Eloise and I set out on our first Ozarkian adventure: 4 juice boxes, 3 cheese sticks, 2 granola bars and 1 generous COFFEE. Point Lookout, Missouri, here we come! I had not been to The Ralph Foster Museum (www.rfostermuseum.com/index.asp) since I was a child and was eager to see the artifacts burned in my mind: a shrunken head and a two headed calf. Of course, least we forget the Beverly Hillbilly's car! I must say first and foremost the College of the Ozarks campus (Hard Work U) is beautiful. The campus is a tapestry of rolling hills and in the center is a small lake (okay, large pond really) with a water feature. Surrounding it are solid stone buildings alongside mid-century modern buildings with a dash of old grist mill and a one room chapel. Charming! I tried to get Eloise as excited as I was about the buildings, but she was more interested in the orange peels someone discarded on the parking lot.
The museum building itself is nothing to write home about (or blog): mixed, boring architecture mixed with vinyl tile flooring and lay-in acoustical ceilings with fluorescent lighting. But, isn't this really part of the whole 'ozarks' package?
Best experiences: A wonderfully detailed miniature circus, the Rose O'Neill kewpie doll display (if you are not aware of this artist’s life, check out http://www.roseoneill.org/), the hundreds of animal heads from all over the world, a stuffed grizzly bear whose nose was as big as my fist (yikes), dozens of questions from a curious four year old. At the end of the self guided tour, Eloise was so excited about going into the 'Discovery Center' for kids. There was a sign posted 'Ask Attendant at the front desk for entry, an attendant must accompany visitors', or something like that. We asked the student working the front and then the manager came out of her office to find someone to take us inside. Eloise was busting to get in there. We had a delightful student named Mike who gave Eloise a first class tour of all the hands on activities: a teepee, cave, black light room and dozens of hands on experiences (including a very pungent rat cage). He is a theatre major and indulged Eloise’s need for pretend play by turning into an Australian outback hunter. Thanks Mike! We then proceeded to the gift shop to find very affordable souvenirs. All in all, it was a wonderful visit! I give this location 3 out 5 stone whiskey jugs.
Good to know:
• Cost of admission: $6 for adults, children under 18 free! Be prepared for a $9.95 fee to have your picture taken 'driving' the Beverly Hillbilly's car (um, we skipped that) and $0.51 to have a souviner penny flattend (see pictures). Although, technically, it only costs $0.50 becuase you get the penny back!
• The Children’s Discovery Area is ages 4-9. We were told it is reserved for groups only, but I think Eloise was so charming, they let us in anyway.
• There are several other things to do on the campus that we didn’t have time to visit: Star School turn of the century one room school, Gaetz Tractor Museum and Edwards Mill.
Postscript: I searched every dimly lit corner of the museum for the two headed calf but came up empty. I asked Mike where it was located, knowing that sometimes they rotate the exhibits and thinking it may be in storage. He said that some higher up decided that the two headed calf made fun of genetic defects and they decided to pull it from the museum. My reply: ‘What?’. Mike repeated the story. Me ‘Really?’. Mike ‘Yes’. Me ‘No’. Mike ‘Yes’. Me ‘Uh-uh’. Mike ‘Yes’. Come on now people, really? A large part of my ‘excitement’ about this trip was remembering this strange image as a child. Flash forward 35 years to Eloise ‘Oh kids, let’s go to the College of the Ozarks. They have a really great stuffed fox’. Yawn.
The museum building itself is nothing to write home about (or blog): mixed, boring architecture mixed with vinyl tile flooring and lay-in acoustical ceilings with fluorescent lighting. But, isn't this really part of the whole 'ozarks' package?
Best experiences: A wonderfully detailed miniature circus, the Rose O'Neill kewpie doll display (if you are not aware of this artist’s life, check out http://www.roseoneill.org/), the hundreds of animal heads from all over the world, a stuffed grizzly bear whose nose was as big as my fist (yikes), dozens of questions from a curious four year old. At the end of the self guided tour, Eloise was so excited about going into the 'Discovery Center' for kids. There was a sign posted 'Ask Attendant at the front desk for entry, an attendant must accompany visitors', or something like that. We asked the student working the front and then the manager came out of her office to find someone to take us inside. Eloise was busting to get in there. We had a delightful student named Mike who gave Eloise a first class tour of all the hands on activities: a teepee, cave, black light room and dozens of hands on experiences (including a very pungent rat cage). He is a theatre major and indulged Eloise’s need for pretend play by turning into an Australian outback hunter. Thanks Mike! We then proceeded to the gift shop to find very affordable souvenirs. All in all, it was a wonderful visit! I give this location 3 out 5 stone whiskey jugs.
Good to know:
• Cost of admission: $6 for adults, children under 18 free! Be prepared for a $9.95 fee to have your picture taken 'driving' the Beverly Hillbilly's car (um, we skipped that) and $0.51 to have a souviner penny flattend (see pictures). Although, technically, it only costs $0.50 becuase you get the penny back!
• The Children’s Discovery Area is ages 4-9. We were told it is reserved for groups only, but I think Eloise was so charming, they let us in anyway.
• There are several other things to do on the campus that we didn’t have time to visit: Star School turn of the century one room school, Gaetz Tractor Museum and Edwards Mill.
Postscript: I searched every dimly lit corner of the museum for the two headed calf but came up empty. I asked Mike where it was located, knowing that sometimes they rotate the exhibits and thinking it may be in storage. He said that some higher up decided that the two headed calf made fun of genetic defects and they decided to pull it from the museum. My reply: ‘What?’. Mike repeated the story. Me ‘Really?’. Mike ‘Yes’. Me ‘No’. Mike ‘Yes’. Me ‘Uh-uh’. Mike ‘Yes’. Come on now people, really? A large part of my ‘excitement’ about this trip was remembering this strange image as a child. Flash forward 35 years to Eloise ‘Oh kids, let’s go to the College of the Ozarks. They have a really great stuffed fox’. Yawn.
