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I already wrote about this to some extent on my other non-specific blog which you can check out here. On my birthday I got off work early. I had lunch with Shawna Dawn al fresco at A&E Grill where they proceeded to sing for my birthday a second time. We won't go into THAT particular humiliation. Rick and I had plans for the evening, but I didn't want to sit around and do NOTHING so I started looking for options. I decided I'd like to do something that I haven't done before and if it involves On Sooner Trails then all the better! Now my first choice would be the Fort Sill Museum which ridiculously enough after nearly 10 years Rick STILL has not taken me to!! I know, I know. Travesty. I settled on the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History: easy to get to, cheap admission and close. Distance was important since it was just after 3:00 p.m. already and most museum-type places close at 5:00 p.m. Once the decision was made we quickly got loaded up in the car and made a beeline for Norman.It IS easy to get to. The Internet did not lie in this case! Hop on to Hwy 9 E off of I-35, turn left at Chautauqua and drive till you see the museum on the right. Of course it is best once on Chautauqua to stay in the left lane so as not to run into the turn only area in the right lane and have no way to get over in time, thereby being forced to take a more scenic route like Rick did. Easy fix though. And that way I got to point out to Rick where Treyton had baseball camp! :-)
Ok. We get to the museum. Just the outside is fairly impressive and there is a nice bison sculpture outside. (Yes, bison. NOT buffalo. We can get into that another time.) We wandered inside and over to the reception area where two ladies appeared to be counting down their till. They seemed to find us rather strange sauntering in about 45 minutes to close and asking to look around the museum. They were very helpful, though! They informed us that the second floor closes first, so if we stick to the first floor we could go on in at no charge! Just another little birthday present for Betsy. :-)
I don't know what I expected the museum to be like. This is the second 'real' museum I have been to - the first being the Cowboy Hall of Fame (now the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum) years ago. Let me qualify that statement briefly. I have been to the Sixth Floor Museum and the OKC National Memorial & Museum, but they are much more focused on being memorials and commemorating an event in time. I have been to a few little museums in the area thanks to my wonderful time spent growing up in Girl Scouts that included an auto museum and who knows what else. :-) I also remember a trip in elementary school to a little Native American museum in Anadarko. While those are worthwhile places to visit and I should visit them all again for On Sooner Trails (except the Sixth Floor Museum), they are not REAL museums. When I say a 'real' museum I mean like you picture as a child: one that is large, has revolving exhibits, massive collections in storage, teams of researchers, a docent and curatorial staff, gift shop, and maybe even echoes when you walk. :-)
The Sam Noble Museum has all that and more. It is fascinating! The subject matter isn't exactly my forte, although like most kids when Jurassic Park came out I learned all the different eras in time and could quote many pre-historic 'facts.' Those days were long ago but the museum is interesting to anybody and everybody.
I was impressed with the quality of, well, everything. The models are amazing, the scenes are set perfectly and everything flows nicely. I especially didn't expect it to be so interactive. Every display has something to do: guessing games, slides to view, drawers to open, replicas to touch, and much more. It is so much fun and the whole setup is aesthetically pleasing. I can't imagine what it would be like to work on the cleaning crew of that place! :-) I do wish we had had more time to browse. Nevertheless, we quickly saw most of what the downstairs had to offer starting with the Orientation Gallery and ending with the Gallery of World Cultures where, sadly, pictures are prohibited.
The Orientation Gallery was much more interesting than one may think given the fact that it isn't even about a specific collection. It is all about topics like: what collections are, why we keep collections, the proper way to catalog and store collections and how to keep them safe. Then you move on to the exhibits and see all kinds of creatures. This was where we really needed more time to peruse! I did get several fun pictures before we entered the Gallery of World Cultures where, as previously stated, pictures are prohibited.
Another cool thing about the museum? The names. The gift shop is 'Excavations.' Come on. How cool is that? And there is a 'Redbud Cafe.' How appropriately Okie! (Ahhh...Redbuds. How did I get to be 32 and still not have one? There are things in life that just NEED to be rectified!)
After a quick jaunt through the gift shop where I did not buy anything, we went back out and got some exterior pics as well as pics of the American Bison sculpture. It was then time to go back to Chickasha to continue the birthday festivities.Post Scriptum
I have been to more museums than I realize. The first time through the draft I had written that Sam Noble was the first and then I remembered the Cowboy Hall of Fame. (Which is another one I had to rush through the one time I was there due to arriving late in the day. There is a pattern here - if you recall the first trip to the OKC Memorial in 2005 we got there late! What on earth?!) As I re-read this post I now recall that I HAVE been to the Fort Sill Museum. It was in Girl Scouts long ago. Apparently every Girl Scout in Oklahoma came! All I remember is standing out in the cold waiting and playing with the acorns with Elisha Mann, the cafeteria, and being outside while the tour chica (in my head it was a chica but I am not sure about that) talked about Geronimo. So I guess I have to count it, but it doesn't count. Capisce?
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