where’s my stegosaurus? 

17 minutes ago, surfohio said:

where’s my stegosaurus? 

This guy? He’s still there. 

 

 

On 12/14/2024 at 11:03 PM, dwolfi01 said:

I was there today and it was incredible. They did a great job with the addition. Doesn't look anything like the old museum and looks incredibly polished. 

 

lol it's funny - I had the exact opposite reaction. it is definately clean and polished 

 

but the exhibit area is smaller - they got rid of the diorama and miniatures, got rid of most of the gems, the dinosaurs are scattered throughout the museum, there is no real connective tissue holding themes of the displays together.  the aisles are too narrow for the traffic the place gets and, what used to be a circular movement is now two out-and-backs from the center spine of the museum - you walk thru the same spot multiple times during your visit.

 

I've aged out of the intended audience, I guess. but I think the museum is actually a worse quality now than it was 5 years ago.

 

the live animals are really cool tho.

^As a museum member, I was worried that the museum would be "polished up," but "dumbed down."  I hope I am wrong.  I was last there, while construction was in progress.

17 hours ago, Whipjacka said:

 

lol it's funny - I had the exact opposite reaction. it is definately clean and polished 

 

but the exhibit area is smaller - they got rid of the diorama and miniatures, got rid of most of the gems, the dinosaurs are scattered throughout the museum, there is no real connective tissue holding themes of the displays together.  the aisles are too narrow for the traffic the place gets and, what used to be a circular movement is now two out-and-backs from the center spine of the museum - you walk thru the same spot multiple times during your visit.

 

I've aged out of the intended audience, I guess. but I think the museum is actually a worse quality now than it was 5 years ago.

 

the live animals are really cool tho.

 

Yikes, it sounds like some of the very basics are worse than they were when I worked there for a summer in college, more years ago than I care to admit.  :0

 

Though it was pretty exciting when I caused the bomb squad to get a call.   :)

There's a reason the renovation got a whole segment on national news. As someone who was a middle schooler during the old museum days and a young adult post-renovation, despite not being the intended audience the level of quality and care to the exhibits and new technologies is 110% an improvement. Just went two weeks ago and was thoroughly impressed.

 

Edit: I was recently in Pittsburgh and stopped by their natural history museum. The quality of their museum is undoubtedly impressive and I had a great time, but boy it takes bit to get through all of it, especially if you're also doing the art museum. Me and my partner were literally speedrunning it lol. In comparison I felt the CMNH was the perfect length for an afternoon.

Edited January 21Jan 21 by Geowizical

you might like it and that's great. but the reason it was on national news is because they were doing publicity. 

Have't been inside yet but the outside is a work of art.

I guess this isn't something that happens every day in Cleveland

Interesting this positive story comes out the same day as some much less positive news regarding the Museum, management and some negative side-effects from the cost of the renovations. Not sure this is on topic, but it is something you can search for. Anyhow the place does look great in pictures. I am hopeful to find some time when I am in town to visit my stegosauras.

I’ll go ahead and post the article because I have a few thoughts, but maybe they are more about news writ large.

I’m glad the Scene exists, because it does provide a critical lens that some other new agencies lack in town. But I don’t understand how you can write an article like this based on one persons email. They didn’t get any quotes from the museum, or maybe more importantly the museum board, for the article. There also doesn’t seem to be any independent verification of any of the allegations (unless they did but didn’t tell us so).

All that said, I tend to believe the allegations, which is sad because it is an amazing institution. But I shouldn’t have to choose to believe or not, there should be some facts behind it.

Cleveland Scene

Cleveland Museum of Natural History Staff Plan to Unioniz...

Behind the glitz of the $150-million expansion lies a dysfunctional and hostile culture for employees, some say, with 70% of staff recently signing union cards

According to GCP's instagram:

Cleveland Museum of Natural History draws Record Crowds after $150M Transformation

• Museum has seen a 230% increase in visits over last year and 60% increase in ticket sales