National Museum of Industrial History

Community Appreciation Day
2019-05-25 06:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York)
Join NMIH for a fun-filled Community Appreciation Day brought to you by Moravian Village of Bethlehem. Guests can enjoy free admission, youth coloring activities, and raffle prizes throughout the day. Additionally, the following activities are scheduled during the day and are free admission:
• Special screening of ‘Men At Lunch’ documentary at 10:30am
• Special screening of ‘Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter’ documentary at 1:30pm
•$5 guided tours at 2pm
Sponsored by:

The Unique Birth of Martin Tower
2019-05-11 10:00 - 11:00
NMIH is excited to host Gordon Baker, a retired licensed professional engineer and Civil Engineering graduate from Lehigh University has a unique history with Martin Tower. Assigned to Bethlehem Steel’s Fabricated Steel Construction (FSC) division, a sector of the company known throughout the industry as the place to go for major steel structures, he helped develop and implement a computerized system that produced shop drawings needed to fabricate building beams and columns.
This system was used for the first time on the development of Martin Tower at Bethlehem Steel’s Leetsdale facility, where Mr. Baker trained draftsmen in the use of the new program. Although cumbersome using 1960s technology, the numerically controlled program allowed for the computerization of equipment that punched holes in steel beams and burned shapes into plates. Later in the development of Martin Tower Mr. Baker supervised the fabrication of the beams and columns as an Assistant Superintendent at the Leetsdale fabrication shop.
This event is free with regular museum admission.

First Friday and 'Building an Icon' Slideshow
2019-05-03 12:00 - 16:00
The National Museum of Industrial History will celebrate First Friday with the SouthSide Arts District by offering reduced $5 admission from 4pm to 8pm and a special slideshow (free to the public without museum admission) with hundreds of rare photos from the construction and subsequent years of Martin Tower titled “Building an Icon.”
Celebrating nearly 50 years since its inception, and before its implosion on May 19th, the images trace the tower’s history from its groundbreaking in 1969 through its operational days as Bethlehem Steel’s headquarters. The photos, pulled and scanned from the museum’s archives, are being seen for the first time in decades.

Triumph and Tragedy: Building the Transcontinental Railroad
2019-04-28 10:00 - 13:00
NMIH commemorates the 150th anniversary of the ‘Golden Spike,’ the final spike joining the rails of the First Transcontinental Railroad across the United States. Guest speaker Ron Luckock will tell the tragic and triumphant stories behind the workers who toiled to build the railroad and showcase a 100lb G-scale model of the famous ‘Big Boy’ locomotive used by Union Pacific that stretches almost five feet long.

Visitors will then have the unique opportunity to carpool to Mr. Luckock’s house, which houses an astonishing 4500 sq. ft. O-scale train exhibit featuring over 600 scratch built models depicting the forks of the Delaware River where five railroads, three canals, and two rivers met and interchanged.

Ron Luckock served as an Air Force combat photographer and attended Santa Barbara City College and the Brooks Institute, earning a B.A. in Photographic Arts. He later worked as a machine operator at Ingersoll Rand in Phillipsburg, NJ until his retirement in 2000. His passion for railroads and trains is a life-long pursuit, with his Lehigh River Valley setup taking 40 years to complete.

This special presentation and tour is $5 in addition to regular museum admission.

SouthSide Community Day
2019-04-27 06:00 - 13:00
Join us on Saturday, April 27th for free museum admission, youth coloring activities, and a day of fun during the 13th Annual Cops ‘n’ Kids Lehigh Valley Celebration of Reading and the Arts & Sciences and SouthSide Arts District‘s Spring on the SouthSide.
This special event is sponsored by:

Music at the Museum: Songs from the Golden Age of Radio
2019-04-06 14:00 - 16:30
The medium of commercial broadcast radio grew into the fabric of daily life in the United States in the 1930s and 40s, providing news and entertainment to a country struggling with economic depression and war. The National Museum of Industrial History is bringing music to the museum with a memorable evening featuring songs from the Golden Age of radio and tours of the 2019 Signature Exhibit “Don’t Touch That Dial: 100 Years of Radio”. Guests will enjoy performances by the Corinne Mammana Quartet and a chance to explore the museum with expert guides. Light appetizers & non-alcoholic beverages will be served. All attendees receive one complimentary alcoholic beverage. Cash bar available on site.
All proceeds benefit the Museum’s ongoing educational programs and exhibits and the care and preservation of its unique collections. Tickets are $25 for NMIH members and $30 for the general public. Ticket includes 1 drink ticket, light appetizers & non-alcoholic beverages, museum admission and musical performance.
With a sophisticated and soothing style, Corinne Mammana is an American jazz singer, songwriter, arranger, recording artist and bandleader. She is praised by JazzTimes for her “superb technique.” Her debut EP ‘Under an August Moon’ celebrates the Great American Songbook via a four-song collection of jazz standards from the 40s and 50s, as well as contemporary songs.
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