PLEASE NOTE: This event is now sold out. An encore talk with Rick Beyer has been added on Friday, March 17 at noon. Please click here to register for Friday’s talk.

OVERFLOW SEATING:

Seating in the Theater is full for the talk. Overflow seating is in Founders’ Room or in the Nightingale Sky Room for a live simulcast of the talk.

In the summer of 1944, a handpicked group of GIs landed in France to conduct a secret mission. Armed with rubber tanks, fake artillery, and more than a few tricks up their sleeves, they put on a traveling road show of deception on the battlefields of Europe, with the German Army as their audience. From Normandy to the Rhine, the 1,100 men, known as the Ghost Army, conjured up phony convoys, phantom divisions, and make-believe headquarters to fool the enemy about the strength and location of American units. Unpack the secrets of the Ghost Army with author and filmmaker Rick Beyer followed by a Swinging Social with the Retro Radio Dolls.

* Doors open at 5:30 pm with cash bar

Join us for a film screening featuring the unforgettable voices of a diverse group of African American “Rosie the Riveters” who recount what life was really like during World War II. Fleeing lives as domestics and sharecroppers these remarkable women empowered themselves while serving the nation. These patriotic pioneers share their wartime memories, recounting their battles against racism at home, Nazism abroad, and sexism everywhere. They represent 600,000 women like themselves who overcame the Great Depression, Jim Crow, sexual degradation, and workplace discrimination to break gender and racial barriers. Learn more and view the trailer here.

Filmmaker and historian, Gregory S. Cooke joins virtually following the screening for a live audience discussion.

Billie Jean Guerrero, Director of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Museum and Visitor’s Center, shares history and cultural insights on Pyramid Lake, the Numu people, and relationships and continued stewardship of the surrounding landscape.  

During World War II, the Ghost Army, formally known as the U.S. Army’s Twenty Third Headquarters Special Troops, used disguise, sound, and radio deception to mislead the Germans about the location, strength, and movements of U.S. Army units. These tactical successes were a critical part of a vast inter-Allied deception effort that stretched from the front lines to high-level military headquarters to the halls of spy agencies in London. Overall, these deceptions consistently left the Germans befuddled about Allied strategy, intentions, and operations. 

From rubber tanks to double agents, learn about deception techniques used by the Ghost Army and its British comrades in arms, many of which are still applicable today, with Dr. Mark Stout, former intelligence officer, former Historian of the International Spy Museum, and adjunct instructor at John Hopkins University. Dr. Stout will showcase tools of the craft throughout military history and demonstrate how deception helped Allied commanders while avoiding confusion with actual military plans. 

The Museum will close at 4 pm on Tuesday, February 28 due to expected severe weather conditions.

The Museum will be closing at 5PM for a private event on Friday, March 3, 2023.

Jeffrey Pongonis is a Landscape Architect and Urban Designer committed to the implementation of a meaningful and connected environment. Working nationally from the MKSK Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio studios, Pongonis employs a process that is focused and mindful of both the aesthetic details of robust social spaces as well as the greater urban strategy. He is committed to the creation of honest and timeless public open space of all sizes and scales.

*Doors open at 5 pm with hosted beer. Program begins at 6 pm.

Presented in partnership with Black Rock Design Institute and the Northern Section Nevada Chapter, American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).  

In celebration of Older Americans Month, the Museum offers FREE admission to seniors every Wednesday during the month of May.

In celebration of Older Americans Month, the Museum offers FREE admission to seniors every Wednesday during the month of May.

In celebration of Older Americans Month, the Museum offers FREE admission to seniors every Wednesday during the month of May.