Yale women alums in Connecticut love to hear from other Yale women alums! One of YaleWomen Connecticut’s signature events is the Museum Trail.  During the past few years, we have visited 10 museums around the state.  These are exclusive tours, led by Yale women alums. They offer unexpected, unusual, and rich insights into the exhibits. I am a regular at these events not only because of the opportunity to go to museums I might not otherwise visit, but also because of the opportunity to meet and talk with Yale College and Graduate & Professional School alums I probably would not otherwise meet and get to know.   

Yale College alum Elysa Engelman, PhD (’94 Berkeley), Director of Exhibits at Mystic Seaport: the Museum of America and the Sea is transforming the learning experience for Seaport visitors. This past July, Elysa took a group of alums, family, and friends on a journey of interpretation as she juxtaposed two very different exhibits. SeaChange, which is housed in a new showpiece building with dramatic architecture and natural materials (designed by Centerbrook Architects and Planners, the architectural firm that also designed Kroon Hall at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies), creatively speaks to the transformations and connections in technology and American maritime culture. The exhibit features seemingly unlikely artifacts through interpretive tools, including video, audio, photography, visual activities, and even smell (yes, guano!). We slowed the pace for a contrasting exploration of Rosenfeld: On Land and On Sea – A Century of Women – a “flat” exhibit of forty 20^th century black and white photographs.  Elysa’s curiosity about the different ways that people learn and engage, her interdisciplinary approach, and her enthusiasm for her work are infectious. 

During the past several years, I have participated in many YaleWomen Connecticut events, from the Museum Trail, to Curiosity and Conversation, to potluck dinners.  For me, the opportunity to come together with alums from throughout the state at these unique events is not only compelling, but it’s nearly irresistible!

To see if there is a chapter where you live or work, click here. To see the kinds of events chapters host, click here.   

Karen Warner ’06 PhD

(Photo: Elysa Engelman, PhD [’94 Berkeley]; courtesy of Mystic Seaport)