle are producing a two-hour biographical documentary of the extraordinary
life and influence of this man in American history. The project recently
received a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) scripting grant of $80,000.
The proposed film is to be produced by Global Village Media, GreatFull Productions
and NewStory Ventures of Seattle. Director: Catherine Tatge.
See producer's
press release (July 18, 2007).
June 27, 2007 - The Holt-Atherton Special Collections department
of the University of the Pacific Library, with the approval of the Muir-Hanna
Trust, has begun a multi-phased digitization project to provide online access
to portions of the John Muir Papers. You can view all of the photos of Muir
that we have at Pacific through our digital collections site http://library.pacific.edu/ha/digital/index.asp The
Library is also scanning all of the Muir journals at Pacific and hope to have
them online this fall. Later phases of the Muir digitization project will involve
correspondence and drawings.
Recent Past Events
September 30, 2006 - "A Tribute to John Muir,' held at the Historic
Cobb Ranch,
Fresno, California. Celebrating the opening of a new cornfield maze cut into
the shape of the California Quarter.
September, 2006 - National Park Service establishes new Museum
Collections at John Muir National Historic Site website with numerous photos, slide shows,
etc.
August 26, 2006 - Ranch Days at John Muir National Historic
Site & John Muir Association Annual
Awards Dinner.
Spring, 2006 - Re-Walking
John Muir's 1868 Trip to Yosemite - Walkers: Peter and Donna Thomas
(posted 12/5/05)
April 22, 2006 - John Muir Birthday - Earth Day Celebration at John Muir National
Historic Site
March 31 - April 1, 2006 - 2006
John Muir Conference - University of the Pacific's John Muir Center hosted
a conference at the Stockton campus of University of the Pacific on March
31-April 1, 2006. The focus of the 2006 California History Institute was"John
Muir in Global Perspective."
October 16, 2005 - The latest collection of presentations
in University of the Pacific's ongoing John Muir Conferences was released.
Collected presentations from the 2001 conference will be published in John
Muir: Family Friends, and Adventures, Edited by Sally M. Miller and Daryl
Morrison, Introduction by Bonnie Johanna Gisel (2005).
October 14, 2005 - The
Extra Mile — Points of Light Volunteer Pathway, in Washington,
D.C., was dedicated at 10:00 a.m., Friday, October 14, 2005. John Muir
is among the honorees who will be recognized in an individual ceremony
at a later date, after the first 20 honorees are recognized at the October
14 dedication.
August 3- 7, 2005 - The John Muir's Mountain Days musical
was performed again this summer: Aug 3-7, 2005 outdoors again at the Muir
Amphitheatre in Martinez, California. The Ampitheatre has new windscreens,
fencing, box office, concessions building, picnic tables and a great show.
For more information: www.willowstheatre.org
April 17 - 2005 - Unpublished
Letters of John Muir Go Online
More than 100 pages of original letters by John Muir, America's most celebrated
environmentalist, went online this week on the Wisconsin Historical Society's
Web site. The
30 letters — believed to be the first important collection of original
Muir manuscripts to be made available on the Web — were written between
1861 and 1914 to several friends from his childhood and youth in Wisconsin. "Because
they're intimate personal letters spanning his entire adult life," says
Society librarian Michael Edmonds, "they document all the major turning
points in his career." Although typed transcripts of some of the letters
have been quoted by scholars, all but six are published in their entirety for
the first time on the Society's Turning Points in Wisconsin History Web site.
They can be found in the online collection along with other letters and manuscripts
relating to Muir, including his brother David's description of their childhood.
April - May 2005 - Clan
Currie Society to Celebrate "The Life and Legacy of John Muir" on
Ellis Island
Annual Tartan Day Celebration to Focus on the Scots-Born "Father of
the American National Parks"
View: Image of Announcement
Poster
April 23, 2005 - Earth Day/
John Muir Birthay Celebration at John Muir National
Historic Site
January 16, 2005 through April 24, 2005 - John
Muir and Joseph LeConte's great-grandsons honor Sierra Club and conservation
movement origins at Keith Gallery, St. Mary's College, Moraga, California
January 31, 2005 - U.S. Mint
and Governor Launch California Quarter in Sacramento
"John Muir has been a role model to generations of Californians and to conservationists around the world. He taught us to be active and to enjoy -- but at the same time protect -- our parks, our beaches, and our mountains."
- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, as he announced selection of the John Muir-Yosemite Design for the California State Quarter (March 29, 2004)
The new California State Quarter featuring John Muir was
released on January 31, 2005.
July 2, 2004:
Photos
of Indiana Historical Marker Celebration - John Muir in Indianapolis
John
Muir in Indiana Historical Marker Dedication
(press release)
April 21, 2004: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued
the annual proclamation designating John
Muir Day on
the anniversary of John Muir's birthday, stating: "Nearly 90 years after
his death, the evocative reflections of conservationist John Muir continue
to inspire citizens of our state and nation to appreciate and protect our
natural heritage." In recognizing Muir's achievements, Governor Schwarzenegger
said, "John
Muir Day is an opportunity to recognize and respect the role of humankind
in nature, and to promote conservation for our fulfillment and the benefit
of future generations."
March 29, 2004: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
announced the selection of the John Muir-Yosemite design
for the California State Quarter
December 11, 2003 - In 2003, Michael Muir, a great-grandson
of John Muir, and the President of United States Driving for the Disabled,
Inc., ended a
1,000 mile journey in a horse drawn cart, following the route taken by John
Muir in his first great wilderness adventure, The
Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf.
Starting in Louisville, Kentucky on September 22, 2003, the Journey went
through Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida to arrive at Cedar
Keys on the Gulf of Mexico on December 11, 2003.
November 24, 2003 - The U.S. Mint's Citizens Coin Advisory
Committee recommends "Waves and Sun" and "Yosemite and John Muir" for the
California Quarter: California
Sun Wins Favor
November, 2003: The Indiana Historical Bureau has unanimously approved
the application for a state historical marker commemorating John Muir's time
in Indiana. A marker will be designed for the site and a suitable dedication
ceremony will be performed. For more information, see:
John
Muir Marker to Be Erected in Indianapolis - The Indiana Sierran,
Spring, 2004.
John Muir in
Indiana (PDF) by Harold W. Wood, Jr. - research paper submitted
to Indiana Historical Bureau in support of the Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter
request for a commemortive historical plaque in Indianapolis.
"Muir
Historical Marker in Indy May Be a Reality
", The Indiana Sierran, Fall, 2001. (off-site link)
Indiana
State Historical Marker Program (off-site link)
Places Important to John Muir - Indiana
John Muir National Historic
Site is located in Martinez, California, at 4202 Alhambra Avenue.
Honoree on THE
EXTRA MILE - Points of Light Volunteer Pathway (Washington, D.C.)
Muir-Hanna Vineyards -
Family Wine label from John Muir's descendents released in March, 2002.
California Official Tartan Honors John Muir
John
Muir Tribute CD released by John Muir Memorial Association!
Fundraising
Campaign for John Muir National Historic Site Visitor and Education Center
Wild Production's
(Lee Stetson) "John Muir" Touring Schedule
.
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