Museum of American Heritage

MOAH is closed until further notice due to the Santa Clara County health order. Visit our website for latest updates & stay safeMOAH is closed until further notice due to the Santa Clara County health order. Visit our website for latest updates & stay safe

Experience the Wonder of the First Virtual BayLUG Holiday Show featuring LEGO The Museum of American Heritage (MOAH) will be co-hosting with BayLUG, the Bay Area LEGO User Group and BayLTC, the Bay Area L-Gauge Train Club this year to offer its very first virtual show. Due to the pandemic, the holiday show is going virtual. Access to the website is free of charge but donations are greatly appreciated. BayLUG and BayLTC will be presenting a variety of creative holiday scene...s. Browse through the imaginative holiday creations, which include holiday trains, miniature cities and more. The displays are different each year. This year’s theme is Dr. Seuss and his imaginative world. Come check out the virtual exhibit online by visiting https://sites.google.com/v/baylug-holiday-show/holiday-show. The website will be accessible starting Dec. 1, 2020 to Jan 10, 2021. Donations can be made on the holiday show’s website. All proceeds support BayLUG and MOAH. LEGO is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this show, BayLUG/BayLTC, or MOAH. Museum of American Heritage The Museum of American Heritage (MOAH) celebrates the rich history of technological innovation from 1750 to 1950. MOAH maintains a diverse collection of over 6,000 electrical and mechanical artifacts. The Museum of American Heritage is located at 351 Homer Avenue in downtown Palo Alto, California. Due to Santa Clara County’s health order, the museum is temporarily closed until further notice. Visit our website www.moah.org for more information.

Meet Frank, MOAH’s own robot, who happily accepts donations!

Any other year around this time, MOAH would be holding its Volunteer Appreciation Dinner to show thanks and appreciation for all the dedicated work and support MOAH volunteers do. MOAH wouldn’t be where we are today without all of our volunteers. Even MOAH’s founder, Frank Livermore, was a volunteer for the Boy Scouts of America. So how did volunteering become America’s national pastime? Beginning in the early 17th century, the first volunteer firehouse was developed in 1736 ...by Benjamin Franklin. Volunteer firefighters were a large part of the foundation of the United States and this trend continues today with 70% of all firefighters today [being] volunteers. Instances of volunteer militia was widespread in the early United States and originally volunteering directly correlated with the military. It wasn’t until the mid-1800s that social reform movements around issues such as poverty, temperance, women’s rights and the abolition of slavery paved the way for community volunteering and social service to help the lives of others. Charitable organizations and groups such as YMCA, American Red Cross, Ladies’ Societies, the Rotary Club and the Lions Club all helped to create a more active role for mainstream volunteerism. Volunteerism has many benefits from connecting individuals within their community to uniting people from an assortment of backgrounds. Thank you to those who take time to volunteer. Hope you had a happy holiday and stay safe! Here are some archived photos of MOAH’s past Volunteer Appreciation Dinners.

Take a look at our founder’s cabinet of curiosities! Here are just a few artifacts on display. Come in to discover more about them! MOAH has just re-opened this weekend with COVID-19 protocols in place. Photos courtesy of Wayland Lee

Adding machines and calculators are an important part of our history and lives. Beginning with the calculating instrument known as the abacus, evolving into semi-automatic or automatic calculating machines of the 16th century and now are easily accessed on our everyday smart phones. Scholars believe without adding machines and especially without mechanical calculators, our lives would be much different now. This is because mechanical calculators are predecessors of modern com...puters such as the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), which was the first large-scale computer to run at electronic speed and calculated complex wartime ballistic tables in the 1940s. In MOAH’s current exhibit, Frank’s Cabinet of Curiosities, we have a few adding machines and calculators that played vital roles in the evolution of calculators to computers. One of these vital machines is the Curta Calculator, which is known as the ultimate expression of the mechanical calculator. We also have a 1950s Remington Sperry Rand adding machine, which directly relates to our displayed Remington Typewriter because Remington Rand was incorporated as a merger of the Remington Typewriter Company. We even have a Marbel Blood-Cell Calculator that was used in the 1940s to count red or white blood cell levels. See below for pictures of these great achievements!

This Friday, September 25th, MOAH will be re-opening the indoor portion of our museum! Beginning September 25th through February 21st, come see MOAH's newest exhibit, Frank's Cabinet of Curiosities: Celebrating 30 Years! This exhibition celebrates MOAH's founder, Frank Livermore and the original collection that created the foundation of the museum. Not only are we re-opening with one new exhibit, we are re-opening with two new exhibits! After viewing Frank's Cabinet of Curio...sities, make sure to visit the medical wing for a brand new exhibit on cameras and film! MOAH will be implementing COVID-19 protocols such as requiring face masks for all our visitors, providing hand sanitizer and disinfecting high touch areas. MOAH will be resuming regular operating hours of Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 11am to 4pm. Please visit www.moah.org for more information. If you have any questions or comments, please call 650-321-1004 or email [email protected]. Hope to see you soon!

MOAH's outdoor exhibits & gardens will be open this Friday & weekend due to the improvement in air quality! Hope to see you there!MOAH's outdoor exhibits & gardens will be open this Friday & weekend due to the improvement in air quality! Hope to see you there!

MOAH's outdoor exhibits & gardens will be closed this Friday and weekend due to the wildfires & air quality. Please stay safe.MOAH's outdoor exhibits & gardens will be closed this Friday and weekend due to the wildfires & air quality. Please stay safe.

Come see MOAH's garden tin man, Frank, and his friends this weekend from 11am to 4pm! MOAH's outdoor exhibits and gardens are open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Don't forget to wear your mask! Hope to see you there!

The log cabin toy design has been around since the 1860s under the name of Log Cabin Playhouse and was manufactured by Ellis, Britton, and Eaton in Vermont. However, the well-known Lincoln Logs didn’t become a children’s toy sensation until John Lloyd Wright (Frank Lloyd Wright’s son) developed Lincoln Logs in 1916 and 1917. Following his father’s architecture talent, John Lloyd Wright developed the Lincoln Logs after seeing his father’s Imperial Palace Hotel in Tokyo. Orig...inally made out of redwood and then stained pine, Wright marketed the wooden logs through Red Square Toy Company in Chicago, IL and used the slogan, interesting playthings typifying the spirit of America, which was based on buying American made items at the beginning of WWI. Lincoln Logs were also one of the first examples of a toy made for both boys and girls just like another popular toy at the time, Tinker Toys. Lincoln Logs reached its popularity in the 1950s and continues to be a toy almost every child has played with, selling over 100 million sets worldwide. For their inventive way to get children to use their motor and critical thinking skills, it’s no wonder Lincoln Logs have lasted through generations. MOAH has their own display of Lincoln Logs (and Tinker Toys) inside the museum. Once we re-open, make sure to visit these toys for a walk down memory lane. See more

MOAH's outdoor exhibits & gardens will be closed this weekend due to the wildfires & air quality. Please stay safe.MOAH's outdoor exhibits & gardens will be closed this weekend due to the wildfires & air quality. Please stay safe.

Remember to join us today in our gardens and outdoor exhibits! We are open 11am to 4pm on Fri., Sat., & Sun. July 31 - August 30Remember to join us today in our gardens and outdoor exhibits! We are open 11am to 4pm on Fri., Sat., & Sun. July 31 - August 30

We are happy to share with you that our gardens and outdoor exhibitions (the print shop and car garage) will be re-opening for this summer from Fri., July 31 to Sun., Aug. 30 with the same operating hours of 11am to 4pm on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. We will not be re-opening our indoor museum at this time until further notice due to the state and county current restrictions. During your visit, masks are required and we will have hand sanitizer available. We will also ha...ve Katy, our Gallery Supervisor on duty. At this time, the restrooms will not be open to the public, so please plan accordingly. Thank you for your support and we hope to see you soon in the gardens.

MOAH’s founder Frank Livermore was a scout master for Palo Alto Troop 49 (anyone else a leader or boy scout in Palo Alto?) and of course he collected survival items. Some of these items include: signal mirrors, a box kite and a first aid kit with medicine such as ammonia. Living in California, we should always be prepared for the unfortunate event of an earthquake or a wildfire and have a first aid kit around the house and in multiple places. Have you ever wondered who had th...e genius idea to develop first aid kits? What about who had the goal to disperse first aid kits into the homes of all Americans? It shouldn’t be a surprise that the company Johnson & Johnson is known as the first developers of first aid kits in the United States. When new railroad tracks were being installed in the west between 1880 and 1890, there were many new injuries that were occurring due to new cutting-edge machinery and no nearby hospitals. Robert Wood Johnson and J&J’s Scientific Director, Fred Kilmer conducted research on the best medicine to give to those who worked on the dangerous tracks. In 1888, they came out with first aid kits that were in wooden or metal boxes. They came packed with gauze, adhesive plastics, dressing bandages and sutures. After returning from the Civil War, where she nursed and supplied soldiers and was known as the angel of the battlefield, Clara Barton went overseas to help those in the Franco-Prussian War. There she discovered the International Red Cross organization. This organization, which originated in Geneva, Switzerland in 1863 and provided nonpartisan care to those sick or wounded in times of war, gave Barton the idea to begin her own Red Cross organization, which became known as the American Red Cross. One of Barton’s goals for the American Red Cross was to raise public awareness about the importance of first-aid kits and to encourage people to keep them in their homes. Barton’s goal led to the widespread dispersal of first aid kits in homes, factories, and in corporations. We can thank Johnson & Johnson for developing the first aid kits, and Clara Barton for making them a part of our daily lives in protecting our families. See below for pictures of Frank Livermore’s first aid kit (which will be displayed in our upcoming exhibit). A photo of Johnson & Johnson’s first aid kit from the Johnson & Johnson Archives, along with a photo of Carla Barton from the National Women’s History Museum are featured here. Remember to check out our entire collection online by going to http://www.moah.org/searchCollection.html.

Since summer solstice just occurred on June 21st and the SUN is surely out, it only seems fitting to feature our SUN-Kraft Quartz Tube Ultraviolet Ray Health Builder. Known as a health lamp, it was used to improve one’s health through ultraviolet light. By plugging it in and turning a knob, within a few minutes the mercury filled light bulb would heat up, vaporize the mercury and generate ultraviolet light. Some of the ailments that the Sun-Kraft was thought to improve were: ...acne, eczema, healthier head and hair, produce a good amount of vitamin D to insure the sturdy growth of children and babies, arthritis, cuts, athlete’s foot, ringworms and the list goes on. The Sun-Kraft lamp did not last too long since its invention in the early 1940s because the FDA declared it a misleading and misbranded item that was not capable of producing the benefits or results stated and implied. Getting your daily dosage of vitamin D is recommended, however, do not forget to wear sunscreen and try not to use any quack medicine devices, such as this one (see photos). Make sure to check out MOAH's collection of quack medicine devices at http://www.moah.org/searchCollection.html. See more

On November 6, 1919, the world’s first scheduled radio broadcast services known as PCGG began in Rotterdam, Netherlands. By the 1920s, half of urban families owned a radio and more than six million stations had been built. In the 1940s, families were listening to their radios hourly. Entertainment like music and sporting events could now be heard by anyone with a radio and gave accessibility to those who could not afford to see live events. The radio greatly impacted African ...Americans by giving access to entertainment that they were barred from seeing in person due to segregation laws. In the late 1940s, 94 percent of African American homes had at least one radio set, where families would listen to popular broadcasters such as Hal Jackson, who is known as the first African American announcer on network radio, as well as the 1940s radio series called Destination Freedom, which aired on a local Chicago NBC station. Destination Freedom was created by Richard Durham who wanted to create a narrative of African American history and bring to light African American poets, journalist, and labor organizers. Not only did radio shows such as Jackson’s and Durham’s provide political and social arguments and narratives, the radio also played an essential role in the Civil Rights Movement, where disc jockeys would relay information through radios on where roadblocks were, where the next boycott was taking place, and in protecting African Americans from misleading propaganda. Presently in 2020, we see the importance and influence of social media, radio, and television in relaying information on how to support one another. It is important to MOAH that our museum continues to show and connect the evolution, influence, and relevance of historic innovations to the technologies and society of the past and present. Check out our collection of radios at http://www.moah.org/searchCollection.html Pictures below: Harlem residents in front of a shop listening to the radio, 1930s (Photo: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture) and Hal Jackson.