Curating My Museum Collection

     Ten years ago, in the early months of 2007, I found myself walking through the concrete halls of the massive Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Florida. Like a sacred temple to the Greek muses, the space rang with the songs of wonder, shock, awe, and joy. The trip had been a surprise for me - arranged by my mother after she noticed my special interest in a Discover magazine article describing the world renown exhibition "Bodies". And so there we stood, my mother and myself along with my 8 year-old twin brother and sister in the hall of plastinated bodies carved into fantastic scenes highlighting the anatomical majesty of the human form. Just a few months later I found myself part of the MOSI team, hired on as a part-time educator. Curiosity and passion landed me a spot on the grants and research team and then again on the astrogeek planetarium squad. A decade later, my commitment to the muses of history, literature, science and arts lives on. This blog is my way to honor the museums that inspire and guide my curiosities. To chronicle my explorations and catalog the exhibitions which have inspired and often changed my life, I aim to curate my museum collection and share the musing of the museum world.

The Chronicles of Museum Sam 
1989: Kindergarten field trip to The Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL
1994: 5th grade safety patrols field trip to Smithsonian Museums of Natural History, Air and Space, American History, Mount Vernon, Ford's Theater Washington, D.C.
1997: The American Museum of Natural History & Hayden Planetarium, New York, NY
2000: The Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, FL
2000: Cedar Key Historical Museum, Cedar Key, FL
2000: Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, FL
2001: The Field Museum, Chicago
2001: The British Museum, Natural History Museum of London, The Tower of London, Canterbury Cathedral, London
2001: The Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris
2002: Pensacola State College Planetarium, Pensacola, FL
2005: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
2007: Museum of Science and Industry & Saunders Planetarium, Tampa, FL
2007: Fort DeSoto National Memorial, Tierra Verde, FL
2008: Castillo de San Marcos, Fort Matanzas, St. Augustine, FL
2009: The Ringling Museum, Sarasota*, FL
2009: The Dali Museum, The Florida Aquarium, St. Petersburg, FL
2009: Houston Museum of Natural Science, Forth Worth Museum of Science and History, Houston**, TX
2010: Great Explorations Children's Museum, St. Peterburg, FL
2011: Tampa Museum of Art, Glazer Children's Museum, Tampa, FL
2012: The South Florida Museum & Bishop Planetarium, Bradenton, FL
2012: Mammoth Site, Hot Springs, SD
2012: The Adler Planetarium, The Field Museum, Chicago, IL
2012: Weedon Island Preserve and Cultural History Center, St. Peterburg, FL
2012: Florida Maritime Museum, Cortez, FL
2013: American Visionary Art Museum, B&O Railroad Museum, The National Aquarium, Maryland Science Center, Baltimore***, MA
2013: South Florida Science Center and Aquarium, West Palm Beach, FL
2014: Museum of Science and History (MOSH), Cummer Art Museum, Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park, Jacksonville*, FL
2015: Historic Spanish Point, Osprey, FL
2016: Tampa Bay History Center, Tampa**, FL
2016: Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, Sanibel, FL
2016: Edison and Ford Winter Estates, Fort Myers, FL
2016: The Udvar- Hazy Air and Space Museum, Chantilly, VA
2017: Oatlands Historic House & Gardens, Monticello, Montpelier, International Spy Museum, VA

* Florida Association of Museums (FAM) annual conference
** Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) annual conference 
*** American Alliance of Museums (AAM) annual conference