11 January 2010

I have been looking forward to today’s “field trip” for weeks! Our dear friend Ronnie, is the Director of Retail Operations for the newly re-opened (and absolutely beautiful) Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. I had wanted to visit when the place first opened, but Ronnie advised me to wait until the kinks were all worked out, and the store shelves were all full. Then, my busy season, followed by the holiday season (kids out of school!) and I decided to wait until things calmed down a little bit. We tried to arrange a day for this a couple of weeks ago, and Ronnie’s schedule changed at the last minute and we postponed. Today was finally the day when I was visiting the museum and getting a personal tour. Woo hoo!

I really cannot say enough good things about what I saw. The facility itself is gorgeous. State of the art and beautiful. Innovative and practical. A mix of exhibits to entertain young and old, mind and body. Bright colours greet you when you walk in the door. The interior of the “lantern” that has become the new landmark and logo for the museum is the warmest, happiest shade of yellow I’ve ever seen. And no matter the time of day, it seems, the sun streaming into the hundreds of skylight windows makes beautiful patterns on the walls. Beyond that vestibule area are giant blocks of other colours—purple, blue, orange, pink. On the other side of one big glass wall is a courtyard painted the same bright blue as the Texas sky and containing the “Liberty Tree” planted by a museum founder’s descendent and somehow miraculously kept alive throughout three years of serious construction all around it. Outside another glass wall is a playground of waterfalls and sprinklers and wading pools. And yet another glass wall allows a peak into the outdoor playground—appropriately named Dino Dig—just for the younger set. The lower floor of the museum houses an amazing “hands-on” wing of activity rooms and learning opportunities. Specially designed rooms and equipment allow for learning about light and shadows, drawing, sculpting, building and “imagineering.” A large area behind a bright pink wall is home to giant tinker toys, a giant pinball machine with moveable bells and obstacles, stations to learn about electricity and wind and stop-motion animation and photography. And yet another large room is known as the “Children’s Museum” where kids can employ their imaginations in hands on themed play areas—gymnastics and dance, a play grocery store or hospital, and the largest Brio train and city set I’ve ever seen assembled! Another wing houses an elaborate exhibit introducing children to dinosaurs, and the “Energy Blast” exhibit, complete with a 50,000 pound seismic vibroseis truck the building had to be built around! An interactive video game allows you to “drive” the truck and feel the pounding under your feet. The interactive displays about energy in all its different forms, and how technology transforms our natural resources into power are fun for all ages.

The Omni Theatre with it’s IMAX dome and 3-D films is still down another hallway, but that was for another day. Upstairs is the Noble Planetarium, also completely newly rebuilt. (Imagine! They had to store that big beautiful planetarium dome, while the old building was demolished and the new one built and made ready!) Unfortunately, today wasn’t long enough for me to enjoy the Planetarium, either. (Did you know Charlie Noble was a woman?—the first woman ever to have a planetarium named for her!) But, I did enjoy the huge CSI exhibit! Done in conjunction with the CBS TV show folks and not for the too-young or faint-at-heart, this adult-oriented exhibit reconstructs three different life-size crime scenes and we, the new CSI on the job, choose one, search the scene for clues, and solve the crime, complete with computer analysis, teaching videos performed by TV personality cast members, and a great three-dimensional representation of the autopsy!

Perhaps my favourite exhibit of all was the one in the Fort Worth Gallery of History. “Let’s Take the Streetcar” is a delightful ride through the history of Fort Worth and how its public transportation helped it grow. Sadly, of course, thanks to the petroleum and auto manufacturing industries, the trolleys were replaced by buses and are a thing of the past. But, this exhibit really succeeds at making old Fort Worth come alive with its maps, photographs, vintage clothing displays, a lovely, if not quite to scale diorama, and a life-size replica of a trolley car with a moving wall behind it. For me, the glimpses of the wonderful little city of Fort Worth in its hey-day of meat-packing plants and summer resorts was the perfect touch of local history. Other beautiful exhibits included a small one dealing with the Native American history of the area, and a large, very interactive exhibit on the cattle industry in Texas. In fact, in case you were wondering where it went, the FWM is now the home of the Texas Cattle Raisers Museum—the museum within the museum—where a classy presentation of art and sculpture, and an amazing array of past members’ ten gallon hats and other personal effects was a charming way to further get in touch with the history of Fort Worth.

My personalized tour started and ended with a visit to the beautiful gift shop “Shop, Too!” for which Ronnie is responsible. With product lines of clothing and jewelry, games and gadgets, fossils and rocks, hundreds of wonderful books and toys for all ages, including a “stuff your own” plush department, it is hard to imagine anybody leaving without a sack full of something! And, for the mini museum patrons and shoppers, in the middle of the store is a slide designed after a stegosaurus. Dubbed “Bumpersaurus,” this 12-foot sculpture made of recycled items such as headlights, hub caps, rear-view mirrors, license plates and bumper cars is a treat to the eyes and I can only imagine it’s a fun ride down, as well! And since “imagine” seems to be the key word at Fort Worth’s newest museum—and since I’m actually too tall for this for a change!—my imagination will have to suffice!

~MB

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