A new exhibit in Bracken library, “Under the Big Top: The Circus in Muncie and Indiana,” features a variety of circus acts through history.
Through Sept. 27, anyone can come and see the circus collection in Archives and Special Collections on the second floor of Bracken Library.
The exhibit features different types of circuses and performers, including The De Long Sisters, who performed in 1937 for a crowd that included Adolf Hitler, Francesco Lentini, who had an extra leg growing out of his hip, and the Mills Bros Circus of 1953.
John Straw, assistant dean for digital initiatives and special collections, said 90 percent of “Under the Big Top” is based on a collection by Fred Graham, from the international Hall of Fame.
There is a display dedicated to Graham, which has his book, “Wait for the Muncie Boys,” and his ledger where he documented circuses and performers, said archives specialist Neal Coil.
“I hope [students] would gain an appreciation of Muncie’s history,” Coil said. “A large a goal of ours is to present a side of Muncie that people do not know about.”
Paisley Hansen, a sophomore animation major, was one of two students who worked with Coil over the summer to put up the exhibit as a research project.
“I think the exhibit is a great way to draw attention and realize that archives are here, wealth of information right at our disposal," Hansen said.
This summer Paisley said she learned that “a lot of performers actually care about animals.”
She said she hopes students walk away with an interest after seeing the exhibit as she did.
