Descriptive Entry

This accession consists of the records of Bernard S. Finn, Curator Emeritus of electricity collections, documenting exhibition planning, development, and production at the National Museum of American History. Earlier records date from when Finn was in the Division of Information Technology and Society; the Division of Electricity and Modern Physics; the National Museum of History and Technology, Division of Electricity and Nuclear Energy; the Museum of History and Technology, Division of Electricity; as well as predate the creation of the museum. Also represented in these records are curators David K. Allison, Arthur P. Molella, and Paul Forman; museum specialists Elliot N. Sivowitch and Ray A. Hutt; Robert D. Friedel, Historian; and Nance L. Briscoe, Collections Manager. Documented are the following exhibitions: Laser 10: The First Ten Years of Laser Technology; The Laser at 25; Fifty Years of Lasers; Information Age: People, Information and Technology; Edison: Lighting a Revolution; Lighting a Revolution; Edison After the Electric Light: The Challenge of Success; Person to Person; 1876 Centennial Exhibition; Edison and the Electrical Age: 100 Years; Underwater Web: Cabling the Seas; FDR: The Intimate Presidency; History as Seen from the National Museum of American History; Science in American Life; Beyond Vision; A Material World; Stalking the Elusive Computer Bug; and Nation of Nations

Materials include correspondence, memoranda, and notes; exhibition proposals; planning and design information; scripts; budget summaries, contractual agreements; meeting agendas and minutes; reports; press releases; educational program information; floor plans; photographs; brochures; visitor surveys; loan information; clippings; drawings; information about the Hall of Electricity; and supporting documentation.