Vintage postcards at USA museum

Alabama native Wade Hall spent a half-century in Kentucky but in his heart he never left home. The teacher, writer and folklorist amassed a collection of nearly 400 vintage souvenir postcards depicting various Alabama sights — such as Birmingham’s Vulcan and Mobile’s Bellingrath Gardens — from previous centuries.

Since Hall’s 2015 death, the collection has been the joint property of two state colleges. Troy University has developed a pair of traveling exhibits based on the postcards that will appear at the University of South Alabama Archaeology Museum (6052 USA Drive, S.) through July 24.

One exhibit focuses on “main” streets in Alabama towns and cities. The other concentrates on historical buildings, including courthouses, post offices, schools and churches. Most of the postcards range from the early 1900s to the 1960s. 

Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, call 251-460-6106.

History museum launches Fun Fridays
On select Fridays through July, the History Museum of Mobile (111 S. Royal St.) will offer fun educational activities for children ages 5-10. Each session costs $5 per person and includes museum admission. Reservations are recommended as class sizes are limited for each one-hour time slot.

The June 30 Fun Friday 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. sessions will show participants the “Faces of Africa” exhibit, where kids can learn about African masks. The group will then make their own masks based on ideas and themes from the ceremonial garb they viewed.

Participants are welcome to tour the museum afterward. For more information, call 251-301-0270.

Fill the day with MMoA
Duck out of the heat and rain by spending Thursday, June 29, at the Mobile Museum of Art (4850 Museum Drive). The price is perfect, with free admission on Thursdays.

At 3 p.m. the movie “Surviving Picasso” will be shown, the latest in MMoA’s summer film series. The flick starring Anthony Hopkins, Natascha McElhone and Julianne Moore covers the tale of Francoise Gilot, the only one of Picasso’s lovers with the strength to stand up against his notorious cruelty.

This movie is rated R for nudity and dialogue. Attendees must be 16 or accompanied by an adult.

At 6 p.m. Richard McCabe, curator of photography at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, will discuss photography and its application by Alabama artists. McCabe curated MMoA’s Contemporary Alabama Photography exhibit on display through Aug. 27.

For more information, call 251-208-5200.