Travelsmartplanet

The fantastical sheet metal walls of MoPop were designed by Frank Gehry. It is often quoted as looking like a smashed electric guitar. Gehry himself had made the comparison, “We started collecting pictures of Stratocasters, bringing in guitar bodies, drawing on those shapes in developing our ideas.”

Despite some critical reviews of the structure, the building has been called “a fitting backdrop for the world’s largest collection of Jimi Hendrix memorabilia.” The outside of the building which features a fusion of textures and colors, including gold, silver, deep red, blue and a “shimmering purple haze,” has been declared “an apt representation of the American rock experience.

What is pop culture without pop music? At MoPop in Seattle, this floor to ceiling column of guitars by Trimpin is called Roots and Branches and is made up of 700 instruments, 40 custom-made. It is computer controlled – self- playing Trimpin’s compositions.

On the back of Jimi Hendrix’s “Love or Confusion” lyrics, this drawing from early 1967 is believed to be by Hendrix and his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham. It depicts his Dylan-esque hair, military jacket, Iron Cross necklace, heeled boots and towering Marshall amplifier stack. It also references his manager, band members, and other groups like the Who and the Beatles.

Jimi Hendrix paraphernalia has a big part to play in the MoPop museum collection in Seattle, WA .

The Barberville Pioneer Settlement is celebrating the end of summer with the coolest hottest event ever – Fire & Ice. Feast on delicious chili and fresh-made ice cream at this exciting fall festival that occurs on a 30-acre historic site with a village museum and over 10,000 artifacts.

Enjoy this FREE admission festival and for only $4 you get to sample and judge chili & ice-cream, where you can cool your tongues with homemade ice cream after voting for your favorite chili. Cash prizes to be awarded to People’s Choice.

With a plethora of activities sure to keep you entertained: FREE music workshops and jam session with volunteers teaching everything from the guitar and banjo to the dobro and dulcimer, community yard sale, antique tractors and engines display, and lots more, and of course the infamous Chili Cook Off and Ice Cream Churn Off.

Tastings are at noon, until it’s gone, so arrive early.
Location: Pioneer Settlement, 1776 Lightfoot Lane, Barberville, FL 32105
Date: Sat, Sept 2, 2017
Time: 9 – 4pm
Tel: 386-749-2959
pioneersettlement.org
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: daytonabeach.com

I-95 Exit 68:  The South Florida Science Center and Aquarium has just been re-named so it is having a party on June 7th when admission will be free all day. The building may look small, but it is hugely interactive, so travelers of all ages will enjoy playing here. You can feel the density of solids, see how guitar strings vibrate, try out the frozen shadows room (loved that!), learn to write in hieroglyphics or check out Dr. Saul Rotter’s butterfly collection.

Adults were all lined up playing the wall of brain teasers (balance nails, color match) and little ones were in the microscope room. If you’ve ever wanted to see one, there’s a mammoth tusk and a 3,000-year-old child mummy.

The planetarium offers 5 daily shows, and in the aquarium you can find genetically altered fish which fluoresce under UV light in the presence of toxins in the water. There’s Subway for lunch. Outside there’s an interactive garden with echo tubes, whisper dishes, mini-golf and a butterfly area.

Location: 4801 Dreher Trail N. in Dreher Park, Palm Beach, FL
Hours: M-F 10-5, Sat 10-6, Sun 12-6
Free Day: June 7
Tel: 561-832-1988
www.sfsm.org or www.sfsciencecenter.org