![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
The museum is trying to raise funds for a new home. Their current building is not in very good shape. Plus, they say it's got much more space than they need, which means many of their current exhibits will disappear. It had been a while, so I took a long lunch and walked over to see it again. The visit brought back memories. Many of the exhibits are older than I am - I remember them from when I was a kid.
We start with a life-sized diorama of dinosaurs...
I was looking at the exhibits with different eyes this time. Concentrating on taking photos, I wasn't looking as closely at them from an educational standpoint, so much as an artistic eye. The sculpting of these dioramas, both life sized and miniature, is amazing.
I love this one. It's so well done! Check out the looks on their faces.
The second floor is mostly Wisconsin and Native American, with some North American wildlife thrown in. This big diorama is a centerpiece.
There used to be rattlesnake behind the rocks at the border, and you could press a hidden button to make it rattle. Funny, I'm not sure I ever pushed the button myself. There was usually a line of kids.
The ground floor has a large exhibit on the Central American rainforest. Besides all the glass cases of exhibits, there was a lot of lifelike reproduction of the flora, fauna and researchers in the jungle. This one and the dinosaurs were relatively recent additions. Probably from the 90's.
Another big piece is this pow wow. I tried to get a few pictures, but this is the only one that turned out. There are over thirty people, going in a circle around the drummers. They're all dressed in their regalia. It's all on a turntable and has a soundtrack playing. The people are quite realistic, since they took plaster casts of everyone.
On the first floor, there is an exhibit called The Streets of Old Milwaukee. It's a mockup of an an old-time city. There are homes and shops and bars. You can walk on the cobblestones and peek in the windows. Granny here, has been rocking on her porch since before I was born.
Adjacent to that is the European Village. Small homes - rooms, really - from most of the European countries, all set in the time of... the late 1800's? Polish above. Not sure what the one below is - German or Austrian.
It appears this gentleman has just removed his cheese from a zip-lock bag! At Christmas time, many of the homes are decorated for the holiday, so I assume the bag was left behind from the changeover.
A market in a Guatemalan plaza
Some Zapotec vessels, some from Monte Alban, which I recently visited.
Moving southward, to Peru. Here's a graverobber. It's a "pioneering Peruvian scholar, who is descended from the last Inca governor of his birthplace." Here, he is a facsimile human, though mummies are quite real.
And speaking of actual dead people, here are some real skulls that you can touch. They sorta replicated a men's house from Papua. The houses are adorned with the skulls of slain enemies. One of the skulls has noticeable dents on top.
Staying on theme, here are some shrunken heads. They are very small indeed. Next time I'll try to get measurements.
We used to knock on these wooden drums. I realize they had to preserve them, but I miss the sounds.
And here's a bit of culture for you. A naked African woman. I bet this one doesn't go on display in their new home.
Years ago, the largest gorilla in captivity lived at the Milwaukee Zoo. After he died, he was taxidermied and put on display at the museum. Odd that there's no mention of who this is, only some words about the rainforest.
There are a lot of these dioramas of wildlife, from all over the globe. I assume most of these will not reappear in their new home. They don't really educate much. These days you can see this scene much better on Youtube.
This one is a little more interesting, I think. You can't find videos of creatures like this!
Here's an exhibit that is ancient! I'm impressed by the craftsmanship, and I did actually find it a little bit interesting, but only a little, and I can't imagine many people stop to read the plaque.
This one is actually kinda laughable. BIRDS OF MILWAUKEE REGION AND WISCONSIN, with only some half-assed paintings of the birds. The light by the Canada goose indicates they are in the region at this time. Somebody has to switch the lights every few months!
"See what you started?"
They have a lot of these scale dioramas. Most of them are fairly small, but this one is much larger. It's probably my favorite one, but they're all really well detailed.
.
We start with a life-sized diorama of dinosaurs...
I was looking at the exhibits with different eyes this time. Concentrating on taking photos, I wasn't looking as closely at them from an educational standpoint, so much as an artistic eye. The sculpting of these dioramas, both life sized and miniature, is amazing.
I love this one. It's so well done! Check out the looks on their faces.
The second floor is mostly Wisconsin and Native American, with some North American wildlife thrown in. This big diorama is a centerpiece.
There used to be rattlesnake behind the rocks at the border, and you could press a hidden button to make it rattle. Funny, I'm not sure I ever pushed the button myself. There was usually a line of kids.
The ground floor has a large exhibit on the Central American rainforest. Besides all the glass cases of exhibits, there was a lot of lifelike reproduction of the flora, fauna and researchers in the jungle. This one and the dinosaurs were relatively recent additions. Probably from the 90's.
Another big piece is this pow wow. I tried to get a few pictures, but this is the only one that turned out. There are over thirty people, going in a circle around the drummers. They're all dressed in their regalia. It's all on a turntable and has a soundtrack playing. The people are quite realistic, since they took plaster casts of everyone.
On the first floor, there is an exhibit called The Streets of Old Milwaukee. It's a mockup of an an old-time city. There are homes and shops and bars. You can walk on the cobblestones and peek in the windows. Granny here, has been rocking on her porch since before I was born.
Adjacent to that is the European Village. Small homes - rooms, really - from most of the European countries, all set in the time of... the late 1800's? Polish above. Not sure what the one below is - German or Austrian.
It appears this gentleman has just removed his cheese from a zip-lock bag! At Christmas time, many of the homes are decorated for the holiday, so I assume the bag was left behind from the changeover.
A market in a Guatemalan plaza
Some Zapotec vessels, some from Monte Alban, which I recently visited.
Moving southward, to Peru. Here's a graverobber. It's a "pioneering Peruvian scholar, who is descended from the last Inca governor of his birthplace." Here, he is a facsimile human, though mummies are quite real.
And speaking of actual dead people, here are some real skulls that you can touch. They sorta replicated a men's house from Papua. The houses are adorned with the skulls of slain enemies. One of the skulls has noticeable dents on top.
Staying on theme, here are some shrunken heads. They are very small indeed. Next time I'll try to get measurements.
We used to knock on these wooden drums. I realize they had to preserve them, but I miss the sounds.
And here's a bit of culture for you. A naked African woman. I bet this one doesn't go on display in their new home.
Years ago, the largest gorilla in captivity lived at the Milwaukee Zoo. After he died, he was taxidermied and put on display at the museum. Odd that there's no mention of who this is, only some words about the rainforest.
There are a lot of these dioramas of wildlife, from all over the globe. I assume most of these will not reappear in their new home. They don't really educate much. These days you can see this scene much better on Youtube.
This one is a little more interesting, I think. You can't find videos of creatures like this!
Here's an exhibit that is ancient! I'm impressed by the craftsmanship, and I did actually find it a little bit interesting, but only a little, and I can't imagine many people stop to read the plaque.
This one is actually kinda laughable. BIRDS OF MILWAUKEE REGION AND WISCONSIN, with only some half-assed paintings of the birds. The light by the Canada goose indicates they are in the region at this time. Somebody has to switch the lights every few months!
"See what you started?"
They have a lot of these scale dioramas. Most of them are fairly small, but this one is much larger. It's probably my favorite one, but they're all really well detailed.
.
