Portals Events and Happenings - Providence Public Library

10 Great Time Travel Stories: Part I

Time travel has intrigued people for as long as, well, time. There are no hard and fast rules, but for over a hundred years writers have given us their take on how it works. Time travel allows us to imagine what it would be like to experience other worlds and consider what we would do …

What Is Modern? When Was Modern?

László Moholy-Nagy, cover for Qualitat photo review, 1926 Joost Schmidt, poster for a Bauhaus exhibition, 1923 Our exhibit, Portals, has prompted the following question about time and history in our reference department: in the area of art and architecture, what is modern? The time period, work, or event which first defined the modern in art …

Providence 2050: Raymond Two Hawks Watson

As part of our Providence 2050: Visualize Tomorrow project, community activist Raymond Two Hawks Watson imagines how Rhode Island could become a future destination for cultural tourism.

LISTEN TO SOUNDS OF THE FUTURE FROM 1969!

Listen to what forward-thinking 1960s computer scientists created when people were first beginning to consider music created by, or with, computers. These selections come from original compositions distributed on acetate records (33-1/3 RPM) as part of the groundbreaking 1969 book “Music By Computers” by Heinz von Foerster and James W. Beauchamp. This was most likely …

Rising sea levels, Hurricanes and Universal basic income, Oh My!

What will Providence be like in 35 years? Will we finally be driving flying cars by then? Will the Bank of America building have a tenant? Will people still be complaining about the lack of parking downcity? Quite possibly these questions, and many more deeper ones, will be discussed at the launch celebration of the …

Portals takes the cake!

Portals takes the cake at Providence’s First Gallery Night Of the 2016 Season. Special thanks to Rebecca Gilles from Gold Sugar Bakery for this incredible edible!

From Funerals to Pillar Candles

Erica Burke from Burke & Hare Co. came in recently to do research for her upcoming limited edition pillar candles. We pulled a wide variety of illustrated items for her to take a look at because you never know what somebody will be inspired by! Items included Rhode Island business advertisements, a 19th century periodical …

Lighting the Way

Are these men about to get sucked into Portals?! In fact, these illustrations are depicting the variety of lighthouse lanterns in use at the turn of the century. They were published in Scientific American Supplement, No. 1032 published on October 12, 1895. If you were sailing out on a dark sea, the shining light from …

Build a car with duct tape, Popsicle sticks, and paperclips!

On Sunday we held the final of our three part series, “junk drawer robotics”. Participants built cars using ordinary household items like craft sticks, duct tape, paper clips, and a small hobby motor powered with a AA battery. They were free to design it themselves and then race it around the room and even down …

Junk Drawer Robotics Creates Friction!

This Sunday learners of all ages made robotics their Valentine! Participants experimented with friction on a variety of surfaces and objects to make smooth slides and sleds. The Junk Drawer Robotics Series is several workshops throughout Portals led by James McHenry, a student at Cranston West High School in the Robotics program, who has built …