#Blog365 #MuseumMonday Ephemera

Ephemera - paper items (such as posters, tickets and broadsides)  that were originally intended to be discarded after use but have since become collectibles.

I love ephemera!  I have to admit, that it was only in the last 10 years that I truly knew the definition. Since I was a kid, I have saved my ephemera.  I still have my original entry ticket to Disneyland in 1982 (it was a whole lot cheaper then).

Ephemera is an important part of a museum collection.  This last weekend, my husband and I visited Elvis Presley's Graceland in Memphis, TN.  After touring Graceland itself, we went back across the street to see the rest of the exhibits.  

I am working with my students regularly on museum vocabulary, including the word ephemera.  As developing readers, ephemera can host an incredible bit of information in one little place.  I loved looking at these tickets in the collection and gathering valuable information.

Question: Are you introducing your students to ephemera?  All kinds of information can be hiding in a really small space!