Browse Exhibits (29 total)

In 1986, the University Libraries at Virginia Tech established the AAAE as one of the core collecting areas for Special Collections and University Archives. Its purpose is to preserve and provide access to published and unpublished materials that document American aeronautical and space history, as well as related sciences. The AAAE includes books, articles, notes, photographs, reminiscences, memorabilia, oral histories, patents, drawings, and schematics. Current holdings comprise more than three dozen collections of papers from pilots, astronauts, physicists, chemists, engineers, NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) administrators and project managers, writers, illustrators, and researchers in industry and academia.

In this exhibit, you will find a selection of materials from just eight of these collections, providing a small glimpse into the many materials available for research. The collections on display were selected for their unique perspectives on the subject. From artists to news technicians to the founder of astrodynamics, you will find many interesting documents, illustrations and photographs to start your journey of discovery into American space and aviation history.

This exhibit was created as part of the project, "Piercing the Veil: Creating Access to the Archives of American Aerospace Exploration at Virginia Tech," funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) from 2022 to 2024.

Following the events of April 16, 2007, Virginia Tech received thousands of handmade and heartfelt items to express condolences, thoughts and prayers of healing and support, and solace for the Hokie Community. This exhibit, "Handmade and Heartfelt: Selections from the April 16, 2007 Condolence Archives," highlights just a few of the collected items that were made by hand to share the hearts of the world with the Hokie Community.

Many of the handwritten recipe books (also called receipt books) in the archives also contain home remedies alongside their cookery recipes. They tend to be entered in no particular order, so the at-home cures for illness are written alongside recipes for pound cake and head soup. Not only are there remedies for human illnesses and complaints, but these books also contain home remedies for animals and for the home itself. 

Web exhibit version of the 1994 "Pre-World War II Thanksgiving at V.P.I." publication by Col. Harry D. Temple. This publication was produced for the Friends of the Virginia Tech Libraries and was re-created as a digital exhibit in the mid-1990s. 

Please note: This exhibit was migrated to Omeka in 2022 from its previous iteration as a web exhibit, first published in 1994. Some images may be of low or limited quality, as they were captured from the previous exhibit and not re-scanned. For the most part, the migrated exhibit has been re-created as close to the original form as Omeka allows. Titles were created for booklet pages, based on the textual content, to enhance navigation.

Created for the 15th annual remembrance commemoration in 2022, "The Words of Children" exhibit features over 150 items sent to the university from children all over the world following the events of April 16th. Items are selected from the April 16, 2007, Condolence Archives, held by VT Special Collections and University Archives. This digital exhibit also includes the memories of those affected by April 16th collected in the April 16, 2007, Oral History Collection. Exhibits are supported by Special Collections and University Archives and the University Libraries.

This exhibit contains a selection of materials from the M. Rupert Cutler Papers, chosen to illustrate the impact that Dr. Cutler has had on the environment, his community, and the world. The exhibit demonstrates that, in large ways and small, we can all make improvements to our lives and the lives of others through dedication, initiative, and a willingness to serve. 

This exhibit was created as part of the project, "This Land is Your Land: Creating Access to the M. Rupert Cutler Papers," funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) from 2020 to 2021.

Starting as a humble log cabin in 1801, Solitude grew to become the home of two Virginia governors, and the home of Robert Preston, who sold the property in 1872 to provide land for the new Virginia land grant college, Virginia Agriculture and Mechanical College, later to be known as Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. It is Virginia Tech's oldest structure, the "homeplace" of the University. Because of its rich historical and architectural heritage, Solitude was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and named a Virginia Historic Landmark in 1989.

An online exhibit on the history of Solitude was originally developed in early 2000. The archived version of the original exhibit is available online here. In 2020, it was migrated to a new platform/format and it was updated to include additional images and new information about digital items already included. The updated exhibit also features a page of additional resources located in Special Collections and University Archives and/or online about the building, its history, and the Preston family.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Virginia Tech has had a rich history of international students from its beginnings as Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (VAMC). James Dunsmuir from British Columbia, Canada enrolled in the college in 1874 just two years after VAMC opened in 1872. The timeline, "First International Students at Virginia: By Year" includes the first and early international students from 1874 through the early 1960s.

The map, "First International Students at Virginia Tech: By Country," gives an listing of countries and the names and years of attendance of the first and early students from a particular country.    

Help us build the timeline. The University Archives is eager to learn more about the first and early students at Virginia Tech. If you have more information about these students, have noticed that a particular student’s name is missing, or can contribute to our knowledge of students not listed who were the firsts from a particular country, please contact Special Collections and University Archives at specref@vt.edu. We would gratefully receive biographical information, documents, and memorabilia that would help us learn more about these pioneering students at Virginia Tech.

Image from the 1951 Bugle (yearbook)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This exhibit contains a selection of materials from the Fries Textile Mill Records, Ms1989-039, chosen to demonstrate the history of the mill, and its inextricable links to the community surrounding it. Fries was very much a company town, as can be seen in the variety of images, legal records, and community records they held.

What is most remarkable is not that these materials were created, nor even that someone decided that they were important enough to keep. What truly sets the exhibited pieces apart is that the mill administration was the body doing the collecting, and that the company deemed all of the documents here worthy of preservation. Keep that in mind as you peruse the exhibit.

This exhibit was created as part of the project, "They're Closing Down the Textile Mill: Creating Access to the Fries Textile Plant Records," funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) from 2018 to 2019.

This exhibit was created as part of the Denim Day 40th Anniversary commemorative events in 2019.

This collection includes three memoir volumes and three diaries written by John Henning Woods, a Southern Unionist, Confederate conscript, and eventual Union soldier during the American Civil War. While the collection spans the period of years from 1856 through 1873, the majority of the collection focuses on the years during the Civil War.

In honor of Women's History Month 2016, Special Collections created this exhibit of selected items which highlight the contributions and significance of women in a variety of subject areas: local history, architecture, science and technology, Virginia Tech history, literature, and more!

Beginning in fall 2014, faculty and students in the Virginia Tech History Department, University Libraries’ Special Collections, and campus partners including HokiePRIDE, the LGBT Faculty/Staff Caucus, and the Ex Lapide Society (the LGBTQA alumni network at VT) began collecting oral histories to document the history of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer life in the 20th century American South and specifically at Virginia Tech. In addition to collecting oral histories, the project aims to build an archival collection of materials such as correspondence, photographs, publications, reminiscences, and ephemera that will help document LGBTQ+ life at Virginia Tech and in the American South.

Vintage postcards of Southwest Virginia from the Appalachian Collection at VT University Libraries Special Collections.