Museum Episodes

What did Beethoven's piano actually sound like? At the Catskill Mountain Foundation's Piano Performance Museum in Hunter, New York, you don't have to wonder — you can sit down and play one. Brett Barry visits the museum at the Doctorow Center for the Arts with performing arts director Pam Weisberg and docent Stacey Bowers, who guide him through dozens of historic instruments spanning three centuries — from a mid-18th century French harpsichord to a nine-foot Baldwin concert grand that once tr...

Did you know the Catskill region was once tropical—and south of the equator?! In this episode, Brett Barry visits the Gilboa Museum and Juried History Center to explore one of the oldest fossilized forests on Earth. Education Chair Kristen Wyckoff shares her decades-long passion for paleobotany, the story behind Gilboa’s world-famous Devonian tree stumps, and discoveries unearthed during the Schoharie Reservoir construction, dam restoration, and creek bed fossil hunts. From lungfish and sea s...

How does the botanical elegance of a 19th-century artist find new life in contemporary design? In this episode of Kaatscast: The Catskills Podcast, host Brett Barry follows the enduring influence of Emily Cole—daughter of Hudson River School painter Thomas Cole—whose delicate hand-painted ceramics helped define her artistic legacy. Cole was a founding member of the New York Society of Ceramic Arts in 1892, and she advocated for china painting to be recognized as fine art. Her floral porcelain...

Exploring Howes Cave: History, Tragedy, and Tourism Historian and author Dana Cudmore, a former tour guide and current chronicler of Howes Cave, Howe Caverns, and Schoharie County's "Cave Country," gives us a lay of the land and recalls the oft-repeated question, " Anybody ever die down here?" Cudmore recounts in his 2024 book, The Cave Electrician’s Widow: The Tragedy at Howe Caverns & Dramatic Courtroom Fight for Justice, the story of two Howe Caverns employees who tragically asphyxiated...

Just in time for Thanksgiving, Kaatscast visits the unique International Museum of Dinnerware Design in Kingston, New York. Founded by Margaret Carney in 2012, the museum recently found its new home, offering dedicated exhibitions that celebrate the art and history of dining. This episode highlights the museum's two inaugural exhibits, 'Dining Grails,' featuring renowned designers like Eva Zeisel; and 'Dining Memories,' showcasing a diverse array of dinnerware in nostalgic vignettes. And f...

On today's Kaatscast, we checked in with Bill Merchant, Deputy Director for Collections, historian, and curator at the D&H Canal museum, recently transplanted to the historic Depuy Canal House in High Falls, NY. Not every visit to the museum comes with Bill's VIP tour, so here's an opportunity to soak up his encyclopedic footnotes before embarking on your own to the D&H Canal Museum. Many thanks to this week's sponsors: ⁠Briars & Brambles Books⁠, ⁠The Mountain Eagle⁠, and the Central Catskills ...

In our last episode we took a ride on the old Ulster & Delaware rails with Rail Explorers, a pedal bike experience in Phoenicia, NY. This week, we're at the neighboring Empire State Railway Museum, at home in the historic 1899 Phoenicia train station since 1983, for a look back at Catskills railroad history. Curator Tom Comito tells us about the 1913 peak of travel on these tracks, restoration projects underway, and the museum's evolving relationship with rail tourists. Many thanks to our spo...

Hanford Mills Museum operates an authentic water- and steam-powered historic site, which includes a sawmill, gristmill, and woodworking shop. The mission of Hanford Mills Museum is to inspire audiences of all ages to explore connections among energy, technology, natural resources, and entrepreneurship in rural communities with a focus on sustainable choices. The museum is listed on the National and New York State Registers of Historic Places. We took a tour, and you can too! For scheduling an...