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The dedication of the Edward and Virginia Taylor Science Center was a joyful celebration of the Taylors’ generosity coupled with recognition of Hamilton’s commitment to science education and liberal arts values. The naming ceremony, a highlight of the college’s bicentennial kickoff weekend, was held in the center’s atrium on Friday, Sept. 23.

Bicentennial Colleges and tours continued on Saturday of Kickoff Weekend. Faculty authors read from their works; Professors Douglas Ambrose and Robert Martin discussed the life and legacy of Alexander Hamilton; and Professor Rick Werner talked ab out the idea of happiness as put forth in the Declaration of Independence.

“Glorious.” “What an unforgettable weekend.” “An incredible gathering.” In this gallery, photos from the Bicentennial Kickoff Weekend attempt to convey all that words can’t.

Among the Bicentennial Kickoff celebration weekend activities were more than 30 Bicentennial colleges and tours. Besides several dedicated to the life and times of Alexander Hamilton, these lectures and historical tours covered topics ranging from the Archaeology of Hamilton College to Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.  Student writers attended the Colleges throughout the weekend to provide a glimpse of the range of topics covered.  Following are synopses of a few that took place on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 22 and 23.

Encouraging students to live and work with passion has been a theme of the Career Center this year. The five panelists of the Careers in Entrepreneurship event on Thursday, Sept. 22, epitomize careers based on a balance of passion and smart decision-making. These alumni shared their experiences and advice in a panel discussion sponsored by the Career Center.

Hands on Hamilton History will debut on Thursday, Sept. 22, with an exhibit related to Samuel Kirkland.  Each month, Hands on Hamilton History will feature a small group of documents, artifacts and visual materials relating to a specific period in the history of the College. A brief discussion of these materials will take place at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Patricia Pogue Couper Research Room, third floor Burke Library.

A time capsule buried by Hamilton’s class of 1871 was opened at the Emerson Gallery on Sept. 15. The event was in conjunction with the Gallery’s new exhibit, Time Capsules and Cornerstones: 200 years of Collective Memory at Hamilton.

Members of the Archaeology of Hamilton’s Founding course led by Assistant Professor of Anthropology Nathan Goodale, uncovered a second engraved stone less than two weeks after beginning their excavation of a site off College Hill Rd. on Sept 1. “Built to commemorate the dawn of the 20th century and the fiftieth anniversary" is its inscription. Who created and sited this marker is a mystery.

Two hundred years of learning is undoubtedly cause for celebration. Yet the charter that Hamilton received in 1812 merely continued a quest for knowledge that had begun two decades earlier with Samuel Kirkland and his Hamilton-Oneida Academy, a secondary school that focused on educating local Iroquois youth. Like so much at Hamilton, the Academy began with a piece of writing: Kirkland’s 1791 “Plan of Education for the Indians,” a 15-page document in which Kirkland outlined his ideas for the new school.

The Emerson Gallery will present two exhibitions in conjunction with the college’s bicentennial celebration. The exhibitions will commemorate its cultural history while providing a view toward the future with objects from various campus collections and archives.  Time Capsules and Cornerstones: 200 Years of Collective Memory at Hamilton and  Learning to Look: Hamilton's Cabinets, Galleries and Museums Past, Present and Future  will be on view Sept. 15 – Dec. 16. The exhibitions and related programs are free and open to the public.