Cincinnati Museum Center’s newest gallery is expanding with three new, non-touch interactive experiences. The You Are Here gallery in CMC’s Cincinnati History Museum has added an interactive news desk, a Queen City quiz and Cincinnati-themed polling. The expanded gallery is open now.
You Are Here, the fourth new, permanent gallery to open or significantly expand at CMC in 2020, shares stories of our region’s history to answer the question, “What really makes Cincinnati Cincinnati?” From how people live to how they work to how they play, You Are Here addresses that question by showcasing Cincinnati’s people and places, traditions and struggles.
A news desk interactive puts you in front of the camera for some of the most memorable moments in Cincinnati history (and, for good measure, it’s located alongside a news camera from 1980 and TV and radio microphones from the 1930s and 40s). Guests sit at the news desk and report on major themes that have shaped the city – the importance of the Ohio River, introducing civil rights pioneers or celebrating public art or the latest Reds victory. Within the broadcasts you may just find the answers to some of the questions asked in Quizinnati, a multi-player quiz that tests your knowledge of all things Cincinnati. What’s your knowledge of Ruth Lyons? Or how Cincinnati got its name, not to mention its many nicknames? Step up to the plate and try to prove that you’re a Queen City gem as you answer questions with just the wave of your hand.
The Cincinnati Counts quiz enlists guests to weigh in on questions that define our shared experience inside the 275 loop: which regional food is our collective favorite – Cincinnati-style chili? Goetta? Ice cream? Which architectural beauty stands proudest of them all? (We may be biased on that answer.) Which team do we really cheer for the loudest? Cast your vote for your favorites and watch it play out on a large-format projection displaying the collective results.
A fourth interactive previously debuted in the gallery with the help of ArtWorks. An interactive mural, inspired by Cincinnati’s vibrant arts scene and the more than 200 murals across the city spearheaded by ArtWorks, encourages guests to get creative and design a mural of their own. No-touch, gesture-based technology allows you to put yourself in the mural, adding brilliant pops of color to the black-and-white mural painted by ArtWorks.
The new interactives punctuate the gallery’s historic objects. Among the gallery’s historic artifacts are those celebrating Cincinnati-style chili, goetta and beer that give our city flavor; the May Festival, the Cincinnati Rollergirls, the Reds and Bengals that give our city zest; the churches, schools and universities that give our city soul. Interactive elements bring those stories to life.
You Are Here is now open in CMC’s Cincinnati History Museum. CMC is open Thursdays – Mondays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Timed tickets are required for entry for both Members and general public and can be reserved online. Masks are also required for entry. Visit cincymuseum.org for more information.
