Events: In-Person Event

Latino History from Lancaster County to the Smithsonian

  • January 29, 2026
  • Tec Centro, 57 Laurel Str., Lancaster, PA
  • 5:30pm Reception | 6pm Panel
  • FREE | Registration Required

From food, sports, and the arts to business, politics, and education, Latinos have influenced every aspect of life in America and in Lancaster County. In Washington, D.C., the Smithsonian Institution is working to build a new museum, the National Museum of the American Latino (NMAL), to honor this history. On Thursday, January 29th, LancasterHistory will host curators from NMAL to share information about their museum alongside the work of local scholars and community groups who have been serving the Latino community and preserving its history locally for many years. In this panel discussion, we will explore the contributions of Latinos to the history and culture of Lancaster County and discuss the importance of including Latino history in museums and historical narratives.

The panel will feature Amanda Elena Brito and Robin Morey of the National Museum of the American Latino, Dr. Ivette Guzman-Zavala and Dr. John Hinshaw of Lebanon Valley College, and Ramona Rivera Navedo of Lancaster County. The panel will be in English and Spanish. 

This panel is presented in collaboration with:  

  • SACA is a community organization that uplifts and restores marginalized communities through human, economic, and social services, while supporting cultural identities. 
  • Crispus Attucks Community Center’s Young Professionals of Color Network is a free member collective where young BIPOC professionals can network and engage in conversation on social and civic issues.
  • Mennonite Life shares items and stories featuring the diverse lived experiences and faith values of Lancaster Mennonites and interrelated communities. Mennonite Life stewards a research library, permanent museum collection, and family friendly experiences at the 1719 Museum and Biblical Tabernacle Experience.
  • The National Museum of the American Latino is part of the Smithsonian Institution. The museum honors the dreams, challenges, and triumphs of U.S. Latinos, elevating those stories within the nation’s narrative.

Information & Registration

The panel will begin at 6pm and will be preceded by a reception at 5:30pm at Tec Centro, 57 Laurel St, Lancaster, PA. Parking is available in a large lot at the facility. In case of bad weather, the panel will be conducted virtually. This program is free and open to the public, but does require registration to guarantee space. To register, please click here or call 717.392.4633, ext. 100 to register over the phone.

Featured image photographs of Ramona Navedo’s paternal grandfather (left) and her maternal grandmother (right). Photos courtesy of Ramona Rivera Navedo. 

Featured Event In-Person Event Off-Site Event Panel

Wonderful Woodpeckers

Image of a man with light skin wearing a green shirt and outdoor hat. On right, image of a hairy woodpecker eating a suet log.
Dan Hinnebusch (left) and a hairy woodpecker (right). Photos courtesy of Dan Hinnebusch.

Join the Friends of the Tanger Arboretum to kick off the 2026 Nature Series with a presentation on “Wonderful Woodpeckers”! Dan Hinnebusch, ornithologist for Wild Birds Unlimited, will discuss these feathery friends, their habitats, and how you can attract woodpeckers to your backyard.

Dan Hinnebusch is the Area Manager and store Ornithologist for Wild Birds Unlimited in Lancaster, Mechanicsburg, and York. His passion for birds is built on more than three decades of recreational birding experience and a strong interest in the natural world. Hinnebusch has more than ten years of experience as a professional wildlife biologist and environmental scientist, including four years with Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Kempton, PA. Currently, Hinnebusch teaches classes about birds and ecology for Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and Cedar Crest College.

HOW TO REGISTER
The event, “Wonderful Woodpeckers” will take place on Saturday, January 24 at 10am at the LancasterHistory Museum & Research Center. The event is open to the public. Tickets are $10/Adults (18+) and Free for Children 17 and Under (must be accompanied by an adult). Friends of the Tanger Arboretum members receive complimentary admission, but should still register for the program. Tickets may be purchased online or by calling 717.392.4633. Advance tickets recommended as walk-in tickets are not guaranteed.

PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE

Membership gets you more! Membership to the Friends of the Tanger Arboretum not only supports the care and conservation of this local natural resource, but also gets you great benefits such as complimentary admission to Nature Series programs! Learn more about membership and sign up today here.

The Friends of the Tanger Arboretum is a member of the American Horticultural Society Reciprocal Admission Program. AHS Reciprocal Admission Program members may register for tickets in advance and must show a valid membership card upon checking in. AHS Members should contact Emily Miller, emily.miller@lancasterhistory.org, with any questions or to register for tickets in advance.

This event is hosted by the Friends of the Tanger Arboretum. The Friends of the Tanger Arboretum, a subsidiary organization of LancasterHistory, helps foster public interest in, and support for, the maintenance and development of the Tanger Arboretum as a community asset. To learn more about the Arboretum or to become a member, please visit the Arboretum’s webpage.

 

The 2026 Friends of the Tanger Arboretum Nature Series is sponsored by Pine Brook Farm, Inc. and Ever Green Tree & Lawn Care.
Their support enables us to offer these programs for the community and free tickets for children! Thank you for your generosity!

Family-Friendly In-Person Event Nature Series Program

January 24, 2026 LancasterHistory Museum & Research Center, 230 N. President Ave., Lancaster 10-11am $10/Adults (18+) | FREE for Children | FREE for Tanger Members
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Lydia Hamilton Smith and the World of Entrepreneurial Black Women in the Nation’s Capital

Lydia Hamilton Smith lived a remarkable life as the confidante of Thaddeus Stevens, but also as an accomplished woman in the years following his death. While many know Smith in relation to Stevens, she carefully crafted a life shaped by hard work, dignity, and egalitarian values. An astute businesswoman and an important figure in social circles in both Gettysburg and Washington, D.C. this talk will explore how Lydia Hamilton Smith figured among the circles of Black entrepreneurs in the nation’s capital.

A young woman with long black hair and brown skin in a white button down shirt.
Tamika Nunley

Dr. Tamika Nunley is the Research Professor of History at Duke University. Along with articles, essays, and reviews, she is the author of At the Threshold of Liberty: Women, Slavery, and Shifting Identities in Washington, D.C. which received the Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Award, the Pauli Murray Book Prize, and the Mary Kelley Book Prize. Her article, “Thrice Condemned’: Enslaved Women, Violence, and the Practice of Leniency in Antebellum Courts,” received the Letitia Woods Brown prize for best article in African American Women’s History and the Anne Braden Prize for best article in Southern Women’s History. Nunley recently released her new book, The Demands of Justice: Enslaved Women, Capital Crime and Clemency in Early Virginia with the University of North Carolina Press. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, NewsOne, Smithsonian Magazine, Ms. Magazine, and Fortune Magazine. In 2023, the Librarian of Congress named her the Cary and Ann Maguire Chair in Ethics and American history.

Information & Registration

The lecture, “Lydia Hamilton Smith and the World of Entrepreneurial Black Women in the Nation’s Capital,” will take place on Thursday, February 5, 2026 at the LancasterHistory Museum & Research Center, 230 N. President Ave., Lancaster. A reception will precede the lecture at 5pm, followed by the main event at 5:30pm. The lecture will be available via livestream, but will not be available publicly after the event concludes.

This event is free and open to the public, but requires registration to guarantee a seat. Select your registration option below, or call 717.392.4633 to register over the phone. An email is required to receive the link to the livestream on Zoom.

ATTEND IN PERSON

ATTEND ONLINE

Online/Virtual Event In-Person Event Lecture Reception

February 5, 2026 LancasterHistory Museum & Research Center, 230 N. President Ave., Lancaster 5pm Reception | 5:30pm Lecture FREE | Registration Required