BERLIN – The Calvin B. Taylor House Museum will kick off its 2023 season next week on International Museum Day.
On Thursday, May 18, the museum on Main Street in Berlin will once again welcome visitors in to tour the historic home. With new exhibits and updated displays, museum officials are hopeful both new and repeat guests will stop by the facility this year.
“We’re really striving to tell the stories of Berlin,” said Melissa Reid, president of the museum.
As it has in recent years, the museum will kick off its season on International Museum Day with refreshments for guests as well as a membership drive. Memberships, which are $20 for individuals and $30 for families, help fund the museum’s efforts to share Berlin history. The museum also offers a variety of sponsorship opportunities.
“The money goes right back into telling the stories of Berlin,” Reid said.
Those who visit the museum this year will be able to view its new exhibit on Calvin B. Taylor. Though the facility is named after the renowned figure from Berlin’s history, this is the first time there’s been an entire exhibit dedicated to Taylor. Reid said the new display was, appropriately, in the same room as the Rev. Dr. Charles Albert Tindley exhibit.
“Calvin B. Taylor and Rev. Tindley were contemporaries,” she said. “They knew each other.”
Another change visitors will notice this year is the layout of the main bedroom upstairs. It has been reconfigured to reflect the way the room would have actually been used in the 1830s.
“It’s a more realistic setup,” Reid said.
One of the biggest changes at the museum this year, however, doesn’t relate to one exhibit but rather all of them. Museum staff and volunteers spent the offseason developing a self-guided tour booklet, complete with QR codes that provide links to audio, so that visitors who’d rather tour the museum at their own pace can do so.
“There will still be a docent but if people would rather explore at their own pace there’s a book,” Reid said. “We wanted to give people different options on how to explore the museum.”
Along with its historic exhibits, the museum will once again host various events throughout the year. The first of its Concerts on the Lawn” series will take place June 11, when the High and Wides will perform at 6 p.m.
For a full listing of museum events or information on how to become a member, visit taylorhousemuseum.org.
