museums

National

An Alabama Museum You Can Enjoy From The Driver's Seat

4:44am August 09, 2016

by NPR Staff

Artist Butch Anthony has created a drive-thru museum in Seale, Ala. On display is a collection of odd items, decorated and displayed inside shipping containers that vehicles drive between.

A 1955 Electrolux Model LX one of the more than 750 vacuum cleaners at the Vacuum Cleaner Museum in St. James, Mo. It was advertised as "The Cleaner You Never Have To Empty," says museum curator Tom Gasko, because the bag got pushed out the machine's door

National

In This Museum, It's OK If The Displays Collect Dust

9:40am August 04, 2016

by NPR Staff

The Vacuum Cleaner Museum in St. James, Mo., houses more than 750 vacuums, including some that date back to just after the Civil War. Curator Tom Gasko is a former door-to-door vacuum salesman.

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Alejandra Cartagena's photograph Fragmented Cities, Juarez #2 was the inspiration for Freeman's Cartagena vanilla ice cream and sorbet trio.

Copycake: When Food Art Ideas Get Swiped

2:29pm June 08, 2016

by Heidi Glenn

Caitlin Freeman made a name for herself selling modern art-inspired pastries at the SFMOMA. The museum's cafe just reopened with a new caterer — whose desserts look suspiciously familiar.

People walk up to the entrance to the new SFMOMA.

Too Much Technology Can Spoil Your Warhol Experience

11:08am May 17, 2016

by Laura Sydell

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has reopened after a three-year closure. Like a growing number of museums, it hopes new tech doesn't get in the way of looking at the art.

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W. H. Richards and A.H. Reffell built Eric in 1928. The Science Museum estimates it will take expert roboticist Giles Walker three months to reconstruct him.

London Museum Hopes To Reboot Eric, Britain's First Robot

6:41pm May 16, 2016

by NPR Staff

They have the technology. Now they need the money. The Science Museum has launched a Kickstarter campaign to rebuild Eric, who wowed audiences after he was created in 1928 — and then vanished.

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Heat lamps warm fresh pizza in the food line at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's Amazon Cafe in the Rainforest. The dining area has increased offerings of healthful foods such as salads, but pizza, fries and corn dogs remain popular choices among visitors.

Beyond Pizza And French Fries: Museums Eye More Healthful Menus

5:13pm February 18, 2016

by Sarah Jane Tribble

Bringing kids to a museum or zoo can be great — until lunchtime. Often those cafeterias offer few healthful food options, but there's a movement to change that.

Jawaharlal Nehru, here conferring with Mahatma Gandhi, was India's first prime minister and a key figure in the country's 20th century independence struggle.

In India, A Battle Brews Over A Museum Honoring A Revered Leader

8:02am September 16, 2015

by Julie McCarthy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to update the Nehru Memorial Museum, honoring India's first prime minister, to include his own achievements. Critics say it's an effort to undermine Nehru's legacy.

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Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring stares back at cellphones at the Frick Collection in New York City. "The art museum used to offer objects, works of art, the finest that we have," Lewis says. "And it's gone from offering objects to offering an experien

Arts

People Love Art Museums — But Has The Art Itself Become Irrelevant?

9:39am August 17, 2015

by NPR Staff

Don't be fooled by museums' strong attendance numbers, says professor Michael Lewis. He argues today's art world is a Potemkin village, whose gleaming facades mask an indifference for the art itself.

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The headless, reclining sculpture of the river god Ilissos is on display at the State Hermitage Museum as part of its 250th anniversary celebration in St. Petersburg in December. The sculpture, taken from the Parthenon in Athens 200 years ago, was on loan

World News

Greece Says It Won't Take U.K. To Court For Return Of Elgin Marbles

12:42pm May 15, 2015

by Scott Neuman

Athens says taking the matter to the International Criminal Court would take too long and the outcome would be uncertain. Instead he says Greece will use diplomatic channels for their return.

Whitney Plantation owner John Cummings has commissioned stark artwork for the site, including realistic statues of slave children found throughout the museum.

National

New Museum Depicts 'The Life Of A Slave From Cradle To The Tomb'

8:31pm February 27, 2015

by Debbie Elliott

A New Orleans attorney has turned an antebellum plantation into a new museum. You won't find hoop skirts and mint juleps but stark relics at a site devoted entirely to a realistic look at slavery.

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