BUFFALO, N.Y. — We are celebrating the bicentennial, the 200th birthday, of Erie County in 2021.
Inside the Buffalo History Museum, formerly known as Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, there is a new exhibit detailing Erie County's journey through time. If there’s such thing as a greatest hits album for a museum, this is it. "Continuum," is a the new installation on the second floor, and according to Tony Greco, the director of exhibits, its designed both for the native and the newbie.
"I mean it's great for historians because you're gonna see a lot of objects that you otherwise wouldn't have seen, really one of the kind things maybe you didn't even know existed," Greco said. "But I think our goal was to get the novice historians and the people that are out of towners that people who really don't understand Western New York history, Erie County history, or haven’t been exposed to come in and say, 'wow, I didn't realize all this happened here. I can't believe that you have these items, and I want to bring my family and friends back to visit.'"
It’s set up chronologically, including items that existed way before Erie County did. Over 200 remarkable artifacts are at the museum — big and small. Some unique items include a Native American peace pipe used to promote harmony, and an assassin’s gun that tried to create anarchy.
The exhibit features great Western New York people and our greatest moments. Our innovation and our recreation are also celebrated here.
Bring your smartphone too, because the museum has found a way to be interactive and keeping people safe, too.
"There are nine interactive experiences throughout the exhibit," Greco said. "And wherever you see a sensor, you hold your device up to it. It's a way where we don't have to all touch you know, these touch screens and get our germs everywhere. It's a way to experience the exhibit in a new way and more personally."
The exhibit is meant for people of all ages.
For more information, click here.