With more than 70 years of history, it’s no surprise that M-A’s campus holds a few relics of the past. From a real human skull to 1970’s sketchbooks, artifacts fill the halls and decorate M-A’s classrooms. Here are a few of the most fascinating finds on campus today.
AP Biology teacher Patrick Roisen began teaching at M-A in the late ’90s, but long before him came the disarticulated human skull waiting for him in classroom E-2.
On the bottom of the skull lies a green plaque labeled Carolina Supply Company, a supplier of science educational materials founded in 1927. Skulls such as this were often used in the 20th century for medical and dental students in need of specimens, and having one in the classroom was commonplace.
According to The Chicago Tribune, these human bones were largely sourced from India in the 20th century, when the government paid companies to pick up the remains of people who had died on the streets. The practice was banned in India in 1985, contributing to the decline of the market. Today, the skull isn’t actively used for teaching, and instead sits tucked away on a shelf in Roisen’s classroom—a quiet reminder of an older era of science education.
But scientific artifacts aren’t only found in the biology classroom—upon arriving at M-A, Stagecraft teacher Danette Bathauer Grinstead was greeted with a life-sized representation of fetal development tucked within an unassuming blue briefcase.
The kit features audio presentation and a physical model of the development of a fetus. It also contains a teacher’s guide of ‘Life Before Birth,’ dated 1972. Although not used for its original purpose or as a prop in the school play, the kit serves as a fun game of ‘What’s in the Box?’ for Bathauer and her students.
While scientific artifacts reveal curiosities about M-A’s classrooms, the art storage room holds its own relics. Among the dozens of charcoal pencils and dust-draped art boards are some decade-old sketchbooks, one of which may have belonged to Alice Brock: American artist, author, restaurateur, and inspiration behind Arlo Guthrie’s iconic 1967 song “Alice’s Restaurant.”
The inside cover of the sketchbook signed ‘Alice Brock’ looks remarkably similar to the artist’s legitimate signature, provided to the M-A Chronicle by her longtime friend, Dini Lamont.
The book contains various sketches of landscapes and portraits, as well as handwritten notes dated Jan. 21, 1978.
Alongside Brock’s, another sketchbook dating back to the 1960’s chronicles its owner’s travels through Asia and Europe, capturing the journey in both drawings and journal entries.
The 24-page sketchbook begins with pen drawings of the Huntington Museum and the Sheraton Hotel in Pasadena, California.
This is followed by journal entries and drawings depicting the author’s time dining at the International Hotel in Los Angeles.
The book continues with a detailed account of the author’s journey, from a pen drawn landscape of the Hong Kong Airport, to an in-depth narrative of their time at the Hertz Hotel in Germany.
Although it’s hard to say how these relics got there, they serve as a reminder of just how expansive M-A’s history truly is.
