Previous Exhibitions

Exhibitions are created annually by Cal Sate East Bay students in the Museum of Anthropology's gallery in Meiklejohn Hall. Below is a list of our past exhibitions. For some exhibitions the museum's ongoing Virtual Museum project has allowed us to re-imagine the experience of visiting the gallery for our online visitors.

 

Selected Earlier Exhibits
2002

And Down She Went: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Subterranean San Francisco But Were Afraid to Ask

This exhibition presented the story of the Rome, a Gold Rush era ship, discovered by archaeologists in 1994 forty feet beneath the San Francisco Embarcadero.

2001

Not Just Another Pretty Face: The Facts Behind the Artifacts

This exhibition highlighted the contrast between the museum's most aesthetic, "pretty face" objects with the hundreds of broken and seemingly boring archaeological fragments that are stored behind the scenes. There is great public demand to frequently display the "pretty face" objects, yet ironically it is the broken fragments of stone and bone that have provided the most valuable cultural stories.

1999

Stone, Bones, Tales and Tongues: Discovering Anthropology

By means of artifacts, dioramas and computer interactive displays this exhibition presented examples of the four sub-fields of anthropology: archeology, biological anthropology, linguistics, and socio-cultural anthropology.

1998

Golden Dreams and Tarnished Realities: The California Gold Rush (1848-1855)

This exhibition commemorated the 150th Anniversary of the California Gold Rush with displays of photographs, artifacts, and dioramas that highlighted a most remarkable moment in California history and the impact it had on the state.

  • Exhibit: February 27 through June 12,1998
1997

Gifts of the Kachina: Art of the Hopi

This exhibition celebrated the Hopi Kachina ceremonial cycle through exhibition of 47 kachina dolls and other Southwestern artifacts from the Museum's own collections.

1996

Potions, Poisons and Elixirs: The Rush for 19th Century Bottled Gold

1995

Images of West Africa

1995

The Spirit of Thunder Mountain: The Krone Philippine Collection

1995

Magic, Myth, and Legend of Borneo: A Platinum and Palladium Photo Portfolio

1994

Visions of Gum San: 150 Years of Chinese Experience in the San Francisco Bay Area

This exhibition chronicled the contributions of the Chinese to the Bay Area from the time of Gold Rush, through the Chinese Exclusion Act, and up until the present.

1993

Many Faces, Many Roots: Celebrating the Cultural Diversity of Cal State Hayward

Through family memorabilia, genealogical materials, migration maps, family stories, and computer animations, this exhibition showcased the tremendous diversity of Cal State's own student body and the complex migration histories, which have led students to the university.

  • Exhibit: April 23 through November 15, 1993
1992

The Ohlone Indians of the Bay Area: A Continuing Tradition

  • Exhibit: Spring through Fall 1992
1991

 The Philippine Story: Kahapon, Ngqyon at Bukas (Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow)

  • Exhibit: Winter through Fall 1991
1991

Culture and Ecology of the Indonesian Rain Forest

  • Exhibit: Fall 1991
1990

 California Indian Shamanism

  • Exhibit: Winter through Fall 1990
1989

Bones of Contentions: Controversies in Human Evolution

  • Exhibit: Winter through Spring 1989
1988

Western Pueblo Art and Architecture

  • Exhibit: Spring 1988
1987

Seasons of the Kachina (virtual tour)

1986

Mesas in the Bay

1984 to 1985

Give Peace A Chance - A Vision Of Peace Through Young People's Art

In 1984, Give Peace A Chance - A Vision Of Peace Through Young People's Art was conceived and organized by Dottie McElhiney. It showcased over 300 works of art by local Bay Area K-12 age school children who created images of their vision of peace.

1975

Inaugural Exhibitions

  • Plains Indians Exhibit (Winter 1975)
  • Portuguese-American Cultural Week (Spring 1975)
  • Eskimo Exhibit