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I remember the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry being an incredible place in the 1970s. I think it was in the 1990s I was there for some reason and it was

by wrp 3y ago

I remember the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry being an incredible place in the 1970s. I think it was in the 1990s I was there for some reason and it was pretty much gutted. Maybe the decline in American museums has been going on quite a while.

viscountchocula 3y ago
I love omsi! Have only lived here since 2017, though. What was so extra about it in the '70s that's lacking now (or at least was lacking in the '90s)?
- chung8123 3y ago
  I am not sure what was special back in the 70's (I only started going int he 80's) but they were in a different building near the zoo back then. When the new building was built they had to pay for it with increased ticket costs.
- rootusrootus 3y ago
  The old building next to the zoo was smaller, so it was more cozy and you were just surrounded by fascinating things. And it had a periscope. It might well just be nostalgia that remembers it as a superior experience, however. I share the fond memories, but it's hard to say the new location is objectively worse. It's a lot larger and spread out, for sure, which changes the ambiance significantly. But it accommodates a lot more people. And there's an actual submarine now, instead of just a periscope.
  - wrp 3y ago
    Also, the museum store was not just a gift shop but a real science supply center. You could buy lab supplies and chemicals. I recall it was a lot cheaper than buying from Fisher or Sigma-Aldrich. They even had a branch store down in Eugene.
mcphage 3y ago
> Maybe the decline in American museums has been going on quite a while. It may also be due to large improvements at museums being a very sporadic occurrence. I remember growing up, my local museum (the Buffalo Museum of Science) feeling very dated, and when we visited Toronto, the Ontario Science Centre felt very new and fresh. But now the Buffalo museum has had some recent upgrades and feels new, whereas the last time I was at the Ontario Science Centre, it felt like I was seeing the same exhibits I saw as a kid 30 years earlier. Perhaps when my kids are grown, it will have reversed again.
kingrazor 3y ago
Most of my best field trips as a kid involved OMSI.

by wrp 3y ago

viscountchocula 3y ago

I love omsi! Have only lived here since 2017, though. What was so extra about it in the '70s that's lacking now (or at least was lacking in the '90s)?

chung8123 3y ago
I am not sure what was special back in the 70's (I only started going int he 80's) but they were in a different building near the zoo back then. When the new building was built they had to pay for it with increased ticket costs.
rootusrootus 3y ago
The old building next to the zoo was smaller, so it was more cozy and you were just surrounded by fascinating things. And it had a periscope. It might well just be nostalgia that remembers it as a superior experience, however. I share the fond memories, but it's hard to say the new location is objectively worse. It's a lot larger and spread out, for sure, which changes the ambiance significantly. But it accommodates a lot more people. And there's an actual submarine now, instead of just a periscope.
- wrp 3y ago
  Also, the museum store was not just a gift shop but a real science supply center. You could buy lab supplies and chemicals. I recall it was a lot cheaper than buying from Fisher or Sigma-Aldrich. They even had a branch store down in Eugene.

mcphage 3y ago

> Maybe the decline in American museums has been going on quite a while. It may also be due to large improvements at museums being a very sporadic occurrence. I remember growing up, my local museum (the Buffalo Museum of Science) feeling very dated, and when we visited Toronto, the Ontario Science Centre felt very new and fresh. But now the Buffalo museum has had some recent upgrades and feels new, whereas the last time I was at the Ontario Science Centre, it felt like I was seeing the same exhibits I saw as a kid 30 years earlier. Perhaps when my kids are grown, it will have reversed again.

kingrazor 3y ago

Most of my best field trips as a kid involved OMSI.