It’s a sign!

All The Fine Details

We’re so close I can taste the finished product! Our offices once covered in blueprints, are currently playing host to many fabulous “educational manipulatives” – otherwise known as the fine – and fun – details that are pulling all of the exhibits together.

Tuesday May 22, 2012 at 3:00 p.m.

Tuesday I ran into Liz Comparetto working with her new team member, Debra Anding. They were literally knee deep in all of the crazy-fun stuff that makes us all long to be kids again. They were in a sort of dance involving sorting, playing, organizing, playing some more and smiling non stop.

Later that night on the phone (yes, we work late into the night), Liz said, “… you know, it’s hard to tell from a person’s resume and interview, how they will really do in an environment like a children’s museum. But earlier today, when I wwent to meet with Debra, to go over our To-Do list, I saw her wearing about a dozen different outfits from the Whimsical Wardrobe exhibit. It was a great sign!”

Welcome to the team, Debra (left, pink frame)! You already know Liz – Queen of FUN & SMILES

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Speaking of signs…

Wednesday May 23, 2012 starting at 1:30 p.m.

Yesterday was an exciting day for me. I worked non-stop (with the exception of a small snack), with Lesley Howard, the amazing mother of two, gardener extroardinaire, best front porch listener, and talented local designer responsible for Savannah Children’s Museum’s beautiful logo and exhibit signs. We finalized details on the majority of the signs, packaging them for our friends at Kennickell to print.

While our formal target audience for Savannah Children’s Museum is 0-10, Exploration Station is a space kids older than 10 will enjoy. So, I wanted signs that younger children who can’t read yet would understand, and that older kids would find cool.

I thought you might want to see Whimsical Wardrobe’s sign (this is a picture of the image on a computer screen). Notice the frame on the wall which is one of my favorite manipulatives. Pictured above are Debra and Liz modeling the real frames.

A Sign Is Born…

The process of designing signs can be long and tedious, and this blog won’t ever do it justice, but I thought you’d all enjoy a peek at the process, just the same. Below are images of Frogtown Garden’s sign evolution. The sign is not 100% finished, but it’s getting there!

Note: the first image is sadly drawn by me, on a 3″ x 5″ note card. I do this a lot with designers, because I find if they’re good listeners, my drawings don’t have to be good at all.They get the concept and create something amazing…

  

What’s Happening Today

Thursday May 24, 2012 starting at 10:30 a.m.

This morning two different colleagues sent me images of the upstairs portion of Exploration Station. One image had the simple subject line of “OMG!” To understand the transformation, I’m including a before picture featurng our archaeologist Rita Elliott and project manager Amy Ver Beek Brown, along with today’s almost-finished image. As you can see on the right, more trees are being planted as well!

 

Oh, the tree in a hole

And the hole in the ground

And the green grass grew all around, all around

And the green grass grew all around

     ~The Green Grass Grew All Around, Folk Song Lyrics

See you Saturday June 9th! Ribbon cutting ceremony starts at 9 a.m. sharp.

For information on how you can volunteer opening weekend, please CLICK HERE.

~ Patricia ‘Kiki’ Knight

 

Get The Dirt On Our Team

Time is flying by as the Coastal Heritage Society team races to get Savannah Children’s Museum’s Exploration Station ready for the Grand Opening on JUNE 9, 2012!

 While we are all doing our part working on multiple projects at once, the CHS Construction & Preservation team has continued to amaze me with their ant-like tenacity at keeping this incredibly complex and multi-layered project  going at an incredible pace. Get to know one of our incredible welders, “Walker” and Curator of Buildings, Stewart Dohrman, and a few other folks, in the latest issue of Savannah Magazine.

Got Dirt?

If you’ve been to the site or you’ve kept up with this blog, you know there is a lot of dirt around right now. So it was a bit surprising even to me, when the excitement last week revolved around a ton of dirt and fertilizer that had arrived and was being placed into Frogtown Garden..

Click HERE to meet Joe Hankerson, CHS Preservation Team member, and father of three little girls, helping make Savannah Children’s Museum a reality! Then, view the before and ‘now’ pictures of Frogtown Garden below.

Monday April 30, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.

It’s not that easy to get dirt down in the lower level of Exploration Station. Click HERE to watch a short video of how it was done.

 

Frogtown Garden in Progress

Friday May 4, 2012 at 11:00 a.m.

 

A HUGE thank you to local gardeners:

• Hal Behnke
• Dagny Pariani
• Gene Millard
• Frances Smith
• Jane Fishman

for helping with the first round of planting, and to Hester and Zipperer for a generous donation of plants and herbs.

FROGTOWN GARDEN is generously supported by Publix Super Markets Charities.

 

King of the Hill

The Sugar Beet Bluff area of Savannah Children’s Museum will be home to a nostalgic grass hill meant for exploration and a whole lot of rolling! The overall area will offer families a shady picnic space with views of the locomotives that adorn – and move through- the neighboring Georgia State Railroad Museum.

Tuesday April 24, 2012 around noon

Scott Smith, Coastal Heritage Society CEO, stands on top of one of his creative contributions to Savannah Children’s Museum – a dirt mound that is transforming into the center piece of Sugar Beet Bluff.

Children need to explore the world and experiment to really begin to understand how things work. They need many experiences of rolling down a hill, rolling a ball down a hill, watching water from a hose run down a hill, seeing streams run down hill, etc. in order to grasp what gravity means. 

~ Child’s Play Magazine

Thursday April 25, 2012 2:15 p.m.

Director of Development, Samantha Pogorelsky, has to see it (or climb it) to believe it!

Thursday April 26, 2012 morning then that same afternoon

A Bluff is Born

Friday April 27, 2012 11:45 a.m.

Scott Smith takes a moment to address the Coastal Heritage Society Preservation Team during a well-deserved lunch break in Sugar Beet Bluff. They’ve gathered to celebrate all of what has been accomplished so far, with less than 6 weeks until opening day! To the right is the Savannah Children’s Museum feature in the May/June 2012 issue of Savannah Magazine  (now on stands). The team was elated by the early preview and photo of team member, welder Leithland Walker…

 

A DOSE OF PERSPECTIVE 

Before and After views of Sugar Beet Bluff (before image was taken some time in early March 2012).

 

Indeed, it takes a village… and a whole lot of elbow grease! Thank you for your patience. Another blog will be posted at the end of the week. Until then, tune into Savannah’s 105.3 FM to hear our first radio spot. Mark your calendars, GRAND OPENING Saturday June 9, 9 a.m.  ~ Patricia Knight

 

Art Installation

Tuesday March 21, 2012 at 1:45 p.m.

Today local artist Amiri Geuka Farris came by the Savannah Children’s Museum site to measure the back wall of Mist Island. That wall is where he is designing, and will be installing, a beautiful and original Gullah mural in Exploration Station. Known for his dynamic and constantly changing forms of art, Amiri never relies on a single medium and his vibrant style speaks to art enthusiasts everywhere. Coastal Heritage Society is excited to partner with Amiri Farris on some very special pieces.

Below, Amiri and Stewart measure the wall as Liz and Amiri’s friend Lee Fields, look on. Stewart draws out a ‘plan’ in his notebook for the installation of the mural.

 

 

To view more of Amiri Farris’ artwork, CLICK HERE.

We have been given clues as to what Amiri’s vision for the mural is, but we don’t know what it will be yet! It’s fun to have something to look forward to, with our audience.

Stay inspired!

~ Patricia Knight 

 

Mystery Solved

Monday March 19, 2012 at 9:26 a.m.

I received an email this morning from Dr. Rita Elliott, locally respected archaeologist who works frequently with Coastal Heritage Society, regarding the ‘mystery item’ seen here. I had posted this picture in the March 9th blog post titled One Month Later, thinking it would be fairly easy to identify. The group, however, wanted to wait until we were sure what it was. Here is Rita’s email to me:

Hi Patricia,

Its a porcelain insulator. They were used prior to the invention of plastic coated wiring. The insulator would keep wires from coming into contact with a building’s wooden walls and rafters, preventing possible fires. They were made in different shapes and sizes. Today, the plastic coated wires replace the need for these insulators. Large ceramic insulators are still used; however, to hold wires on power poles outside. 

Rita

Everyone should have the number of a cool archaeologist to call with a burning question….  To read a little more about what archaeologists do and have done around Savannah, CLICK HERE.

Stay tuned!

P.Knight

 

 

STAIRing Down A Challenge

Wednesday March 14, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.

The journey to build Savannah Children’s Museum in an existing historic site has been riddled with challenges. With just over two months to go before we open Exploration Station, the entire team is feeling the pressure. Today, we went to the site to discuss one exhibit in particular, and were greeted again by the giant crane I blogged about yesterday. Today the team was lowering even more steel, as well as the two sets of stairs for the welders to install today!

To say the least, we all were so excited. Click here to see yesterday’s video clip of the crane lowering some of the steel into the ground floor of Exploration Station. Below, 1) our team stops to talk with the construction team 2) Amy, Stewart and Alexis take a close look at The Gangway structure that is being installed 3) a look from The Gangway towards the soon-to-be garden area and last, 4) Amy looks on as Samantha points at Stewart, who is on the second set of stairs, giving us the thumbs-up sign that all looks good on the other structure!

   

Wednesday March 14, 2012 at 3:15 p.m.

Older, wood braces on the side of Exploration Station being replaced with modern, sleek steel ones! Click HERE to view a short video explanation by Stewart Dohrman.

 

Wednesday March 14, 2012 at 3:45 p.m.

A member of the Coastal Heritage Society Preservation Team turns in a found glass object to Alexis, who walked over to show it to Stewart. They think it ‘may’ be a very old light bulb, but aren’t certain. The close up image shows how thick the glass is all around the object. All items are collected, checked out and documented.

 

Wednesday March 14, 2012 at 2:20 p.m.

On a personal note, we all hear about how small a ‘town’ Savannah and the whole Coastal Empire really is. Today was a great example of that for our team. Liz Comparetto, is a veteran teacher, who recently joined our team as Director of Children’s Education, and came to us from a public school in South Carolina. . .

As we made our way down the construction stairs to see the site from the ground floor, we ran into two of Coastal Heritage Society’s best brick masons. Vicente and his wife saw LIz and were ecstatic to see that their son’s favorite teacher had not vanished into thin air! It was a warm reunion, and serves to remind us how personal this project really is. We are building a space our families, your families and visiting families will enjoy and make memories in for years to come.

“Man, unlike anything organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments.”

~ John Steinbeck

 

Gangway! Or rather, The Gangway…

Tuesday March 13, 2012 at 2:30 p.m.

I realize it’s not the Sunday post I promised, but I’m glad I waited because today I walked out to the site of Exploration Station with Leslie Howard, a talented local graphic designer working on many elements of Savannah Children’s Museum, when we saw this:

RH Welding and Fabrication, located in Richmond Hill, GA, was on-site welding the steel structure that will be part of The Gangway, the main entrance* to the bottom floor of Exploration Station, where Exploration Maze and other wonderful exhibits will be located. The images below show the crane lowering a piece of steel to be added to The Gangway, and a piece of a staircase that will also be added. The entire structure will be painted before the final exhibit elements are added…

   

February 13, 2012 at 1 p.m.

Looking down from The Gangway, the ground has been prepped for the poured rubber flooring that will be installed soon. We showed you a color sample in the Feb 3rd blog titled Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

February 23, 2012 at  11 a.m.

Below, Amy and Gary double check the small area in front of The Gangway, that will also have a recycled rubber floor. You can see behind Gary that the area which was dug-out (above) is now filled in and primed for the rubber floor.

gang·way [n. gang-wey; interj. gang-wey]

noun

1. An opening in the railing or bulwark of a ship, as that into which a gangplank fits.

2. The side entrance of a diesel or electric locomotive.

I hope this was inspiring! You can definitely see an incredible amount of change at the site and we are excited to start offering 1 year family memberships for sale, starting in April.

Stay tuned and stay excited!

Patricia Guerrero Knight, Marketing & PR

P.S. There is a bit of debate related to the exact name of the item that was found on-site, which I posted an image of on Saturday. I am consulting with our archaeologist to confirm what it is and the correct name and period. Then, I’ll post the answer. My money is on Stewart being right, but even he wants to confirm (:

* Both phases of Savannah Children’s Museum will be ADA accessible for children. Exploration Station in particular will have a lift and the ground floor pathways are also ADA accessible for children.

 

One Month Later……

Friday March 9, 2012

It’s been exactly 1 month since my last post. Many of you are on pins-and-needles to see the progress, so my apologies for the delay. The good news, is that the delay was caused by so much that is going on! Here is a look at the progress made on Exploration Maze – an exhibit area our kids can hardly wait to break-in!  I’m hoping to announce some exciting partnerships in the next blog – as well as show you the work that’s been done on the wild entrance into the bottom level of Exploration Station. The next blog entry should be up on Sunday… ~Patricia, Marketing

EXPLORATION MAZE 

Friday March 7, 2012, 

Bill Sullivan posing by the first Exploration Maze post that is installed. He is a stellar carpenter and an important member of the CHS Preservation Team. He’s been hard at work in the interior, bottom floor of Exploration Station getting decking and other carpentry-related projects finished. The picture on the right side of the screen show Exploration Maze without any posts at all, on February 24th.

 

Later in the day, around noon, I stopped in with Amiri Farris and Carrie Hirsch from the Gullah Museum in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and I took this picture of Exploration Maze full of posts!

  

While walking out of the site with Amiri and Carrie, Carrie – who has an eye for detail – spotted the tip of something peeking out of the soil. It turned out to be a very old, small piece of ceramic from most likely the 1920’s. Can anyone tell me what this is? Stewart Dohrman, CHS Curator of Buildings knew, and I’ll reveal his explanation on Sunday.

We’re starting the sprint towards the finish line…. June 9th is just around the corner. Stay excited and stay tuned! More catching up to be blogged about on Sunday. ~ Have a great weekend and Happy 100th Anniversary Weekend, Girl Scouts of America! 

Trivia: Did you know that William W. Gordon, first President of the Central of Georgia Railroad, current site of Georgia State Railroad Museum and Savannah Children’s Museum was Juliette Gordon Low’s (founder of the Girl Scouts) grandfather?

 

POURtrait of Change

Today I left the site almost floating on air. I never thought I’d be so happy to see a cement truck! Or rather, a couple of cement trucks as the crew poured quite a lot of cement today in both Exploration Station (Phase 1) and the interior basement level of Savannah Children’s Museum (Phase 2). The ability to work on both phases simultaneously is so incredibly exciting. But enough out of me, take a look for yourselves…               ~Patricia, Marketing

9:30 A.M. on Thursday February 9, 2012

Amy was on site bright and early (much earlier than 9:30) and took some ‘before’ pictures of the lower level of Exploration Station:

 

10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M on Thursday February 9, 2012

Cement is poured by Conrad Construction Company, throughout the ADA-accessible walkways in the lower level of Exploration Station. We all agreed on the color (which looks much different when DRY 😉 ). Pictured below are Fernando, Artemio & Jose.

12:00 P.M on Thursday February 9, 2012

The crew finishes pouring and smoothing the concrete walkways. Phillip mans the cement truck, which I gotta admit, even at my age is cool to be near.

  

12:15 P.M – 1:00 P.M. on Thursday February 9, 2012

Below, Travis, a CHS Preservation Team member leans over the ‘entrance’ to the lower level of Exploration Station to get a bird’s-eye-view of the walkways. Bill, who works with Travis, gives us a thumbs-up on the work. He then moves back to meet with Stewart, who has also shown up to check on the project.

  

“To cement a new friendship… a spark with which both were secretly charged must fly from person to person, and cut across the accidents of place and time.” ~Cornelia Otis Skinner

The beauty of this project is that it has touched everyone working on it, witnessing it, reading about it and anticipating the opening-date announcement. We all either have children or grandchildren, nieces or nephews, know children or live near them. There were a lot of smiles on-site today. Stay involved! ~ PK.

 

Kaboom!

And just like that, our first major exhibit has arrived and is ready to be installed…

10:32 A.M. on Monday February 6, 2012

Imagination Playground arrived right on schedule this past Monday!

Below:

Teddy, delivered it. Ian unloaded it. Amy checked it in…

    

Teddy is a courteous Savannah-based truck driver from Estes Express Lines, who delivered the exhibit. As previously mentioned in other posts, Both Ian and Amy are members of the Coastal Heritage Society Preservation Team, but Amy also is the acting project manager for Savannah Children’s Museum.

“Children play most creatively in settings they can manipulate. ” ~ Play Associates

ABOUT IMAGINATION PLAYGROUND

Imagination Playground is a breakthrough playspace concept conceived and designed by architect David Rockwell to encourage child-directed, unstructured free play. With a focus on loose parts, Imagination Playground offers a changing array of elements that allows children to constantly reconfigure their environment and to design their own course of play. Giant foam blocks, mats, wagons, fabric and crates overflow with creative potential for children to play, dream, build and explore endless possibilities.