Berkshire Museum To Host Smithsonian Spark!Lab

By Joe DurwinPittsfield Correspondent
09:23AM / Tuesday, July 22, 2014Print Story | Email Story

Berkshire Museum is partnering with the Smithsonian Institute to host a Spark!Lab installation for two years.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — This fall, the Berkshire Museum will become one of only five sites in the United States to host a new kind of innovative science learning exhibit developed by the Smithsonian Institute.

Spark!Lab, a new multistation "creative laboratory," will open on an ongoing basis at the museum beginning in October, featuring 10 activities in which children and families can work together to solve practical problems using provided materials and tools.

"It's completely interactive, it's completely innovative, it's all about STEM," said Lesley Beck, director of communications. "It's just the sort of thing people are looking to do as a family activity now."

"Invention is a process, from creative ideas all the way to successful marketing," according to program's Web page as part of the Smithsonian Institute's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the National Museum of American History. "Spark!Lab uses fun activities to help kids and families learn about the history and process of invention. You can play games, conduct science experiments, explore inventors’ notebooks, and even invent."

Museum staff say the new Spark!Lab, which will be installed for at least two years, will make a good complement to the Feigenbaum Hall of Innovation on the other side of the first floor. The new project is also supported in part by the Feigenbaum Foundation, as well as the Pittsfield Rotary Foundation, and other museum donors.

"It will be a standalone space in the very first gallery," Beck explained, replacing the current Dinosaur Dig station, which has become outdated. "That's being taken away, and there will be a whole new structure built in there."

In the Spark!Lab exhibit, visitors can try their hand at various challenges: experiment with architectural challenges, design a new kind of vehicle, create soundscapes, or invent a measuring tool.

"Bringing Spark!Lab to the Berkshire Museum directly aligns with our mission to bring people together for experiences that spark creativity and innovative thinking," William M. Hines Jr., president of the board of trustees said in a statement. "Coupled with the Feigenbaum Hall of Innovation and the SABIC Innovation Studio, Spark!Lab will strengthen the Museum’s reputation as a center for creativity and innovation in the Berkshires."

"Spark!Lab is a learning lab and while our visitors learn, we do, too," according to museum Executive Director Van Shields. "Spark!Lab will be an opportunity to work with the Smithsonian's Lemelson Center team to build a new level of expertise in developing experiences for all segments of our audience."

The Pittsfield museum is part of the first crop of off-site partners the Smithsonian is working with to grow a national network of Spark!Labs, based on the success of its prototype in Washington, D.C., which debuted in 2008.

"Here we are, Berkshire Museum here in Pittsfield, Mass., having these tremendous connections with the Smithsonian," said Beck. "Our affiliation is really blooming into a really strong relationship.

The space the Spark!Lab will occupy is being designed by architects Tessa Kelly and Chris Parkinson of CPTK Architects, both Berkshire natives with a focus on educational and cultural projects.

"I'm hoping that people are starting to think of the Berkshire Museum as maybe a little more cutting edge than maybe they used to think," Beck said.

Tags: Berkshire Museum, children activities, smithsonian, STEM,

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Possible Measles Exposure at Boston, Logan

12:05PM / Wednesday, December 24, 2025

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Public Health confirmed Wednesday that an out-of-state adult visitor who spent time in Boston and Westborough earlier this month was diagnosed with measles and was present in a number of locations.

This could have resulted in other people being exposed to measles virus.

The visitor arrived at Logan International Airport on American Airlines flight 2384 from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, on Dec. 11 at 2:39 p.m. They stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Boston-Westborough in Westborough and departed the state on Dec. 12 via Logan at 9:19 p.m. on JetBlue flight 117 to Las Vegas.

DPH is working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local partners to identify and notify those who may have been exposed to measles from this individual.

"Measles is a highly contagious, airborne disease, which has increased significantly in the United States because of the unfortunate decrease in vaccination rates. It is also a preventable disease," said Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein. "This current situation serves as an important reminder of the critical role vaccination plays in protecting our communities. While Massachusetts has not had a measles case this year, 2025 saw the highest number of nationwide cases in more than a decade — nearly 2,000 in 44 jurisdictions, and sadly, three deaths.

"Fifteen years ago, measles had been considered eliminated in the United States, but that tremendous progress is at risk. Vaccines are one of the most important public health interventions ever — they are safe, effective, and lifesaving."

Measles is very contagious. However, the risk to most people in Massachusetts is low because the vaccination rate in the state is high. People who are not immune and visited any of the locations on the following dates and times may be at risk for developing measles.

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