From the expansion of America’s highways to the oil embargoes of the 1970’s, West Virginia’s petroleum and petroleum byproducts industries have played key roles in the state’s industrial and economic development. A new exhibition at West Virginia University’s Watts Museum explores that history.

“A Byproduct of Change” explores how these developments had lasting impacts on the local petroleum industry and West Virginia’s economy. The exhibition is a follow up to a 2010 exhibition at the Museum on the origin and development of West Virginia’s oil industry in the 19th century.

Advancements in petroleum processing led to the production of new types of oil and chemical byproducts of oil, which could be put to use for new purposes. The development of petrochemicals, synthetic fibers and other petroleum byproducts changed the way Americans live their lives.

During World War I, for example, the Kanawha Valley became a hub of the chemical industry. Explosives manufacturers, who were attracted to the area by its abundance of natural resources, set up factories to produce ammunition for war in places like Nitro. In the 1940s and 50s, the Union Carbide Technical Center in “Chemical Valley” was one of the country’s leading research centers, developing more than 30,000 patents. Over half of the 500 most widely used chemicals were invented or commercialized there.

“The cultural changes that have come about as a result of the petroleum industry’s development have impacted our lives in nearly every way imaginable — our technology and transportation, our manmade and natural environment and our health and daily habits,” said Danielle Petrak, Museum curator. “It’s hard to imagine living a single day without the plastics, gasoline and chemicals that we’ve become dependent on.”

“A Byproduct of Change” is on view through July 2016 and is available to travel to other venues throughout West Virginia after its installation at the Museum. The Watts Museum is located in Room 125 of the Mineral Resources Building on the Evansdale campus of WVU. The Museum is open Mon., Wed. and Fri,, from 1–4 p.m., and by appointment.

Admission is free, and parking is available at the WVU Coliseum. For more information, contact the museum at 304.293.4609 or wattsmuseum@mail.wvu.edu.

Housed in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, the Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum is dedicated to preserving and promoting the social, cultural and technological history of the coal, oil and natural gas industries of the state of West Virginia through the collection, preservation, research and exhibition of objects relevant to these industries.

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CONTACT: Mary C. Dillon, Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
304.293.4086, Mary.Dillon@mail.wvu.edu

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