My Day Exploring the Cummings Center for the History of Psychology

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Mission
The mission of the Cummings Center for the History of Psychology is to promote the history of psychology and related human sciences to the broadest community possible. The Cummings Center acquires, preserves, and provides access to primary sources that support the complete historical record of psychology and related human sciences.

In order to meet its mission, the Cummings Center aspires to:

• Collect, preserve, and provide access to the historical record of psychology and related human sciences
• Generate awareness and understanding of the history of psychology and related human sciences
• Support research and examination of contemporary issues through historical analysis
• Offer education, in the form of lectures, films, workshops, conferences, and exhibits that promote understanding of the human experience
• Promote the care of archival materials and special collections.

I am so glad that I finally toured The National Museum of Psychology on Wednesday, March 20, 2024!!

I think I first learned about The National Museum of Psychology about five years ago. I must have learned about the museum from shared social media announcements when they completed their 2019 building renovations -- see the Cummings Center for the History of Psychology's (CCHP) history web page. At that time, I immediately said to myself that I must go to explore this museum, but my visit to the museum kept getting delayed. I had earned a double major as a college undergraduate in psychology and history, with my psychology major being what I considered my primary emphasis, so I was excited to know there was a nationally recognized museum focused on my area of my interest so close to home.

As I was writing this blog post, I found this January 9, 2019, official University of Akron YouTube video about "the newly opened National Museum of Psychology" that confirms my recollection of its opening date being five years ago:

 

On Friday, August 26, 2022, I did visit the 2022 FRONT International installation at The National Museum of Psychology (see my Twitter photos in my blog post), but I did not have time to see the permanent museum exhibits.

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On Sunday, February 18, 2024, after talking with CCHP staff at their booth at the 2024 Akron Lunar New Year Celebration (see blog post), I finally set a date to tour The National Museum of Psychology on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. They even gave me coupon for 50% off the admission price.

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Wednesday, March 20, 2024 - First Stop of the Day: House Three Thirty

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During the Sunday, February 18, 2024, Year of the Dragon Lunar New Year Celebration at Akron Civic Theatre, I also talked to a representative of House Three Thirty (see my blog post for more details).

Since The National Museum of Psychology does not open until 1:00 pm on Wednesdays, I first stopped to see the LeBron James Family Foundation's House Three Thirty facility - very impressive. It has a cabaret, museum, coffee shop, taco restaurant, sweet shop, bank, and more. This was my first time visiting. I wanted to share my photos so that others learn about this new community resource:

I recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.

 

 

Wednesday, March 20, 2024 - Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology (CCHP)

The National Museum of Psychology is within the Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology (CCHP), which is located at The University of Akron.

In addition to The National Museum of Psychology, I also visited the Institute for Human Science and Culture (IHSC), which is on the 3rd and 4th floors of the Cummings Center.

The Archives of the History of American Psychology (AHAP) is also available for researchers by appointment only on the second floor of the center's five story building. Here is information about the AHAP:

Established in 1965, the Archives of the History of American Psychology (AHAP) is the world’s largest repository of manuscripts, books, media, and artifacts relevant to the history of psychology and related human sciences. AHAP now joins the National Museum of Psychology, founded in 2010, and the Institute for Human Science and Culture, founded in 2018, as part of the Drs. Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings Center for the History of Psychology.

The AHAP collections document the history of psychology in all of its forms, tracing it from the laboratory rooms of the late nineteenth century to hospitals, schools, and businesses throughout the twentieth century and into the new millennium.

If, like me, your visit to the psychology museum and IHSC gets delayed, know that the CCHP also has an Online Exhibits section of their website.

 

 

The National Museum of Psychology

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What makes us human? The National Museum of Psychology invites visitors to explore the history of our attempts to understand the human experience. Highlights include interactive exhibits on memory, intelligence, and personality; home movies of Sigmund Freud; a Nobel Prize; the simulated shock generator from Stanley Milgram's obedience studies, and; artifacts from the Stanford Prison Experiment.

The Museum features permanent and rotating exhibits on the history of psychology as a profession, a science, and an agent of social change. Visitors of all ages can explore how psychology has become a part of popular culture and everyday life.

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As I went through The National Museum of Psychology, I enjoyed that fact that most of the areas of the museum mirrored classes I remembered as a psychology major -- psychopharmacology, industrial-organizational psychology, cognitive psychology, child development, and abnormal psychology. The first section of the museum presented the history of how treatment has changed over the decades. There is also a section about animal language learning that explores research done with chimpanzees being taught to communicate verbally with humans.

I was interested in learning some history regarding how immigration tests were used to deport some people who wanted to come to the United States of America:

"In 1912, Goddard took the test to Ellis Island, where officials used it to screen out "mental defectives" among the 5,000 immigrants seeking entry into the U.S. every day. Congress had passed laws barring the feebleminded from entering the country. Questions from the Binet-Simon test were combined with puzzle tests that did not require knowledge of the English language. Approximately 88 of every 100,000 immigrants were deported because they were deemed feebleminded. Goddard, like many scholars of the time, held anti-immigration sentiments, promoting eugenics and arguing for the need to maintain the "purity" of the American gene pool."

The authority and obedience areas in the museum presented a very dark side of humans which I had never directly studied, but was certainly aware of, since I had read accounts of these psychology experiments. I have always found this area of study terrifying.

Currently, there are two temporary exhibits in the rotating galleries:

• Beyond the Picket Fence: The Places & Spaces We Call Home (See more details below about how I was invited to join a special exhibition tour with the CCHP assistant director.)

• "Suffered As Women Do”: Gender and Treatment in U.S. Asylums

I want to thank CCHP Manager of Special Collections Rhonda Rinehart, MLIS, who stopped to sit with me in the museum to talk about the exhibits and answer my questions. She had noticed that I spent the whole day enjoying the psychology museum and the IHSC, and took time to meet with me.

Please take time to stop the following video to read the information provided in The National Museum of Psychology's exhibits:

I recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to read the interesting facts that are in the slides!!

 

 

Institute for Human Science and Culture (IHSC)

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The Institute for Human Science and Culture (IHSC) is a hands-on humanities center on the corner of campus and community.

The mission of the IHSC is to promote the exploration and appreciation of the widespread human experience, both local and global, through the activation of museum collections. The IHSC enriches The University of Akron student experience with arts and culture activities, speakers, exhibitions, and programs, facilitating engagement and connections among UA departments to discover new and creative ways to nurture learning. We connect UA and Akron communities to learn from each other through arts and culture, expertise and experience, and hands-on teaching and learning.
br In addition to collections storage facilities and classrooms, the IHSC is home to the Oak Native American Gallery (currently closed for research) and Lynn Rodeman Metzger Galleries, as well as a library containing the David P. Campbell Postcard Collection, open to the public.

I recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to read the interesting facts that are in the slides!!

I met a student who was working at the Institute for Human Science and Culture (IHSC) who was setting up some of the galleries for new, incoming artwork. I will need to come back when all the galleries are filled with artwork. She also showed me the IHSC's David P. Campbell Postcard Collection. I let her know that I was aware of the postcard collection, since in the past, I had shared some of IHSC social media tweets about the postcards.

The student worker told me that she is in The University of Akron's Museums and Archives Studies Certificate program -- it sounded very interesting. See the IHSC's Certificate Programs on the Institute's web page for more details.

I saw these two current exhibits at the Institute for Human Science and Culture (IHSC):

• O-bit-u-ary by Peter Jones.

  “To date, 5800 Native women have been found murdered or are missing from our communities across the United States and Canada and no one has been held accountable. O-bit-u-ary is an exhibition that brings this horrific reality to the forefront of public awareness.”
  
  Peter B. Jones is a renowned potter and sculptor who resides on the Allegany Territory of the Seneca Nation of Indians. . . .
  
  . . .
  
  Locally, Jones is known for his bronze-cast Native American man portaging a canoe, located on the corner of Merriman Road and North Portage Path, and more recently, by his “River Trade” sculpture, a public artwork depicting what the Cuyahoga River meant to the Indigenous Peoples of the area, commissioned by Cuyahoga Falls and funded in part through the National Endowment for the Arts' Our Town initiative.
  
  This exhibit is part of the North American First Peoples Day event series organized by the Portage Path Collaborative.

• Sexology: Science & Sensationalism

  From 1933 to 1983, Sexology magazine brought news and information about sexuality and sex research to the American public. Sitting at a crossroads between sex education and sensationalist tabloid, the magazine covered a wide range of topics such as relationships, reproductive health, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex work, and sexually transmitted diseases. With over 80 original magazines on display, Sexology: Science & Sensationalism explores the contradictions and curiosities of Sexology magazine by examining its coverage of key topics that remain deeply relevant in 21st century society.

The Cummings Center for the History of Psychology (CCHP) has a YouTube Channel which includes the following panel discussion about the Sexology magazine exhibition. The moderator for the panel discussion was Education and Outreach Coordinator Tony Pankuch, MLIS, who I was able to talk to about their work when I visited CCHP:

 

When looking at the "Sexology Pioneers" display at the Sexology: Science & Sensationalism exhibition, I saw information about German physician Magnus Hirschfeld. I told the student worker at the IHSC that I had heard of Dr. Hirschfeld from the writing of Brandy Schillace, Ph.D.. I know Dr. Schillace from attending talks she has done in the past, and often reading interesting information she shares on social media. You can watch for her upcoming book about Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute for Sexual Research based in Berlin, Germany, and learn about her other books on her website: BrandySchillace.com/Books As background for her future book, please read Dr. Schillace's Scientific American article:

• The Forgotten History of the World's First Trans Clinic
  The Institute for Sexual Research in Berlin would be a century old if it hadn’t fallen victim to Nazi ideology
  Published May 10, 2021 by Brandy Schillace on Scientific American
  "Brandy Schillace is editor in chief of BMJ's Medical Humanities journal and author of the recently released book Mr. Humble and Doctor Butcher, a biography of Robert White, who aimed to transplant the human soul."

. . . Brandy’s next nonfiction book, THE INTERMEDIARIES, will tell the forgotten, daring history of the interwar Institute of Sexology in Berlin: trans activists, the first gender affirming surgeries, and the fight for LGBTQ rights in the shadow of the Nazi Third Reich. Rebels against empires, it’s a heart-stopping story of courage in the face of long odds.

 

 

Beyond the Picket Fence: Guided Exhibit Tour and Summit County Children Services Information Session

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March 20, 2024, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM. . . .

Join Summit County Children Services and the Cummings Center for free food, free admission to the National Museum of Psychology, and a guided tour through the Beyond the Picket Fence exhibit, which explores the concept of home in all its definitions! The tour will be followed by an information session with Summit County Children's Services, offering a chance to learn about internships, jobs, and more opportunities.

Limited space is available for this event and registration is required.

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“Home” is something we all know the meaning of – until we try to put it into words. Is home your house, your town, or your community? Is it defined by a physical location, by a feeling, or by the people around you? Can a person find a sense of home in the face of displacement, incarceration, institutionalization, or disaster? Can someone be unhoused, and still have a place they call home?

Beyond the Picket Fence: The Places & Spaces We Call Home explores the concept of home in all its definitions and asks us to consider the variety of elements that let us know when we have found home. From Lillian Gilbreth’s analysis of what makes a home efficient to David Boder’s interviews with people displaced from home, the exhibit brings together artifacts from the collections of the Archives of the History of American Psychology and the Institute for Human Science and Culture. Beyond the Picket Fence was researched and curated by volunteer intern, Kellyn Toombs.

I chose to visit the Cummings Center for the History of Psychology (CCHP) on a Wednesday, since it had longer hours (1:00 pm - 8:00 pm), and I could really take my time and see everything.

I was very fortunate to happen to pick a Wednesday (March 20, 2024) that the Summit County Children Services had arranged a special tour, pizza dinner, and informational session at the psychology museum, which they invited me to attend. I enjoyed hearing from the agency staff and from students benefiting from internship opportunities offered by this important agency.

Thank you to CCHP Assistant Director Jennifer Bazar, Ph.D., for the excellent tour of Beyond the Picket Fence: The Places & Spaces We Call Home. I highly recommend seeing this special exhibition located at The University of Akron. I also enjoyed talking to Dr. Bazar after the presentations about The National Museum of Psychology's galleries, and learning more about her work.

After the tour, Supervisor of Student/Intern Training Mallory McConnell, MSSA, LISW, and Supervisor of Summit County Training Kelly Aloisi, MSSA, LISW-S, led a discussion about career and internship opportunities at Summit County Children Services. It was great how they engaged current students and staff, who shared their stories with attendees inquiring about social work and other related positions at the agency.

If you know of anyone interested in this important work, please let them know that Summit County Children Services is hiring, and offering college internships. "The field placement program at Summit County Children Services (SCCS) is designed for both bachelor and master’s level social work students as well as bachelor level students in related fields."

I also learned that in addition to cash donations, Summit County Children Services is also able to accept in-kind donations of NEW ITEMS only: toys, diapers (sizes NB-6), baby wipes, cleaning supplies, children's clothing, duffle bags, and personal care items (full size bottles). The Summit County Children Services offers volunteer opportunities as well.

Here are my photos and videos from the Beyond the Picket Fence: Guided Exhibit Tour and Summit County Children Services Information Session. I want to thank all those pictured for the interesting and informative evening:

I recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to read the interesting facts that are in the slides!!

 

 

Related Blog Posts

I always like to end my blog posts with a list of related blog posts. I hope you take time to explore some of the following.

 

I have several blog posts tagged as dealing with the topic of "History."

 

Here are two blog posts about meeting CCHP staff, and seeing the 2022 FRONT International art installation at the National Museum of Psychology:

• Blog Date: February 27, 2024 - 2024 Cleveland and Akron Lunar New Year Celebrations: The Year Of The Dragon
  See the sections about meeting staff from the Cummings Center for the History of Psychology and learning about House Three Thirty.

• Blog Date: January 22, 2023 - Belated New Year Thank Yous & 2022 Reflections
  See the section with embedded tweets with photos from my tour of FRONT International venues in Akron, which included the Psychology Museum.

 

If you are interested in things to do in the area near CCHP, see my blog posts tagged with "Akron."

 

I knew I would enjoy visiting CCHP, and I am glad I finally did visit after the long delay since I learned of it five years ago. Thank you to the CCHP staff for my visit. We are very fortunate to have this great resource in Northeast Ohio.