SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) — With roots stretching back more than a century, local treasures take center stage as America celebrates its 250th birthday.

In Scranton, the Everhart Museum offers a journey where art and history come alive, captivating visitors from across the globe.

Everhart Museum CEO Tim Holmes reflected on how it all started, and Curator James Lansing detailed how the museum’s collection has been built piece by piece.

“Everhart Museum has been here for 118 years. Back in 1908, Doctor Isaiah Everhart created this magnificent structure to be kind of a gem here in Northeast Pennsylvania. Not long after the incorporation of Scranton itself. He is one of the early founders of our community. And he felt it was important to see a museum that exists right here in this town, right inside this beautiful park, Nay Aug Park,” said Holmes.

“A lot of them are donations, and then there’s some purchases. But the major collections here, the foundations of those are donations and partial purchases,” said Lansing.

As we move through each floor of the museum, Lansing offered a closer look at the captivating exhibits and hidden gems on display.

“On the bottom floor, we have the Works on Paper Gallery. On the first floor, everyone loves the dinosaur, and we have the bird room, which is a staple and the foundation of the whole museum. We also have Miniature Memories, which is the Don Clark train setup that has been around Scranton, and many different places. One of the jewels of the museum, the Folk Art Gallery, so that is on the first floor. The second floor we have Dorflinger Glass. And right now, we have NASA, The Office, and the Scholastic High School Art Show, which we do every year in conjunction with the county,” said Lansing.

Though each piece holds significance, the Everharts’ prized Dorflinger Glass—its oldest collection from the 1820s and ’30s—remains a highlight, joined by other crowd favorites that attract visitors.

“The folks from Dorflinger helped us put this whole exhibit together. And it includes Abraham Lincoln state service wear. So, if you’re talking about Americana, we’ve got it right here,” said Holmes.

“The Hubble Space Telescope that we have has been a huge hit. We just brought it in last month, literally the first week of January. It took a lot of doing to get the thing into this 118-year-old building. But it’s spectacular. It’s been touring the country for 20 years. And the fact that they chose Scranton as one of its stops is really exciting. And so, we’re happy to have that here,” said Holmes.

“The Office Exhibit we opened late October, early November, it was something that we’ve been planning for about a year or so, not long after I had started,” said Holmes.

Those at Everhart said the museum is drawing international attention.

“It is drawing people from around the world. It’s really cool. We had a guy from Australia here last Wednesday. But certainly, the UK, Poland, Brazil, Israel,” said Holmes.

“There was a girl from Israel that made her mother bring her and said, ‘if you’re going to go to Scranton, you have to take me to The Office Exhibit,’” said Lansing.

“And the cool thing with all these people come from all around the world, and it’s not hundreds, it’s dozens of people. But they really feel draw and they’re coming here anyways because of their love for the show. But while they’re here, they’re able to see the really cool things that we have on display here,” said Holmes.

Ahead of America’s 250th anniversary, Holmes said the Everhart is developing new attractions for visitors to keep an eye on.

“With America’s 250th, I think folks will be excited to know that we will have this summer exhibits. And James is working on that right now. We’re working with the local historical society. We’re all trying to create a little something that we can all kind of do to recognize America 250. And so, we have some really cool ideas for that,” said Holmes.

The Everhart Museum is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To learn more about the Everhart Museum, as well as its galleries and exhibitions, click here.