New England Quilt Museum facts for kids
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| Established | June 1987 |
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| Location | Lowell, Massachusetts |
| Type | Art museum |
| Key holdings | Late 18th century to contemporary art quilts |
| Collections | Textile arts |
| Collection size | 500 |
| Visitors | 6,000 / year |
| Public transit access | Lowell MBTA Station |
| Nearest parking | National Historic Park lot (no charge) |
The New England Quilt Museum is a special place in Lowell, Massachusetts. It opened in 1987. This museum is the only one in the Northeastern United States completely focused on the art of quilting. Quilting is a craft where you sew layers of fabric together. It's also the second-oldest quilt museum in the entire country! Here, you can see amazing quilt exhibits. They have a library, a gift shop, and classrooms too. The museum has many beautiful quilts from the 1800s. Most of these quilts come from the New England area.
History of the Museum
The New England Quilt Museum first opened its doors in 1987. It was started by people who loved making quilts. From the very beginning, the museum has shown all kinds of quilts. This includes both traditional and modern art quilts. They also offer classes on different ways to work with fabric.
In 1994, the museum moved to a new home. Their old building had a flood. The new space is in a historic building called the Lowell Institute for Savings. This new location gave the museum much more room. They now have more space for exhibits and storing their collection. There are also bigger classrooms and a larger gift shop. The museum is close to the Lowell National Historical Park. This park teaches about Lowell's important role in the 1800s textile industry. It also highlights the Industrial Revolution in the United States.
Fun Activities and Programs
In the year 2000, the museum started the Lowell Quilt Festival. This festival grew to include many partners across the city. A famous quilt show called IMAGES was also part of the festival. This show started in 1983. Quilts from all over the United States and Canada were entered. The Lowell Quilt Festival was held for the last time in 2014.
MassQuilts is a group of volunteers. They work to record the history of quilts in Massachusetts. They hold meetings at the museum every month. This group started in 1994. So far, they have documented over 8,000 quilts! MassQuilts also creates traveling shows. They have made exhibits for the museum. They even wrote a book called Massachusetts Quilts, Our Common Wealth. This book shares the history of quilts from Massachusetts.
See also
