Category: Museums
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 342 – Art and Design
I returned to the Orange County Regional History Center for a special presentation by the Universal Orlando Art & Design team about how they take their ideas from concept to completion. It’s related to the exhibit that opened a couple weeks ago featuring their artwork from the last 10 years or so. It was an interesting and entertaining panel discussion followed by a Q&A session. (And you can watch the whole thing online, as I recorded it.)
365 Adventures in 2011: Day 314 – Horror Nights up close
I previewed an exhibit at the Orange County Regional History Center showcasing years of artwork from Universal Orlando, with many excellent Halloween Horror Nights pieces. It was great to get a bit more HHN fun even after this year’s event has ended. And it’s a wonderful exhibit that’s sticking around through April. More info here.
THURSDAY THEME PARK: Muppets Hit Orlando with Jim Henson’s Fantastic World
Okay, so technically this isn’t AT a theme park, but I spent all day yesterday (Thursday) working on the video and post below so I couldn’t resist using it as my Thursday Theme Park post for the week. If you’re a fan of MuppetVision 3D at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (or anything Jim Henson-related in general), you will not want to miss…
Jim Henson’s Fantastic World
From February 6 -- May 3, 2009, visitors to the Orange County Regional History Center are in for a treat as the traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit called Jim Henson’s Fantastic World showcases original Muppets, sketches, and other creations in a salute the creative legend Jim Henson.
As part of a sneak preview, curator and historian for The Jim Henson Company Karen Falk guided us through the exhibit, discussing Henson’s legacy along the way. Accompanying us were Jim Henson’s daughter Heather Henson (an Orlando local) as well as Jim’s wife Jane Henson, both of whom were able to provide a first-hand perspective on why the Muppets, Sesame Street, and other Jim Henson creations have stayed popular for so many decades.
The two Hensons are seen here posing with one of the exhibit’s many exciting actual Muppet displays: Mahna Mahna and the Snowths.
As a fan of the Muppets for as long as I can remember being alive, I was shocked at how much new information about them and their creator, Jim Henson, I learned while walking through the exhibit.
While I don’t want or plan to ruin all of the excitement of seeing it all in person for yourself, I do invite you to watch this 14-minute video from our guided tour of the exhibit. It includes many facts about Jim Henson’s life, artwork, and history that you may not get from walking through on your own. It’s our way of bringing you on the sneak preview tour with us.
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How Disney Chose To Name Their Game ‘Pure’
From mtv.com:
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“Pure†is an off-road, trick-oriented ATV racer, but you wouldn’t know it from the title.
Most racing games attempt to be descriptive about their content in the title, but “Pure†is the opposite. It tells you nothing about the game itself.
That sounds like a risk, so I asked “Pure†game designer Chris Bowles how they came up with the name.
“We arrived at the name ‘Pure’ after to trying to describe the feelings we were having when playing the game, pure fun, pure excitement, pure adrenaline and it became apparent that we were using the word ‘Pure’ quite a lot,†he explained.
There must have been names they tossed aside, right?
“Another one we had toyed with was ‘Vertigo Rush,’†he said, “which was what we called the feeling when you went over one of the very big jumps in ‘Pure’ and the ground falls away to reveal a 200 ft drop and stunning views 40k into the distance. We still refer to these moments as ‘Vertigo Rush’ but the game, as you know, is called ‘Pure.’â€
Las Vegas Pinball Hall of Fame
From pinballmuseum.org:
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Las Vegas is known for the unusual and offbeat. Places like the Liberace Museum, the Neon Museum, the Clown Factory, The Elvis Museum, the Barry Manilow Store, the Pinball Hall of Fame… Wait a second. The Pinball Hall of Fame? What exactly is that? Or more importantly, why is there a Pinball Hall of Fame?
The Pinball Hall of Fame is an attempt by the members of the Las Vegas Pinball Collectors Club to house and display the worlds largest pinball collection, open to the public. A not-for-profit corporation was established to further this cause. The games belong to one club member Tim Arnold, and range from 1950s up to 1990s pinball machines. Since it is a non-profit museum, older games from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are the prevelant, as this was the heyday of pinball. There are no ticket spitters here aka kiddie casinos or redemption. Its all pure pinball and a few arcade novelty games from the past. And since its a non-profit, excess revenues go to non-denominational charities.
