Upcoming Special Exhibits

Scrap Yard: Innovators of Recycling
October 8, 2021 – January 30, 2022

This exhibit tells the important role that people, many of them Jewish immigrants, had in creating the scrap industry. It also tells the story of how almost everything that becomes worn, useless, or obsolete can be changed into something useful again. Through hands-on activities, visitors will experience the sights and sounds of one of America’s largest industries, its innovative technology, and the stories of the immigrant families that built it.

Historical ties to Jewish Immigration to the United States 1880s-1930s, economic challenges faced by Jewish immigrants in America and Jewish innovators and entrepreneurs explore the large and vital role Jews played in the onset, growth and progression of the Scrap business. It frames these topics within the larger American and global Scrap industry and contemporary Green movements. Through interactive displays, scientific experiments, photographs, artifacts and personal stories, this exhibit traces the beginnings and evolution of this essential industry while demonstrating bridges to contemporary technology, environmental concerns and sustainability and highlighting connections to fundamental Jewish values.

Scrap Yard: Innovators of Recycling was created by Jewish Museum of Maryland at the Herbert Bearman Campus in Baltimore, Maryland.