Not just a friend of the Los Altos History Museum, Jane Reed has been an inspiring leader, enthusiastic volunteer, and passionate, creative force in many ways for many years. Jane Reed received the 2020 Historic Preservation Award August 25, with a proclamation presented by Jan Pepper, Mayor of Los Altos, and on behalf of the entire Los Altos City Council. We…
“Los Altos Celebrates 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage” is the title of a series of programs sponsored by the City of Los Altos, Los Altos History Museum, Los Altos Library, Los Altos Youth Commission, Los Altos Women’s Caucus and Santa Clara County. The public is invited to attend events in person or virtually. “The Los Altos Women’s Caucus called together all these…
On February 13, 2020, I started my first day as Office Administrator of the Los Altos History Museum. When I arrived, I was greeted by Executive Director, Elisabeth Ward, who showed me to my workstation with a bounce in her step. Initially, I shared a desk with an office temp who was filling in until a permanent employee was hired….
Museums, especially cultural and historic museums, are fundamentally about identity. The Los Altos History Museum gathers and presents artifacts and stories about our community in order to build an understanding of who we are and the choices we have made during our lives. Right now, museums across the country are being challenged to examine the choices they make about how…
In January, the Los Altos History Museum’s Executive Director, Dr. Elisabeth Ward, envisioned a real live apricot tree growing next to the newly installed sign in the Museum’s agricultural exhibit area. The sign tells the story of the Blenheim apricots in the nearby Los Altos Community Orchard, originally planted around 1905 by our Los Altos orchardist, J. Gilbert Smith. Fortunately…
At the foundation of every museum is a collection. Different types of museums are distinguished based on what it is they collect and preserve: art museums collect and preserve art, whereas natural history museums collect and preserve natural specimens. The Los Altos History Museum is a history museum, which means we collect things related to the history of our area….
