What will you find when you go “behind the steam” with us at the Marshall Steam Museum? Join us every month for this new program as we take a close look at a special item in our collection and then zoom out for a larger discussion with experts and enthusiasts. Our collection goes beyond Stanley steam cars, so tune in every month to see what interesting items we uncover!

These reoccurring programs will be every third Thursday of the month and are currently virtual, so join us online or watch the recorded program afterwards.

Upcoming programs:
Behind the Steam: Model Trains, December 17 at 7 p.m.
 This topic features a toy that’s been on many a child’s wish list to Santa: trains! Using our founder Tom Marshall’s pre-war Standard Gauge Lionels as a jumping off point, enjoy a larger conversation about pre-war Lionel trains. This joint presentation is between a Marshall Steam Museum representative and Dennis Cannon, a local lifetime model train enthusiast and 50 year member of the Train Collector Association. Born on Christmas Eve, Dennis (in pre-pandemic times) opens his home to people to view his “Forever Christmas Eve” train layout to share his passion!

Behind the Steam: Cretors Popcorn Poppers, January 21 at 7 p.m.
If you’ve been to a Steamin’ Day at our site, you may remember the aroma and taste of steam-popped popcorn form our Cretors Steam Popcorn Popper. But, do you know the history of this unique concession machinery? Join a Marshall Steam Museum representative and Rob Verbsky, curator at the Owls Head Transportation Museum, as they compare and share about each museum’s Cretors Popcorn Popper. Their 1923 Cretors Popcorn Wagon was built on a 1922 Ford Model T!

Behind the Steam: Golden Age of Radio, February 18 at 7 p.m.
We will be taking a close look at our Westinghouse Radio and its connection to bringing radio into the mainstream. We’ll be joined by Donna Acerra, Professor of Communication at Northampton Community College. She was recently co-curator of “Don’t Touch that Dial: 100 Years of Radio” with the National Museum of Industrial History in Bethlehem, PA. Donna will use our radio as a jumping off to point to discuss the beginning of the “Golden Age of Radio”

Stay tuned for more events! This program runs the whole year and new topics will be released in early 2021.