National Quilt Museum
Paducah, KY The National Quilt Museum of the United States. Colors and designs flourish inside this attraction newly designated as The National Quilt Museum of the United States. The museum has three amazing galleries that showcase more than 150 quilts at a time. There is always something new to see. The museum is open year round and the quilt exhibits change regularly with approximately a dozen new exhibitions annually. The National Quilt Museum is the portal to the contemporary quilt experience through traditional and non-traditional quilt exhibits and quilt workshops. The National Quilt Museum is committed to be the best in quilt exhibitions, quilt education and quilt experience. The National Quilt Museum
www.quiltmuseum.org
270-442-8856
BERLIN
Nov. 9, 2009 will mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. To honor this anniversary, there will be a series of special events and museum exhibitions throughout Berlin, focusing on the division of Germany and Berlin, the "Wende" and reunification. The House at Checkpoint Charlie Museum, the German Historical Museum, the Allied Museum, the Berlin-Karlshorst Museum, the Stasi Museum and the DDR Museum will participate in showing this era of German History. Apart from an official commemoration ceremony on the day, there are also plans to hold a major concert at the Brandenburg Gate. Visit:
www.berlin.de/mauer
www.checkpointcharlie.org
www.dhm.de
www.alliiertenmuseum.de
www.museum-karlshorst.de
www.stasimuseum.de
www.ddr-museum.de
www.stiftung-aufarbeitung.de
Kentucky
It's free and it's about cars - great story behind the curator and if he likes you, you might be able to buy a piece of history! It was May 8, 1945 and Bill was a young soldier fighting with the United States Army in Germany, when a strange thing happened. Everyone was cheering. The Germans were cheering, the Americans were cheering. For the Germans, as well as the rest of Europe, World War II was over. This day would soon be known as Victory in Europe day. After V-E day, Bill and the other young American soldiers came back to the United States. The young soldiers were given 30 days leave before they were to be sent to train for the war in Japan. Many things happened when these soldiers returned for their 30 days leave. During his leave time, college sweethearts Bill Swope and Elizabeth Sanford (who we now know and love as Betty Swope) were married.
While Bill was preparing to train for the war in Japan, President Truman dropped the atomic bomb over Hiroshima ending the war in the Pacific. There would be no more fighting for Mr. Swope. Instead he was sent to Fort Benning where he was deactivated; returning then to Miami of Ohio to finish his schooling.
In June of 1946 Bill went to work for a building of materials company out of Cincinnati, OH where he and Betty had their first three children. Bill found that he was much more interested in the company cars than the materials he was selling. He knew then that his calling was to be in the car business.
So the family moved to Winchester Kentucky where he opened his very first dealership; a Dodge/Plymouth store on Main Street. It wasn't long after he opened that he got a call from a friend, Pat Humphrey, who was a Chrysler dealer in Danville, KY. Pat told Bill, "I've got just what you need, a 1918 Dodge Touring Car for just $250." He told Bill that if he were to park it in front of his dealership it would draw in customers. Bill decided to pass on the offer. Pat then called Bill back and said, "I'm going to sell you that car for $200 and bring it to you on a flat bed truck." What Bill didn't know is that this 1918 Dodge would become the first car in his vintage and classic car collection.
Bill eventually moved his business to Elizabethtown Kentucky where the Swope Family of Dealerships and Swope Motor Company still thrives today.
By 1999 Bill had acquired numerous vehicles for his collection and decided he needed a place to bring them all together. Central Kentucky had done so much for him that wanted to give something back, so he opened Swope's Cars of Yesteryear and made it free to the public as a gift.
Occasionally Bill is asked if he ever sells any of his collection. His usual answer is; "very rarely", but now he has decided to pick a select few gems from his collection and offer them for sale to discriminating buyers. Swope Vintage Cars
Swope Vintage Cars Travel Website
270-766-9772
British Museum
The British Museum holds in trust for the nation and the world a collection of art and antiquities from ancient and living cultures. Housed in one of Britain's architectural landmarks, the collection is one of the finest in existence, spanning two million years of human history. Access to the collection is free.
The Museum was based on the practical principle that the collection should be put to public use and be freely accessible. It was also grounded in the Enlightenment idea that human cultures can, despite their differences, understand one another through mutual engagement. The Museum was to be a place where this kind of humane cross-cultural investigation could happen. It still is.
The Museum aims to reach a broader worldwide audience by extending engagement with this audience. This is engagement not only with the collections that the Museum has, but the cultures and territories that they represent, the stories that can be told through them, the diversity of truths that they can unlock and their meaning in the world today.
The British Museum
The British Museum Travel Website
+44 (0)20 7323 8838
The Cold War Museum/Spy Tour
In collaboration with Carol S. Bessette, Certified Master Tour Guide, the Cold War Museum invites you to experience the original Spy Tour of Washington™.
Since its earliest days, Washington, D.C. has been the scene of international intrigue, espionage, and intelligence activity, as the U.S. government has tried to learn the plans of other countries while keeping its own plans secret. Key players in this non-ending drama include personalities as diverse as Rose Greenhow, Herbert Yardley, Major General “Wild Bill” Donovan, Aldrich Ames, and Robert Hanssen. This six-hour bus tour will introduce you to many of the locations in and around Washington that have been associated with intelligence and counter intelligence activities for the past two hundred years. Your three hour mission, if you choose to accept it, may be to locate various espionage sites in Arlington, Washington, and Georgetown; observe the former Cafe where a Soviet spy escaped from his CIA handlers; listen in on a briefing about Civil War espionage at Lafayette Park; tour the Berlin Wall at the Newseum; and/or visit drop points used by agents such as FBI spy Robert Hanssen.
According to Cold War Museum Founder, Francis Gary Powers, Jr., “we are excited about the growth and popularity of the original Spy Tour of Washington. All proceeds from the original Spy Tour benefit the Cold War Museum, a 501(c)(3) charity dedicated to preserving Cold War history and honoring Cold War veterans.”
Cold War Museum
Cold War Museum Travel Website
703-273-2381
New York/Paley Center for Media
The Paley Center for Media, with locations in New York and Los Angeles, leads the discussion about the cultural, creative, and social significance of television, radio, and emerging platforms for the professional community and media-interested public. Drawing upon its curatorial expertise, an international collection, and close relationships with the leaders of the media community, the Paley Center examines the intersections between media and society. The general public can access the collection and participate in programs that explore and celebrate the creativity, the innovations, the personalities, and the leaders who are shaping media. Through the global programs of its Media Council and International Council, the Paley Center also serves as a neutral setting where media professionals can engage in discussion and debate about the evolving media landscape.
Previously known as The Museum of Television & Radio, the Paley Center was founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, a pioneering innovator in the industry.
The Paley Center for Media
www.mtr.org
212-621-6800
Canada
The Royal Ontario Museum offers a variety of programs to stimulate the imagination and advance our understanding of world cultures and natural history. Come and experience an amazing array of courses, lectures, trips, tours, film screenings, live music and much more!
Programs match a wide variety of interests and abilities. ROMLife covers diverse topics and is geared to the adult learner, looking for a fun and informative experience.
Royal Ontario Museum
http://www.rom.on.ca/index.php
416.586.8000
Morocco
Inhabited since prehistoric times, with a culture that goes back thirty centuries, at the cross-roads of Roman, Berber and Arab civilisations, Morocco is rich in museums overflowing with treasures.
These magical places are entirely devoted to admiration. The touch of a master transforms the humblest objects into masterpieces. Carpets, pottery, garments or arms, here everyhting is a work of art. As the representation of humans or animals is contrary to the teachings of Islam, artists have channelled all their creative effort into producing infinite variations of abstract, geometric or stylised motifs.
National museums are generally closed on tuesdays.
Those museums located in government office buildings may be closed at weekends.
Museums of Morocco
http://www.maroc.net/museums/
(212 7) 76 60 54
Baltimore, MD
Comprised of the oldest and most comprehensive collection of railroad history in the Western Hemisphere, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum, Inc. is a unique cultural and educational asset for the city and the region. An unparalleled roster of the 19th and 20th century railroad equipment, original shop buildings, and surviving tracks at the historic Mt. Clare site provide an integrated resource to present virtually every aspect of American railroad development and its impact on our society, culture and economy.
Flourishing in its expanded and newly restored state, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum is hosting record numbers of visitors to its internationally renown campus and collections. Through these collections and its historic buildings, it is the mission of this institution to reveal the drama of American railroading, its people, culture, and legacy to a wide and diverse audience. The Museum’s 40-acre historic site, its unrivalled collections and magnificent buildings combined with innovative education and public programming have earned it the sobriquet America’s railroad museum.
Batimore & Ohio Railraod Museum
www.borail.org
410-754-2490
Pittsburgh, PA
The Andy Warhol Museum is a vital forum in which diverse audiences of artists, scholars and the general public are galvanized through creative interaction with the art and life of Andy Warhol. The Warhol is ever-changing and constantly re-defining itself in relation to contemporary life, using its unique collections and dynamic, interactive programming as tools. Located on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, The Warhol is one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and is a collaborative project of the Carnegie Institute, Dia Center for the Arts, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. Opened in 1994, the Museum features extensive permanent collections of art and archives on one of the most influential American artists of the twentieth century. It is also a primary resource for anyone seeking insights into contemporary art and popular culture.
The Andy Warhol Museum
www.warhol.org
412-237-8300
Australia
The Australian National Maritime Museum is a statutory authority of the Australian Government (the national government of the Commonwealth of Australia). The museum is responsible to the Minister for the Arts and Sport (currently Senator the Hon George Brandis SC). It is one of the national collecting institutions under the Department of Communication, the Information Technology and the Arts (others include the National Library of Australia, Australian National Gallery and National Museum of Australia). Its enabling legislation is The Australian National Maritime Museum Act 1990 (amended 1993).
The prominent Australian architect Philip Cox was chosen to design the building, and construction and staff recruitment began in 1986. Collecting and exhibition development centred around five display themes - Discovery, Passengers, Commerce, Leisure and Navy, with another added when the USA funded a gallery of US-Australian maritime links as its gift to the nation for the 1988 Bicentenary celebrations.
The museum was opened by Prime Minister Bob Hawke on 29 November 1991, with the USA Gallery dedicated on 1 January 1992 by US President George Bush and Prime Minister Paul Keating.
Australia National Maritime Museum
http://www.anmm.gov.au/site/page.cfm
(02) 9298 3777
Denmark
The exhibition 'Peoples of the World' is an introductory exhibition, which provides a journey around the globe. It features rare religious artefacts from America before Colombus, the world´s oldest painting by South American Indians, prairie Indian costumes, African sculpture and jewellery, luxury objects from the court of the Turkish Sultan, Indian temple sculptures, Javanese shadow-play figures, handicrafts from China and Japan, paintings and figures depicting the life and teachings of Buddha, and much, much more.
The oldest objects in the collection stem from 'The Indian Chamber', which formed part of the the Royal Cabinet of Curiosities from around 1650 and included objects from China, East India and other remote places. The collection expanded rapidly in the 19th century as objects were brought home from expeditions and from Danish colonial possessions around the world. The ethnographic collection contains objects both from cultures and societies that still exist and from those that are now gone.
The national Museum of Denmark
http://www.nationalmuseet.dk/sw20374.asp
(45) 3313 4411
North Carolina
The High Point Museum and Historical Park has earned the status of being the first certified "Senior Friendly" museum in the state. The Senior Friendly designation comes out of the North Carolina Division on Aging's Senior Friendly Initiative created to develop senior friendly communities. Today in Guilford County, adults 65 and older make up 12 percent of the population; in 25 years that figure is estimated to be 18 percent. The North Carolina Division of Aging has touted the Senior Friendly Initiative as a way to remove barriers to services so seniors have an opportunity to remain an integral part of their communities. So far the High Point Museum and two other cultural venues have applied for the Senior Friendly certification but only the museum has earned the title to date.
High Point Museum
http://www.highpointmuseum.org
(336) 885-1859
Egypt
Egypt's Private Tombs - This unusual tour will give you the opportunity to explore Egypt through its great variety of private tombs. From Cairo to Aswan, from the Old Kingdom to the Late Period, the tombs of the artists, administrators and relatives of the Royal Family offer a rare glimpse of the life and art of Egypt that are not found in the royal tombs and temples. With tomb decorations that often challenge, and in some cases surpass, that of the kings' burials, descriptions of the afterlife and historical inscriptions that simply cannot be found anywhere else, these tombs will provide you with a view of ancient Egypt that is truly unique.
Museum Tours
www.museum-tours.com
888-932-2230
February 23 - March 8
California/ The Getty Museum
The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa in Malibu opened on January 28, 2006, after the completion of a major renovation project. As a museum and educational center dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria, the Getty Villa serves a varied audience through exhibitions, conservation, scholarship, research, and public programs. The Villa houses approximately 44,000 works of art from the Museum's extensive collection of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities, of which over 1,200 are on view.
With two locations, the Getty Villa in Malibu and the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the J. Paul Getty Museum serves a wide variety of audiences through its expanded range of exhibitions and programming in the visual arts.
The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center in Los Angeles houses European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts, and European and American photographs.
Admission to the Getty Center is FREE—no tickets or reservations required for general admission. Parking is $8.
The Getty
www.getty.edu
310-440-7300
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