"Museum Nerd"

I got a new pin to attach to my bag the other day. It says, “Museum Nerd”. My family will tell you this is me to a “T”. I have always loved to view art and history and share my enthusiasm with others. We have been blessed to visit many museums of all types across the United States over the years. A few of my favorites - the Barnes Foundation Collection in Philadelphia, the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

In honor of Black History Month, The Kansas City Royals Foundation sponsored “Free February” at the Negro League Baseball Museum (NLBM) at 18th and Vine in downtown Kansas City. I do not know why we had not visited it or the jazz museum yet. We seem to get stuck in the Union Station/WWI museum area and forget the rest of the rich history Kansas City holds. We made plans to change that.

Our visit to the NLBM was wonderful. If you have not been, you should go. The thoughtfulness of the displays and memorabilia engaged even me, who is not a huge baseball fan, but lover of history. Next door is the American Jazz Museum. Equally wonderful and lots of interactive listening experiences. Kansas City’s 18th and Vine was the hub of excitement and style in its day. Makes me wish there was a time travel button on some of the displays. We could head out to the ballpark and watch the Monarchs win a game, then put on our Sunday best and enjoy some sweet jazz and a good meal. The NLBM is planning an expansion which will include an education center and hotel, along with more exhibits and stories to be told. Did you know the KC Monarchs played baseball’s first night game? Or that Charlie Parker’s alto saxophone is on display at the jazz museum? I didn’t.

That same afternoon on our way back home we stopped at another KC gem which we had never been to, the Museum of Kansas City. A prestigious estate once belonging to the Long family is now a mansion of historical beauty and purpose. Corinthian Hall sits among some of Kansas City’s most unique homes along Gladstone Blvd., near the infamous Cliff Drive. Mr. Long was a lumber mogul. The property was built in 1910 and became a museum in 1940. Again, I said to myself, why have we never been here?

There are rotating exhibits, a ton of KC history and a soda fountain and billiard room in the basement. Did I mention it’s free? The main floor had a large chandelier on display along with a photo of a enormous crowd in front of Union Station, there for the WWI Memorial festivities. The information next to it said that Mr. Long was President of the group who worked to get the WWI Memorial here in Kansas City. On the day of the groundbreaking, his home hosted the important people who came to town. The chandelier hung in the dining room.

These are just three of the many museums is Kansas City worth visiting. And do not forget, right here in Clinton County we have a great historical museum in Plattsburg on Birch Avenue. The volunteers work hard to preserve the history of our county as generations of memories pass away. It is a unique place to take visitors and people who are new to town, as well. I haven’t been in a while; I need to make plans to do that, it is always a treat.

Museums are for everyone. They teach you about other cultures, eras and pastimes you might not have been familiar with. The museums I mentioned here in this column all have one distinct thing in common, beyond their amazing collections and exhibits - the volunteers. Remember that when you go to a museum. The storytellers make it an even more enriching experience.