Curated by staff at the Putnam Museum
Our blog features stories about our history, collections, exhibits, recent discoveries, and more! Keep up to date on breaking stories by following us on social media or signing up for our e-newsletter.

The Capital Campaign
A Reimagined Putnam! The Putnam: Reimagined Capital Campaign is a multi-year construction and revitalization project that will touch nearly every area of the museum. The project includes a refresh of the front exterior of the building, a re-imagined Grand Lobby, and a revitalized home for the Science Center & Education…

Pyramids of Giza and The Sphinx (Part 3)
Arrival at the Pyramids You’ve probably heard about it before from other travelers – the high-pressure salesmen, the scammers, the crowds that pepper the site of the pyramids and Sphinx. What you’ve heard is true, but easily managed. On our way to the Giza pyramids, Ahmed warned us not to…
An Interview with our new President
Welcome to our new President and CEO! In this interview with our new President and CEO, Cindy Diehl Yang, we sat down to ask the important questions, now that she’s settled into her new role here at the Putnam Museum and Science Center. You can watch the video here. Getting…
The Serapeum and Red Pyramid (Part 2)
The Sakkara Funerary Complex is known for the Step Pyramid of Djoser. Yet there are many more funerary sites spread across the area – many of them non-human! Included in these sites are catacombs of dogs, cats, baboons…
Egypt Travel Log (Part I)
I remember over a year ago when Onnica Marquez, Archivist and Assistant Professor at St. Ambrose University (and former archivist at the Putnam Museum) sat down to lunch at a local restaurant with me and the two Putnam curators following her first visit to Egypt. She…
Magic Mirror
For over 100 years the Putnam has had a magic mirror sitting in collections and did not know. This is a two sided bronze mirror from Japan that was purchased by Charles A. Ficke in 1904-5 and subsequently donated to the museum.
When light is shone onto this seemingly…