Leila's Hair Museum facts for kids
Leila's Hair Museum is a unique museum located in Independence, Missouri. It shows off amazing examples of hairwork, which is art made from human hair. Some of these pieces are very old, going back to the 1700s!
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What is Hair Art?
Hair art, or hairwork, is a special kind of art that became popular a long time ago, especially during the Victorian era (from about 1837 to 1901). Before cameras were common, people used hair art to remember loved ones.
How Hair Art Was Made
Artists would collect hair from family or friends. They would then carefully shape it into beautiful designs, often like flowers. These hair flowers were then placed in a special frame called a shadow box. Sometimes, these hair wreaths were made to remember someone who had passed away.
Besides wreaths, hair was also used to make jewelry. You could find necklaces, bracelets, rings, and lockets that had strands of hair woven into them. Even paintings and medallions were sometimes decorated with hair.
The Museum's Story
Leila Cohoon, a retired teacher, loved collecting hair art. She started her collection in 1956. She found hair to be one of the most interesting parts of the human body.
Opening the Museum
By 1990, Leila had so much hair art that it filled her home! So, she decided to open a museum. It started in a small room at the Independence School of Cosmetology, a school she had started in 1960. Later, the museum moved to a bigger place. This new spot has many rooms, and the walls are covered from top to bottom with amazing hair art.
Visiting the Museum Today
The museum was closed for a while during the COVID-19 pandemic. But it reopened in the fall of 2023! Now, if you want to visit, you need to make an appointment by sending an email.
The Amazing Collection
Leila’s Hair Museum has a huge collection. It includes more than 700 hair wreaths and over 2,000 pieces of hair jewelry. Many of these items are from before the year 1900.
Special Hair Art Pieces
Some interesting pieces include a framed collection of hair from every member of a group called the League of Women Voters. There are also two frames with hair from sisters who both joined a convent. The oldest item in the museum is a brooch from 1680!
Hair from Famous People
While Leila Cohoon's main goal is to save hair art, the museum also has hair from famous people. You can see hair from Michael Jackson there. This even led to the museum being mentioned in a Jeopardy! question on December 30, 2016!
Other famous people whose hair is in the museum include:
- Elvis Presley
- George Washington
- Abraham Lincoln
- Daniel Webster
- Aaron Burr
- Marilyn Monroe
- Singer Jenny Lind
- Abolitionist John Brown
