Conference Announcement THOMAS A. EDISON SESQUICENTENNIAL CONFERENCE "INTERPRETING EDISON" June 25-27, 1997 In recognition of the 150th anniversary of Thomas A. Edison's birth, the National Park Service, Organization of American Historians and New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance are pleased to announce a three-day conference, "Interpreting Edison." This conference, which will be held June 25-27, 1997 at Rutgers University-Newark and the Edison National Historic Site, will examine the interpretation of Edison's life and work in academic scholarship, at museums and historic sites, and in the classroom. Scholars from the United States, Canada and Europe will present new research on Edison's role as inventor, business leader and cultural figure. Representatives from five major U.S. Edison-related sites will discuss their interpretative and museum management programs. There will also be a series of sessions designed to help teachers integrate Edison-related themes into the history curriculum. In the opening session, distinguished historians Ruth S. Cowan, David Nye, Thomas Schlereth, John M. Staudenmeier and Alan Trachtenberg will offer their insights on Edison's place in American history. Other highlights of the conference include a virtual tour of Edison's reconstructed Menlo Park Laboratory at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan; lunch on the grounds of Edison's estate, Glenmont; and a demonstration of the Library of Congress early motion picture webpage. Edison descendant and University of New Haven professor David Edison Sloane will speak about the Edison family at the conference banquet. For more information about the conference, or registration details, please contact: Leonard DeGraaf Edison National Historic Site Main Street and Lakeside Avenue West Orange, New Jersey 07052 201-736-0550, ext. 22 Internet: [log in to unmask]