Kris Koeller's Blog: Museums

December 12, 2012 at 05:01 PM 0 0 0

An LED Bucky Ball in Madison Square Park

Museums, New York City

Named for Buckminster Fuller, the Bucky Ball is a model of a molecule made entirely of carbon. A fullerene, if you will. Artist Leo Villareal has installed in Madison Square Park a giant Bucky Ball installation comprised of 180 LED tubes of ever-changing color. Its quite a sight to behold.

November 2, 2012 at 12:15 PM 266 45 7

Tatzu Nishi's Discovering Columbus Art Installation

Museums, New York City

Before we were sidetracked by Hurricane Sandy and related posts, last weekend we had tickets to an incredible art installation by Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi. Titled, "Discovering Columbus", Nishi constructed a living room around the Christopher Columbus statue atop a monument six stories above Columbus Circle near Central Park South and Broadway. The effect of the installation is for the statue of Columbus to appear as a work of art in someone's living room. If you entered this room blindfolded...

(click to read the full text).

August 31, 2012 at 11:10 AM 221 46 12

Visit to the Richard Nixon Presidential Library

Los Angeles, Museums, National Parks, US Travel

A few weeks ago we were in Chino Hills, California to attend a wedding and had a few hours to kill on a Sunday before the ceremony. Consulting a map I was surprised to learn that the Richard Nixon Presidential Library was only about 25 minutes away in Yorba Linda. Nixon is an interesting figure, most known for his disgraceful exit following the Watergate scandal, but he did have a notable political career and was an accomplished diplomat before his presidency imploded. I was curious to see how h...

(click to read the full text).

August 23, 2012 at 03:27 PM 311 28 18

Visit to the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles

Geekdom, Los Angeles, Museums, US Travel

We were in Los Angeles last weekend to attend a wedding, but took the time to do some sightseeing and catch up with friends. We arrived Saturday morning around 9:30AM and went straight to Peet's coffee in Marina el Rey. From there we went straight to In-N-Out burger for an early lunch, then off to visit the La Brea Tar Pits and Page Museum on Wilshire Boulevard. That's one giant lake of liquid asphalt (taken through a fence, thus the lines) Like most kids, I had a fascination with fossils gr...

(click to read the full text).

January 11, 2012 at 07:50 PM 374 52 12

Tour of the Summer Palace: Beijing, China

Asia, Beijing, China, Museums, Travelogue

We arrived in Beijing on January 4 and had a few days for sightseeing before the wedding on January 7. Jessica's Uncle John, the groom's father, arranged a number of bus tours for visitors to see the sights of Beijing. We skipped the Great Wall having done that during our visit in 2010, but caught a ride with the city tour headed to the Palace Museum and the Summer Palace. The Palace Museum is the proper name for the Forbidden City, and since we had seen that already, we split from the group and...

(click to read the full text).

October 6, 2011 at 02:31 PM 183 21 13

Daily Photo: The World War 1 Memorial and Museum in Kansas City, Missouri

Daily Photo, Kansas City, Museums

I grew up in Kansas City, but moved to California in 1995. I return often to visit friends and family, but seldom did much of the 'touristy' things in and around town. One worth seeing is the World War 1 Memorial and Museum, the only one of its kind in the country. The memorial sits atop a hill with a sweeping view of the newly restored Union Station and the downtown skyline behind. Its a great museum, and a great spot. I took this photo in the summer of 2008 while visiting for the Fourth of the...

(click to read the full text).

October 3, 2011 at 03:13 PM 2191 449 17

Daily Photo: The Louvre at Sunset

Daily Photo, Europe, France, Museums, Paris

Despite traveling to Paris many times, I don't think I could ever get tired of it. The nice part about going to a great city like Paris more than once is you don't feel as compelled to do all the big touristy things on subsequent visits. During our last trip, we did a lot more dining and hanging out than sightseeing. Nonetheless, we did visit the Louvre, but only because we had bought the city's Museum Pass (an excellent bargain). I snapped this photo around sunset one evening as we were doing a...

(click to read the full text).

August 1, 2011 at 02:02 PM 777 32 5

Tour of the Roosevelt Homes in Hyde Park, New York

HDR, Museums, National Parks, US Travel, Weekend Excursions from NYC

A few weeks ago I wrote about one of our more ambitious weekend excursions to Hyde Park and surroundings. In one day we toured the Vanderbilt Mansion, The Val-Kil Cottage home of Eleanor Roosevelt, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Family Home & Presidential Library and the Hudson Distillery in Tuthilltown, New York. This is a followup to my writeup on the Vanderbilt Mansion, and talks about our tours of two Roosevelt homes, Val-Kil, built for an occupied by Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Roosevelt Family H...

(click to read the full text).

March 7, 2011 at 01:16 PM 308 12 6

Weekend in Chicago

Birthdays, Chicago, HDR, Museums, US Travel

We spent a long weekend in Chicago, meeting up with Lana and Dean from San Francisco. Lana's birthday is the entire month of March, so we celebrated that plus seeing the sights. Dean used to live in Chicago, and Lana's been there many times. I was last there 15 years ago while working for Arthur Andersen, but this was Jessica's first trip. We spent most of our time eating, planning meals, traveling to meals, waiting in line in the snow for meals and having cocktails. We also did an architect...

(click to read the full text).

June 17, 2010 at 08:44 PM 68 3 5

A Day at the Met

Museums, New York City

Went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City today for the first time in 5 years. Firstly, the museum is an amazing value where you can truly name your own price (the default suggested donation is $20, but you can literally pay whatever amount you feel is appropriate, including free). Admission grants you access to the many terrific exhibitions as well as the full permanent collection. Today I focused on seeing the exhibits, the rooftop exhibit and re-orienting myself with the museu...

(click to read the full text).

May 4, 2010 at 06:56 AM 75 4 0

The Best Museum in Tokyo

Asia, Japan, Museums, Tokyo

Today we made a visit to the Yebisu Beer Museium in Ebisu, Tokyo. The tour is only in Japanese, but if you pay your ¥500 and smile a lot, the tastings are generous and enjoyable. Owned today by the Sopporo Brewing Company, the Yebisu brand is the oldest and most distinguished in Japan, winning the gold medal at the Paris World's Fair in 1900. John appears to listen dutifully while waiting for his beer. The museum is rather small, but features a large tasting room where you can inexpensive...

(click to read the full text).

May 8, 2008 at 01:49 PM 65 6 3

Last Day in Paris: Versailles and the Sacré-Coeur

Europe, France, Museums, Paris, Travelogue

Our last day in Paris was another busy one. In hindsight, we probably planned our visit to Paris about one day shorter than necessary. However, adding another day would likely result in us adding even more stuff to do and see. To be honest, when I booked the return train to London, I had the dates wrong in my head and had us returning to England a day earlier than necessary. Since the tickets weren't changeable or refundable, we decided to add a visit to Bath (UK) which turned out to be well wor...

(click to read the full text).

May 5, 2008 at 07:56 PM 76 5 5

Touring Paris - Day 4: Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower & The Louvre

Europe, France, Museums, Paris, Travelogue

Day 4 in Paris was the Parisian chamber of commerce tourist greatest hits day. As such this post is primarily pictures as they speak for themselves. The weather had been mostly gray and gloomy all week, but the forecast for this day was calling for sunny and warm skies. The plan was to get up early to hit the Eiffel Tower before the crowds, then do other things from there. At 9:30AM, the fog was just lifting off the ground and there was no blue sky in sight. So, change of plans, we decided to wa...

(click to read the full text).

April 13, 2008 at 03:54 PM 44 2 6

Greetings from London! - Day 1

England, Europe, London, Museums, Travelogue

Arrived this morning around 7:00AM after a pretty easy 9 hour flight direct from San Francisco. So far, the trip has gone off without a hitch. The transfer from the airport to downtown was quick, easy and cheap (about 6 pounds). Me on the Underground from Heathrow. Cheap is an operative word as the dollar sits at all time lows. The British Pound, however, isnt too far off from when I was here last which reaffirms my notion that the UK is just expensive. So far the only notable snafu is g...

(click to read the full text).

July 11, 2007 at 12:06 PM 78 4 13

Travels to Vietnam: Three Days in Saigon

Asia, Museums, Saigon, Travelogue, Vietnam

My first stop in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was its largest city, Ho Chi Minh City, more popularly, Saigon. I arrived from Singapore via JetStar, this time luggage intact. The former capital of South Vietnam, Saigon was quickly renamed in honor Vietnam's favorite Communist, Ho Chi Minh, following the communist victory in 1975. I'll talk more about Ho Chi Minh when I visit Ha Noi, the capital. Most people refer to the city as Ho Chi Minh, or HCM in writing. More fashionable venues such a...

(click to read the full text).