Linda A. Tancs's Blog: The Long and Short of It, page 8

New Jersey’s Mastodon

By Linda Tancs

Located on Rutgers’ historic Old Queens campus is Geology Hall, which is listed on both the state and national registers of historic places. It’s where you’ll find the university’s Geology Museum, collections of which date from 1836 and include minerals, fossils and geologic specimens emphasizing the geology of New Jersey and surrounding states. Arguably its most famous specimen is the fully-articulated mastodon skeleton found in 1869 in Salem County, New Jersey. Admission is free.

Whaling History at Red Bay

By Linda Tancs

The oil that lit the lamps of Europe in the 16th century came from Canada’s Strait of Belle Isle, a waterway that separates Labrador from the island of Newfoundland. It was there that whalers from the Basque region of Spain and France established a major whaling port at Red Bay. Both a national historic site and UNESCO World Heritage Site, Red Bay National Historic Site preserves the history of Basque whaling in Canada. Located along the Labrador Coastal Drive, the experience includes 16th-century Basque whaling traditions brought to life through costumed interpreters, original artifacts, scale models of work buildings, photographs and a 30-minute film. You can also take a short ferry ride to Saddle Island to see the archaeological remains of buildings where the Basques worked and lived.

Two Seas in Costa Rica

By Linda Tancs

A Costa Rican gem, the size of Rincón de la Vieja National Park allows you to experience both the Caribbean and Pacific sides of the Cordillera de Guanacaste. Known for its biodiversity, you’ll find rare species such as sloths, tapirs, kinkajous, pumas and jaguars, along with over 300 bird species. Boasting over 30,000 acres, you’ll want a full day to explore over 30 rivers and lakes, two volcanoes, impressive waterfalls and an abundance of hiking trails. A day tour from Guanacaste is the best way to visit, which generally includes an English speaking driver/guide to show you highlights along the way, all entry fees, and a detailed map of the park.

Cadbury World

By Linda Tancs

Uncover a world of chocolate at Cadbury World, a visitor attraction in Bournville, Birmingham, England, run by the Cadbury Company. Bournville is called a “factory in a garden,” a place where employees lived and worked, a concept unheard of in Victorian times. The factory is not part of the tour, but visitors get a sense of chocolate-making operations through demonstrations at the Chocolate Making Zone. Of course, you’ll get some free chocolate to enjoy as well.

The Little Museum of Dublin

By Linda Tancs

The Little Museum of Dublin is not your usual museum. In fact, the place is crowdsourced with quirky artifacts from locals. Its contents include an unopened bottle of lemonade from 1918 and a facsimile of author James Joyce’s death mask. You’ll enjoy a 30-minute history lesson delivered by a docent with humor and style. There’s even a room devoted to the iconic Irish rock band, U2. The popular attraction is housed in a Georgian building overlooking Dublin’s Stephen’s Green.

The Resolute Desk

By Linda Tancs

The Resolute Desk is the desk that the president of the United States uses in the Oval Office. Its timbers hail from the HMS Resolute, a British ship that had been lost at sea in the 1800s. Recovered by an American whaler, it was restored and returned to Britain as a token of goodwill. Queen Victoria then had the timbers fashioned into a desk for U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880. You won’t see it on a tour of the White House, but you can experience a faithful reproduction at places like Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in New York.

Shakespeare Played Here

By Linda Tancs

The Guildhall of St. George is a Grade I-listed building in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England. Founded in 1376 as a religious fellowship, it’s the largest surviving medieval guildhall in the country. It was the site of a theatrical production at least as early as 1445, when a nativity play was produced. Its biggest claim to fame, though, is the contention that even Shakespeare performed there. Recent academic research supports the local tradition that Shakespeare played there with the Earl of Pembroke’s Men in 1593, when London theaters were closed because of plague. Performances at the guildhall became so popular that a new theater was built in the 1700s. Today the guildhall is used as a public space for performances, lectures and entertainment.

A Little Magic in Scranton

By Linda Tancs

A popular attraction in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is the Houdini Museum, where the magical legacy of the legendary escape artist and illusionist, Harry Houdini, comes to life. The museum tour features artifacts, rare photographs and interactive exhibits that recount Houdini’s extraordinary career. The experience also includes a short film with rare footage of the magician and a live magic show after your tour. Visit the gift shop for magic kits and souvenirs.

Iron Age Denmark

By Linda Tancs

The Early Iron Age in Denmark covers the period from 500 B.C. until 400 A.D. Arguably one of the most important discoveries of the period was Tollund Man, a mummified corpse left for dead in a Danish bog some 2,400 years ago. So named for the two discoverers who hailed from Tollund (located close to the bog), the reason for his death is unknown to this day although human sacrifice was fairly common during that time. The body is a main feature at Silkeborg Museum in Hovedgården, where you can immerse yourself in the history of the Silkeborg region from ancient times to the present day.

Astronomy for the Masses

By Linda Tancs

Perkins Observatory in Delaware, Ohio, is reputedly the only observatory in Central Ohio that conducts hundreds of public programs for tens of thousands of people every year. Owned and operated by Ohio Wesleyan University, it primarily serves as an active research and educational facility for faculty and students of the OWU Physics and Astronomy Department. Most Friday evenings the facility is open for regular programs that include activities like telescope viewing, a tour of the observatory or a lecture about the night sky. The observatory also offers programming for telescope owners to increase their skills. The venue’s own telescope, equipped with 69-inch glass, made it the third largest telescope in the world in 1931. That telescope was subsequently moved to Arizona, where it is now a part of the Lowell Observatory and boasts a 72-inch diameter glass.