The cruise team for StuckatTheAirport.com is on a bucket list assignment in Norway with Viking Cruises.
Much of our time has been spent sailing fjords, bundling up for late-night treks to dark spaces in search of the Northern Lights, and visiting small museums.
One of the favorite museum stops has been the Polar Museum in Tromso, Norway.
A bust of famed explorer Roald Amundsen is outside the museum. And one of the main stories told inside the museum is that of Amundsen’s life and work in the polar regions at the beginning of the 20th century.
“With the passage of the Northwest Passage, the journey to the South Pole, and the overflight over the North Pole, Amundsen seriously put Norway on the map as a leading nation in the exploration of the polar regions,” the museum rightly boasts.
Among the many objects on view in the museum, these two stood out.
Amundsen was the first to successfully navigate the North-West Passage by boat, on a voyage that lasted from 1903 to 1906. This razor was with him on that trip. Below is a taxidermy dog, one of at least 20 that was on that ship.
More snaps and stories from this adventure will follow.
Two great cities are running promotions this month offering serious deals for anyone who loves saving money on admission fees at museums, aquariums, and other attractions.
San Diego Museum Month
Following a seriously scaled-back version in 2021, San Diego’s Museum Month is back for 2022. Through February, the program offers half-price admission at more than 45 local museums, historic sites, gardens, aquariums and other cultural destinations throughout San Diego County.
The list includes the Comic Con Museum, the San Diego Natural History Museum, the San Diego Museum of Art, the San Diego Model Railroad Museum, and many more.
How to Participate: San Diego’s Museum Month pass is available for free at all Macy’s store locations in San Diego County and at 75 area libraries Each Museum Month pass can be used for up to four half-priced admissions at any of the participating museums. Additional fees may apply for special exhibitions and events at some museums. Passes are good through February 28, 2022.
Seattle Museum Month
Not to be outdone, Visit Seattle, more than 60 downtown hotels, and over 30 area museums are hosting Seattle Museum Month. The program offers half-price admissions to anyone booking a room at any participating hotel during February.
How to Participate: Book a room at one of the participating downtown Seattle hotels and be sure to ask for the pass at check-in. A family or group of four can receive up to 50% off when visiting museums and attractions such as the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Pinball Museum, the Museum of Pop Culture, the National Nordic Museum, and many others.
The museum review team at StuckatTheAirport.com tested out the Seattle Museum Month pass with a staycation at the Sound Hotel in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. We visited the Seattle Art Museum, the Seattle Aquarium, The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific Amerian Experience, the Seattle Pinball Museum, and MoPop in two days.
And with all the money we saved on admission fees we were able to buy ourselves a very nice meal.
Museums, and museum attendance, took a big hit during the height of the pandemic, with shutdowns, exhibition cancelations, and delayed openings. But many museums are back on track for 2022 with major exhibitions and some museums opening their doors for the first time.
Here are a few that might warrant a special trip.
Harry Potter: The Exhibition
The world premiere of the Harry Potter: The Exhibition opens at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute science museum on February 18, 2022.
The exhibit celebrates many of the iconic moments, characters, settings, and magical beasts that fans are familiar with from the films and stories of Harry Potter and the Wizarding World. Visitors are promised a close-up look at authentic props and original costumes from the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films and the opportunity to experience innovative, magical environments and installations.
Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex
The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center in Merritt Island, Florida opens a new attraction in March, Gateway: The Deep Space Launch Complex, focusing on the present and future of collaborative space exploration.
Exhibits include a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster, the Orion Crew Vehicle from EFT-1 Mission, a full-scale replica of Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser, interactive exhibits, and more. Among the many activities in the building, visitors will be able to experience a 4D flying theater with four different journeys: Cosmic Wonders, Daring Explorers, Red Planet, or Uncharted Worlds.
Into the Deep will feature the largest display of deep-sea life in North America, everything from football-sized giant isopods and bone-eating worms to bloody belly comb jellies, sea angels, snailfish, and more.
courtesy Olson Kundig
The Bob Dylan Center
The Bob Dylan Center will open in Tulsa, Oklahoma’s downtown arts district on May 5, 2022, and is dedicated to the life, work, and worldwide cultural significances of the iconic folk-rock singer and songwriter, visual artist, and Nobel prize winner. Exhibits will draw from a collection of more than 100,000 items spanning Dylan’s career, including handwritten manuscripts, films, photographs, artwork, memorabilia, personal documents, and effects. Fans will also be able to hear some unreleased studio and concert recordings.
Courtesy Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Spock’s Ears
The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, which includes locations in Washington, DC and in Chantilly, VA will be opening 23 new and redesigned galleries and spaces during 2022.
Opening dates will vary, but the Kenneth C. Griffin Exploring the Planets Gallery (scheduled opening: fall 2022) will feature at least one, out-of-this-world, newly acquired treasure.
The family of the late Leonard Nimoy has donated a set of prosthetic ears made for the actor who played Mr. Spock in the original Star Wars television series.
Bonus: the museum’s collection also includes the original 11-foot studio model of the starship Enterprise that appeared in each episode of the original series.
When we’re not hanging out in airports, we’re heading to a museum. And in 2022 we have our hearts set on revisiting some reliable favorites and checking out some great new museums and enticing exhibitions around the country and the world.
Here’s a sampling.
Mount Angel Abbey Museum
For many reasons, the museum at Mount Angel Abbey in Saint Benedictine, Oregon is one of our favorites. It is filled will all sorts of natural history and man-made wonders gathered from around the world, including the hairball, above, found in the belly of a hog in Portland in the 1940s and weighing in at just over 2 pounds. What could be better?
There are bonuses on the monastery grounds beyond the museum. At the Benedictine Brewery, monks do the brewing, using water from an onsite well and hops grown on the land. The monastery’s light-filled library, designed by noted Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, is a must-see too. Opened in 1970, it was dedicated with the help of Duke Ellington.
Exhibits include a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster, the Orion Crew Vehicle from EFT-1 Mission, a full-scale replica of Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser, interactive exhibits, and more. Among the many activities in the building, visitors will be able to experience a 4D flying theater with four different journeys: Cosmic Wonders, Daring Explorers, Red Planet, or Uncharted Worlds.
Spock’s Ears – and more
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Courtesy Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, which includes locations in Washington, DC and in Chantilly, VA, will open 23 new and redesigned galleries and spaces during 2022.
Opening dates will vary, but the Kenneth C. Griffin Exploring the Planets Gallery (scheduled opening: fall 2022) will feature at least one, out-of-this-world, newly acquired treasure: Mr. Spock’s ears.
The family of the late Leonard Nimoy has donated a set of prosthetic ears made for the actor who played Mr. Spock in the original Star Wars television series. The pointed, foam ear tips date to the 1960s and were displayed by the family for many years in a homemade black box.
And as a bonus, the museum’s collection also includes the original 11-foot studio model of the starship Enterprise that appeared in each episode of the original series.
Courtesy Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Stay tuned for more museum exhibitions to put on your agenda during our Year of Museums and let us know about some of your favorites.
Changes at Denver International Airport Checkpoints
Denver International Airport (DEN) is making some big changes at several of its security checkpoint lanes this week, with the goal of making traveling through the airport easier.
You can read all the details about DEN’s TSA Checkpoint shuffle here, but one new feature that caught our attention is the Travel-Lite Lane that TSA will be offering at the North Security Checkpoint. This express lane is set aside for ravelers with only one item, such as a backpack, briefcase, or purse. A great idea for those who have checked their suitcases and/or are traveling light.
Zip it! Check out the Zipper Dress made by a Southwest Airlines Ramp Agent
This dress was handmade by Valerie, one of our Employees in Phoenix who does seamstress work on the side. Valerie offered to donate the dress, which is now on display at our corporate headquarters! pic.twitter.com/miQh6BLJp0
Throughout the pandemic, Viking Cruises’ Viking.TV has been providing lectures and behind-the-scenes visits to wonderful places all over the world. We’re big fans of Museum Mondays and this week’s offering is a documentary about restoring one of our favorite places in London, Sir John Soane’s Museum, to its original state.
