Basketmakers create giant outdoor basket at museum

Celebrate spring and basketry at the Nevada State Museum from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday. Visitors can partake in two great programs.

Watch the Great Basin Basketmakers as they demonstrate Weaving with Natural Materials in the new Dema Guinn Concourse, and then participate as they build a giant outdoor basket in Loftin Park.

Inside the concourse, members of the guild demonstrate a variety of basket making techniques, including twining, coiling and plaiting using natural materials such as willow, iris leaves, daylily leaves, tule and pine needles.

Betty Hulse and other guild members invite the public to participate in creating a large community basket outside the museum. All ages and cultures are encouraged to take part in this fun, family activity.

The programs complement the exhibit Interwoven 2010: Visions of the Great Basin Basketmakers, on display in the Dema Guinn Concourse and North Changing Gallery through July 24.

Interwoven 2010 represents the finest in both contemporary and traditional basketry, including innovative woven sculptures of natural and man-made materials.

Regular admission fees apply. For more information, contact Deborah Stevenson, Curator of Education, at dstevenson@

nevadaculture.org or 775-687-4810 ext. 237.

The focus of the Great Basin Basketmakers is to make baskets, to learn everything possible about the tradition and techniques of basketry, and to pass this knowledge along to others. A wide variety of programs complement the exhibit, including demonstrations, lectures, and workshops integrating traditional styles with imaginative new forms. Basket demonstrations are free with regular admission; workshops require an additional fee.

Due to mandatory state budget restrictions, the museum is closed Sunday-Tuesday, and open from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday. Please enter through the Dema Guinn Concourse. Located at 600 N. Carson St., admission is $8 adults; free for children 17 and younger and museum members.

For information, call 775-687-4810.