Programs and Events
Upcoming Events
Thursday, October 5, join the Friends of the YHCIL for light refreshments and the opening celebration for this exhibit.
At 6pm, there will be a brief presentation on coal and its significance to our area. Come and test your knowledge of local coal history in the Mahoning Valley.
The exhibit open from Oct 4 - Nov 30.
Oral History Workshop
When did conducting oral histories begin? What is an oral history? What can I do with an oral history? From preserving family memories to collecting "eyewitness accounts" of local and national events, oral histories are a great way to learn about the past and can be used in a variety of ways.
Attend this workshop where you will learn the history of oral interviews, how to conduct them using best practices, and how to transcribe and use them.
This workshop is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Ohio Humanities Council.
10-1 Saturday, Oct. 28
Reservations preferred 330-941-1314
Exhibit Opening February 23, 2023 5:30pm
Free to the Public
Reoccurring Programs
Program options:
Memory Café
Includes a PowerPoint presentation on one of several topics, such as family, work, local history, celebrations, or the steel museum, designed to elicit conversation and shared experiences. Can be conducted in the museum or at your facility.
Museum in a Suitcase
Provides residents with artifacts and photographs that they can discover and handle within a suitcase to help them recall memories and activities associated with the items, and engage in conversations about the past. Can be conducted in the museum or at your facility.
Guided tours: Life At Home | The Locker Room | Immigrants, Women, and Coal Mining
These specialized tours at the museum allows participants to encounter various exhibits intended to trigger past memories and enable them to socialize and share their experiences of when they worked, raised their families, and were more socially active. Research has shown positive outcomes from similar programs, which have a meaningful impact on people living with dementia and their caregivers.
Sparking Memories
A tailored, interactive program lasting 45 minutes to one hour for people living with memory loss. This program provides opportunities for people to make connections between personal experiences, drawing from their long-term memory in this sensory program.
We are wheelchair accessible!
Cost: $50/program at your facility, $6/person (8 minimum) at the museum
Email centerofindustryandlabor@gmail.com or call (330) 941-1314 to book
Past Events
Monthly Game Night Fundraiser
Join members of the museum staff and other area game enthusiasts on the 2nd Thursday of each month to play games.
A large variety of game of different styles and complexity will be available for you and your friends.
An excellent program for historical groups and other non-profit groups to improve their skills in generating professional looking images for social media or print.
Free to the public.
History Across the Humanities
Thursday - Saturday February 23-25
Join the YSU Department of Humanities and Social Sciences along with visiting professors, students, and presenters for the 2023 HATH Conference.
The Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor will open a new exhibit entitled “ Hearing Our Voices: Discovering Black Youngstown” in the main lobby and Harry Meshel classroom on the first night of the History Across the Humanities conference on February 23, 2023 at 5:30 pm, followed by a short program and reception. The new exhibit is chaired and created by Dr. Donna DeBlasio, professor emeritus of Youngstown State University
The presentations will be hosted at the museum and portions will be livestreamed on our YouTube.
Anniversary Lecture Series: Dr. Donna DeBlasio
Thursday November 10 | 6:00pm
Join us as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor.
Dr. Donna DeBlasio, form YHCIL director, will be sharing her memories of the Steel Museum's beginnings and it's growth.
Join us after the lecture, for an anniversary celebration!
The lecture will be hosted at the museum and will be livestreamed on our YouTube.
Anniversary Lecture Series: OCCHA
Thursday September 22 | 6:00pm
Join us as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor.
Angelica Diaz, Organización Cívica y Cultural Hispana Americana (OCCHA) Executive Director, and other members will be sharing their experiences and reflecting on 50 years of OCCHA.
The lecture will be hosted at the museum and will be livestreamed on our YouTube.
The Art of Steel: New Art Exhibit
July - September 2022
Starting next month, the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor will be opening “The Art of Steel,” an exhibit curated by Amber Tisdale in fulfillment of her Master of Arts in American Studies. “The Art of Steel” focuses on the unique works of art housed in the museum’s collection.
The exhibit features local artists with a variety of backgrounds ranging from former steel workers to business owners. Some are self-taught artists, while others have academic training providing a depth of perspective shown in their art. Of the exhibit, Tisdale says “I tried to highlight as may artists, mediums, and aspects of the steel industry as I could.”
The exhibit will be housed in the Harry Meshel classroom at the museum from July to September of this year.
Exhibit Opening
Wednesday August 24 |12-4pm
Join us August 24th for the reopening of our train exhibit!
12-4pm | open house at the museum
2pm | presentation
2:30-4pm | reception
Call 330-941-1314 for any questions.
June Food Drive
Month of June
YHCIL is partnering with Second Harvest Food Bank during the month of June to help combat food insecurity in the valley. Every donation equals one free admission to the museum this June.
Not sure what to donate? Check out the Second Harvest website for a suggested list. We also encourage paper products and toiletries. Monetary donations will be accepted as checks made out to Second Harvest Food Bank.
Donation boxes can be found at our front desk.
Anniversary Lecture Series: Dr. Tom Leary
Thursday June 23| 6:00pm
Join us as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor.
Dr. Tom Leary, director of the Applied History Program at Youngstown State University will share his on national and international steel heritage preservation successes and failures.
The lecture will be hosted at the museum and will be livestreamed on our YouTube.
A Gem in the Rustbelt: The Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor
Thursday June 16 | 6:00 - 7:00pm
Special event by the Youngstown & Mahoning County Library
Known locally as the “Steel Museum”, the YHCIL is a world class historical and educational facility housing numerous artifacts and materials from the area’s days as one of the nation’s premier steelmaking regions. The Archives/Library houses many collections and records that support family history research.
Whether your interest is to learn more about an ancestor’s experience and the culture of steelmaking, or to gain a more thorough understanding of local history, the YHCIL is a resource both precious and prized. This program is a detailed tour of this facility’s holdings and services. For adults and teens.
Registration is required, and space is limited for social distancing. Please register each individual that will attend. Register by phoning 330-744-8636 or sign-up online via the library’s events calendar. See our Library Service Roadmap for current library safety guidelines.
Meet at the Steel Museum, 151 W Wood St, Youngstown, OH 44503; Phone: (330) 941-1314
Museum Block Party
Saturday June 11 | 6:00 - 7:00pm
What are your local museums up to this summer? Join us and other local museums for FREE games, snacks, and a tour of the museum! Inside the museum will be booths from different museums around Youngstown hosting activities and info on summer events. Outdoors (weather permitting) we will offer lawn games like giant Jenga and cornhole!
Applied History Project Presentations, Spring 2022
Friday May 6 | 3:00pm
LIVESTREAM HERE: bit.ly/3vB8ALR
Join us in celebrating the work of the YSU Applied History students and learn about their Spring 2022 projects. Projects include: Congregation Ohev Beth Sholom-Practicum Class, Congregation Ohev Beth Sholom-Masters Thesis (Hannah Klacik), Mackey Map 1899-2022-Special Topics Group Project, Mahoning Movement: A History & Advocacy of Transportation in the Valley (Jacob Harver), and YHCIL 30th Anniversary Virtual Exhibit (Brooke Bobovynik).
In addition to the project presentations, exhibits will be on display beginning April 28th in the MAAG Library Archives Exhibit Space (5th floor).
Anniversary Lecture Series: Bill Lawson
Thursday April 21| 6:00pm
Join us as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor.
Bill Lawson, Executive Director of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, will be speaking on the shifting political and cultural identity of Mahoning Valley.
The lecture will be hosted at the museum and will be livestreamed on our YouTube.
Ohio History Day Region 4 Competition
Saturday April 2
Ohio History Day is an affiliate of National History Day (NHD), an exciting program that makes history come alive for students. Students learn history by doing history. Students conduct historical research that leads to imaginative exhibits, documentaries, original performances, websites and scholarly papers. NHD reinforces classroom teaching by rewarding students of all abilities for their scholarship, individual initiative and cooperative learning.
Click here for more information and registration.
Author Chat with Pat Farabaugh
Thursday March 24 | 6:00pm
Learn about Johnston, PA and its parallels to Youngstown as Pat Farabaugh joins us to talk about his new book, "Disastrous Floods and the Demise of Steel in Johnstown."
Johnstown is synonymous with floodwaters and steel. When the city was decimated by a flood of biblical proportions in 1889, it was considered one of the worst natural disasters in American history and gained global attention. Sadly, that deluge was only the first of three major floods to claim lives and wreak havoc in the region. The destruction in the wake of the St. Patrick’s Day flood in 1936 was the impetus for groundbreaking federal and local flood control measures. Multiple dam failures, including the Laurel Run Dam in July 1977, left a flooded Johnstown with a failing steel industry in ruins. Author Pat Farabaugh charts the harrowing history of Johnstown’s great floods and the effects on its economic lifeblood.
This event is free and open to the public and will be livestreamed on our Facebook.
Books will be available for purchase at the event or online.
History Across the Humanities
February 24-25 | Virtual and In-person formats
HATH is an annual conference organized by YSU students to promote interdisciplinary research at the undergraduate and graduate level. Students from all disciplines are invited to submit individual or panel proposals on any topic in the humanities and social sciences.
The conference will be held both virtually and at the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor on YSU’s campus. Students and faculty of all levels of study, disciplines, and academic institutions are encouraged to attend the Conference.
For more information visit the HATH's website here.
History Happened Here Presents: Bill Lawson
Monday, January 31| 4:00pm
Bill Lawson is the Executive Director of Mahoning Valley Historical Society since 1991, and has worked for the Historical Society since 1987. Lawson is a past President, Trustee-at-Large, and Regional Representative of the Ohio Local History Alliance. He is the author of numerous articles and book reviews on history for local and professional periodicals, and is co-author of Mahoning Memories: A History of Youngstown and Mahoning County. Lawson holds BA and MA degrees in History from YSU.
Join us in person at the Steel Museum or online via Zoom: https://ysu-edu.zoom.us/j/99449146184?pwd=M0VWNmU2ZUx4Q2hEcmN4UlR1WGJnUT09
"History Happened Here" is an ongoing series that explores subjects in local and regional history, highlighting the contributions of Ohio and Ohioans at important moments in national and world history. For more information, contact alfluker@ysu.edu.
This hosted panel discussion will include multiple events of public safety in Ohio including the recent train derailment and subsequent hazardous conditions in East Palestine.
Event begins at 4pm.
Make plans to attend and learn more about this seemingly growing trend.