SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – For those who are history buffs, you might go to a museum to see ancient artifacts. Those artifacts of course are protected by glass, and typically untouchable.
However, what if there was a place you could hold those pieces in your hands?
Well, you can right on the sixth floor of Syracuse University’s infamous Bird Library. The Special Collections Research Center houses ancient scrolls, manuscripts, and books that date back as far as a thousand years old.
“You can’t touch a manuscript at a museum, but you can hear at Special Collections,” says art professor Michael Parks.
Parks spends hours at the facility, both teaching and for fun, in awe of the relics he’s able to see.
“To get up close and see the material is amazing. They’re typically locked behind a sheet of glass, especially since manuscripts are so fragile,” said Parks. “It really is just so special to be able to interact with them and engage with them in the same way that people from history were able to interact with it.”
This hidden gem on campus, not only shows university archives, but art from all over the world and different periods through history. The center allows people to engage with history in a way they might have not been able to anywhere else in the country.
