When established in 1941, the Museum was the first children's museum in Texas and one of the first children's museums in the nation.
LIBRARY AND RESEARCH
The library and archives at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History provide research materials for museum staff and visiting scholars, especially collections-related research carried out by the curatorial staff of the museum in the work of cataloging History artifacts and Science specimens. Such research into the composition and manufacture of specimens and artifacts is critical in identifying the best conditions for storage and display. Additionally, the library and archives support the exploration of the history of artifacts, and of the contexts within which they have had meaning -- in the past and today.
The William Green Memorial Library houses over 6,000 volumes, reflecting and illuminating the museum’s artifact collections in history and science. Highlights include a Texas and Fort Worth history section; a large collection of Pre-Columbian materials collected by former Curator Aubyn Kendall author of The Art and Archeology of pre-Columbian Middle American: an annotated bibliography of works in English; astronomical books from the collection of Miss Charlie Mary Noble, the namesake of the Noble Planetarium; books on the natural history of Texas and the southwest; oral histories “Fort Worth Remembers,” in partnership with Fort Worth Community cable and a Museum studies section. The museum's archives, including the Stock Show archives, may be accessed by appointment. To make arrangements, call 817-255-9305, or by e-mail to chardman@fwmsh.org
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The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History Institutional Archives is the official repository for records of the Museum and the gateway to its past, tracing the history of the Museum from its planning in 1939 by members of the Fort Worth Council of Administrative Women in Education to the present. The archives consist of exhibit files, posters, videos, photographs and miscellaneous ephemera.
The Archives of the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, known locally as the “Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo,” consist of 50-plus linear feet of news-clipping scrapbooks starting in 1939, rodeo programs, rodeo badges, posters and photographs. The Stock Show archives are available to scholars and researchers by appointment only. Requests for copies of materials are jointly reviewed by the Museum and the Stock Show. To learn more about the Stock Show visit their web site at www.fwstockshowrodeo.com.
The Major General William Jenkins Worth Archives consists of six document boxes of materials on the namesake of our city collected and donated by local Worth scholar Bill Turner. Highlights include sheet music of the “General Worth March” and an account of the erection of the Worth monument in New York City.
The Scott and Stuart Gentling Archives, acquired in 1989, comprise materials related to the creation of their Of Birds and Texas book and paintings. The Museum is proud to have the 42 original paintings in our collection.
