Museums

Museum Monday: Insects at San Francisco Int’l Airport

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San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has bugs!

But don’t worry. The bugs are all under glass and are part of a new exhibit hosted by the SFO Museum.

The exhibit, titled The Intriguing World of Insects includes more than 1000 specimens, fine art photography and rare books. There’s also an atomical model of Musca domestica, the inscect we know better as the house fly.

Display drawer of camouflage insect specimens – courtesy SFO Museum

Why an exhibit of insects?

Besides that fact that they look really pretty and non-threatening inside the cases, insects, the exhibit notes tell us, are the most diverse macroscopic organisms on the planet.

Researchers have identified over one million species of insects – so far – and estimate that five to thirty million more insects are waiting to be discovered.

In fact, there are more species of ants than species of birds, and more species of beetles than all species of plants combined.

Display drawer of ladybug (Coccinellidae) specimens – courtesy SFO Museum

Here’s a quick insect class, to get you ready for the exhibit:

*Insects, spiders, lobsters, and their cousins are arthropods. That means they have jointed legs and an external skeleton.

*The first insects appeared around 400 million years ago and evolved wings over 300 million years ago.

*Fossils of dragonfly ancestors, called griffinflies, had wingspans of over sixty centimeters. In contrast, the tiniest insects today have wingspans of less than one millimeter.

*But not all insects have wings. Some species, like silverfish, never evolved wings, while others, like camel crickets, lost them millions of years ago.

*Insects play integral roles in ecosystems. They pollinate the flowers of many fruits and vegetables, produce wax and honey and keep pest plants and insects at bay. Insects also recycle nutrients through decomposition, and are important food sources for other species.

Class over, for now.

Display drawer of scarab beetle (Scarabaeidae) specimens- Courtesy SFO Museum

The SFO Museum’s exhibition, The Intriguing World of Insects, comes to San Fransicsco International Airport from the Essig Museum of Entomology which is has a collection of more then 5 million arthropods stored at the University of California, Berkeley.

Look for the exhibit pre-security in SFO’s International Terminal, on the Depatures Level through August 18, 2019.

Display drawer of blue and green butterflies (Rhopalocera) and colorful beetles (Coleoptera) – courtesy SFO Museum
Wasp (Vespula vulgaris) sculpture –
by Gar Waterman  courtesy SFO


Museum Monday – Cars, Guitars, Espresso & the Moon Landing 

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Today’s post on StuckatTheAirport.com is made possible by Deem – your most powerful solution for booking and managing corporation travel online.

Courtesy SFO Museum

Here at StuckatTheAirport.com we’re big fans of the Philadelphia International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, San Francisco International Airport and the many other airports which have robust exhibition programs or their very own museums.

Of course, we’re big fans of museum exhibitions outside of airports too.

Three we’ve spotted that may be worth planning trips, or side-trips, around, are at America’s Car Museum (ACM) in Tacoma, WA, the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) and the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

 See the USA in your Chevrolet

1960 Chevrolet Corvette – Courtesy ACM

In Tacoma, WA, America’s Car Museum (ACM) is celebrating summer driving with a display of classic Chevrolet cars in the Route 66 exhibit showcasing vehicles that traveled the Mother Road during the golden age of American motoring.

The “See the USA in Your Chevrolet” display runs through October 14, 2019 and includes a 1960 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible and almost a dozen other great examples of early Chevys ranging from a 1919 Chevrolet FB Baby Grand Touring Sedan to a 1972 Chevrolet El Camino Pickup.

Espresso and Iconic Guitars


MIRAGE TRIPLETTE, KEES VAN DER WESTEN, 2001

Through June 15, the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) is hosting Passione Italiana, a perky exhibition chronicling the evolution of the espresso machine.

On view are Italian espresso makers, inventive coffee sets and unique crockery from the mid-twentieth century to today.

From June 29 to September 29, MODA’s featured exhibition will focus on guitar design and construction, with a great line-up of guitars played by performers such as Bo Diddley, Jack White, St. Vincent and others.

Visitors will first see guitars in their most minimal form and be asked to consider how simple and traditional design elements such as the shape of an instrument and the species of wood affect the sound.

The exhibition will then take visitors through advancements in the craft of making string instruments (luthiery) and share stories of how some of the 20th century’s most famous guitars came to their honored status.

Guitars scheduled to be on view include:

Junior Brown’s Custom Guit-Steel, Bo Diddley’s Gretsch 6138, Jack White’s Diddley Bow (from It Might Get Loud), Buck Owens’ Harmony Acoustic, Rich Robinson’s Scala Telecaster, Derek Trucks’ Gibson SG and St. Vincent’s Signature Ernie Ball Music Man

Wire & Wood: Designing Iconic Guitars will be on view at the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) beginning June 29.

Out of this world: Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing

Lunar spacesuit worn by Neil Armstrong on Apollo 11 mission showing the reflection in the face shield (NASM photo by Jim Preston)

While we’re talking about museum exhibits worth planning a trip around, keep in mind that in July the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing with a five-day celebration at the museum and on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The celebration will stretch from July 16 – exactly 50 years from the launch of Apollo 11 – to July 20, the day Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took the first steps on the moon.

A wide range of educational and commemorative activities are on the schedule, but perhaps most noteworthy is the fact that Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 spacesuit will go on display July 16 for the first time in 13 years.  Look for it near the 1903 Wright Flyer.

Museum Monday: Cars, Guitars, Espresso and the Moon Landing is made possible by Deem – your most powerful solution for booking and managing corporation travel online.

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London’s Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities

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If you’ve been to London more than once, you’ll want to start exploring the neighborhoods and attractions beyond the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the like.

I suggest venturing out to the Bethnal Green neighborhood, which is home to the Museum of Childhood (and is part of the V&A) and the far more unusual Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities.

Upstairs is a cocktail bar with an emphasis on absinthe.

Downstairs, entered via a narrow winding staircase, is a highly entertaining cabinet of curiosities filled with natural history specimens, assorted taxidermy, skulls, marine creatures and a collection of books with titles ranging from ‘A Guide to Faking Exhibition Poultry’ to ‘A Sex Guide for Irish Farmers,’ and “Shopping Center Sex.”

Here are some snaps a two-headed lamb and other snaps from a recent visit:

Snaps from the Neon Museum in Las Vegas

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Sharing some snaps today from a recent visit to the Neon Museum in Las Vegas, which collects, preserves and exhibits iconic signs that were part of the city’s history.

If you’re planning a trip to Las Vegas or must go there for a meeting or convention, this is a great stop.

Of course, it’s best to go at night when you can get a tour, see many of the signs lit up and enjoy Brilliant!,  artist Craig Winslow’s neon installation that takes you back into the history of Sin City through sight and sound.

 

Las Vegas Neon Museum

 

Freebies + cool offers to take advantage of now

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Like the free ice water that made South Dakota’s Wall Drug famous, free stuff is a great treat when you’re on the road or out and about in your own town.

Here are few free offers and cool deals to take advantage of this weekend and into next week:

Free Museum Admission

On the first full weekend of each month, anyone who has flashes a Bank of America, Merrill Lynch or U.S. Trust credit or debit card and a photo ID gets free admission to more than 200 museums, science centers, gardens and other attractions participating in the Museums on Us program around the country.

Free food 

PotBelly Sandwich Shop is offering a bunch of free food items to members of its free-to-join Potbelly Perks program August 6-12.

Air fare deal

Need to bring a few suitcases of cash to the Cayman Islands? Or just want a great deal on a flight to this vacation destination?

From August 3 to 11, Cayman Airways is celebrating its 50th anniversary with some great discounted fares, plus extra perks such as 3 checked bags and lounge access, for flight from Miami, Tampa and New York booked for travel September 7 through November 7.

Fun hotel package for Pearl Jam fans

Not free – but fun: In Seattle,  The Edgewater over-the-water hotel has put together a package with the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP). The Rock the Suite package includes tickets to the museum’s Pearl Jam: Home and Away exhibition, overnight accommodations at the hotel’s Pearl Jam Suite, and signature Pearl Jam cocktails in the  Six Seven Restaurant & Lounge.

Pearl Jam fans should also note that there’s a free Pearl Jam exhibit put together by the Museum of Pop Culture in the-presecurity area of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Know of a great freebie for travelers? Please send it along.