Campus Spotlight

December 8, 2023

<p>The Athenaeum Games—a domestic science fair held Dec. 7 in the RIT Archives—showcased 19th century skills and technology that RIT students learned about in the class Hands on History: Examining RIT’s Domestic Science and Arts Program. During “Gizmo Bingo,” RIT student Gabriella Smith, right, called out the names of 19th century patented inventions, ranging from the whimsical to the weird. RIT librarian Adwoa Boateng, bottom left, listens to Smith describe the technology of the day.</p>

Photo by Traci Westcott

The Athenaeum Games—a domestic science fair held Dec. 7 in the RIT Archives—showcased 19th century skills and technology that RIT students learned about in the class Hands on History: Examining RIT’s Domestic Science and Arts Program. During “Gizmo Bingo,” RIT student Gabriella Smith, right, called out the names of 19th century patented inventions, ranging from the whimsical to the weird. RIT librarian Adwoa Boateng, bottom left, listens to Smith describe the technology of the day.

college student sitting at a table writing down in cursive in blue marker the names of students from 1893.

Photo by Traci Westcott

RIT students learned about the domestic science program that began in 1893 at the Mechanics Institute, a forerunner to RIT. They gave participants two minutes during the “Tiger Transcribe-a-thon” to decipher students’ names from the 1893 class ledger written in a florid cursive style.
two college students looking at photos from the 18 hundreds.

Photo by Traci Westcott

RIT museum studies major Morgan Woodard, right, curated an exhibit about the domestic science program using collections held by the RIT Archives.
a display of index cards with recipes typed on them and a pamphlet titled Mechanics Institute Circular of Information, 19 hundred to 19 O 1.

Photo by Traci Westcott

The exhibit included photographs, recipe cards, and a notebook kept by Mechanics Institute students enrolled in the sewing class.
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