Tally-Ho! (Tallahassee 10/19-22/2011)

Florida Historic Capitol Museum

www.flhistoriccapitol.gov/

Capitol Complex Information / Building Information / Facilities ...

www.dms.myflorida.com/...estate.../capitol_complex_information

Tallahassee Antique Car Museum

tacm.com/

The Florida State University

www.fsu.edu/

Jack

Tallahassee was so much fun. We went to the capitol and that was really cool. It had an
observation deck, on the 22^nd floor, where you could see F.S.U, it’s football stadium was made totally out of brick so it’s really unique. We could also see a forest fire off in the distance. In one room of the observation deck they had an art exhibit with two beach scenes, some everglades scenes, drawn with charcoal pencil, and much more. We also went to the rooms where the House of Representatives and State Senate meet, that was really cool. We went to the old capitol building that was used when Andrew Jackson was Governor. We got to sit in the House and Senate seats as they were in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. Some state facts that we learned at the Capitol are; we became the 27th state in 1845 the state bird is the Mockingbird, the state song is “Suwanee River”, the state date is April 2, the state motto is “In God We Trust”, the state flower is the Orange Blossom, there are 67 counties in the state, the state pie is Key Lime, the state freshwater fish is the Florida Large Mouth Bass, the state Salt water fish is the Atlantic Sailfish, the state reptile is the Alligator and the state animal is the Florida Panther.

We also went to a museum called the Automobile Museum of Tallahassee which was without a doubt one of my favorites. They had my dream car, a DMC Delorean. Not only was there a huge collection of cars but there were also guns, shotguns, pistols, revolvers, rifles, sniper rifles and machine guns like AK47, Uzi and an M2Browning and more. There were also the real Bat mobiles from every movie and the TV show, as well as one of Evil Knievel’s motorcycles. There were even lots sports memorabilia, toys, trains, outboard motors, boats and so much more! The Automobile Museum was defiantly a high point for me.

Another really cool museum we went to was the Tallahassee Museum. There were a lot of historical Florida buildings that we could walk through and a “zoo” of Florida animals like the panther, fox, bald eagle, alligator, black bear and more. There was an old farm, plantation home, African American one-room schoolhouse and church, as well as an old train caboose that we could walk through and learn about. The zoo was awesome because the animal enclosures didn’t seem like enclosures; you walked a boardwalk with all of the animals around as if we were seeing them in the wild. We really enjoyed this place.

We stayed with family friends, Mr. Mike and Mrs. Olivia Riffe. They were great hosts and really fun to be around. Mr. Mike took us to FSU, where he knows everything about. He pointed out players walking by, including their quarterback, and let us run on the practice field. He also took us to Garnet and Gold to get FSU t-shirts, so I was a Seminole for the day. I loved Tallahassee and cant wait to go back.




AnnaGrace

We went to Tallahassee to visit my grandmother and her longtime friends. We stayed with those friends, Mike and Olivia, who are the nicest people. On our first day, we went to the old and the new capitol buildings. Mike and Olivia told us something really funny about the new capital building that I will not and cannot repeat. In the new capitol building, we saw the Governor’s office, which is the executive branch of state government, the Attorney General’s office, which is the judicial branch of state government and the House and Senate rooms, which are the legislative branch of state government. We learned some interesting state facts like; the state pie is key lime (can’t believe we have a state pie!), the state song is “Suwanee River”, the state bird is a mockingbird, the state reptile is the alligator and the state tree is the sabal palm. The entire 22^nd floor was an observation deck from which we could see Florida State University, Florida A&M University and a brush fire. The old capital building was right in front of the new one and is now a museum. In the old capitol we got to sit in the old voting chairs of the House and Senate. After the capitol buildings we went to the Tallahassee Automobile Museum where we saw cars and Evel knievel’s motorcycle and the bat mobile. The next day Mr. Mike took us around the FSU campus. We got to go through their sports hall of fame and run on their practice fields, I tried to move the dummy sled on the field, but I couldn’t. After that, we went to the Talahassee Museum, which had a zoo with panthers, wolves and skunks. We had a great time in Tallassee I hope we get to go back soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     

Florida State Capitol building

Future Executive Branch!

Senate

House of Representatives

Old Capitol building museum

Jack in front of his "dream car" at the Automobile Museum (& soooooo much more!) of Tallahassee 

Chihuly piano at Automobile Museum of Tallahassee (just some of the "soooo much more")

AnnaGrace enters the "Polar Bear Club" in the cold Riffe pool! She'll endure just about anything for a swim!

Word to live by! Base of Osceola statue at Florida State University.

Go Noles!!!!

FSU "Sod Cemetery", buried pieces of sod from opponent fields of won games of importance.

"Flight simulator" mimics the "flap" of a bird's wings at the Tallahassee Museum,
an amazing place of Florida history and animals

Artist installment throughout Tallahassee museum of dinosaurs made from recycled, mostly auto, parts.

Tallahassee Museum | tallahasseemuseum.org

www.tallahasseemuseum.org

Soooo Surreal - The Salvador Dali (1904-1989) Museum, St. Petersburg, FL 10/14/2011

http://www.thedali.org/

Mom
This was our first museum visit in our art immersion. The collection is extensive, including mixed media, paint on canvas and wood, photography, film, hologram. It spans his entire career representing the evolution of his style from impressionism to realism to fathering surrealism. The museum itself is incredible, and surreal. Named "Enigma" it boasts hurricane-force integrity and whimsical, educational and artist inspired elements. From the double-helix staircase to nature elements to the clever "hands on" explanation of pi the grounds itself are an experience and fascination. New to me was Dali's surreal filmwork, the museum even has a middle and high school surreal film competition "Daliwood".

Focus was an artistic style, mainly surrealism, and content or interpretation. Was fun to try to break down and understand what may be being portrayed and react to it. Dali's work is certainly a feast for the eyes you could spend hours combing through each piece for meaning. Thank goodness for the wonderful docents! 

Te new gallery is definitely not as viewer friendly as the old. While the lighting and layout are ideal, not having the large open space of the old building can make some of his larger masterpieces more difficult to peruse, especially with the now much larger crowds.

Jack

I loved the Dali museum, the building and the art work, it was so cool. The building was art itself, it looked like a big bubble of glass was coming out of it, and there was even a labyrinth that I walked. Dali was the father of Surrealism, a dream-like form of art. He was known for painting objects that looked like they were melting, most famously for his” soft clocks”. Outside by the labyrinth there was even a soft bench with a soft clock on it. My favorite pieces of art were a painting of Abe Lincoln that you have to stand very far away to see it all come together and one that I forget the name of but it had Venus DeMilo and a bull and a bull fighting arena and a matador it was really cool. My most favorite piece was the Hologram of Alice Cooper. He was spinning inside of a cylinder and his eyes and mouth moved. The colors were rainbow -like and you could see a light bulb when you looked down to the inside bottom. I loved the Dali museum and I would love to go again and see even more of his artwork to learn more about Surrealism, Art and Dali himself. If you have not been to this museum you should plan a trip it is really cool.

AnnaGrace

The Dali museum is awesome, I loved it. The building itself is artwork but the inside is the best part. On the second floor is where all the Dali art is. I learned that he was the father of surrealism, which is real life objects portrayed in a different, dreamy way. One of my favorite pieces is the hologram of Alice Cooper he is sitting on a chair rotating, his eyes and mouth moving. Another one of my favorites is the Abraham Lincoln if you squint, or if you stand back from at a distance, you can see his face. The next time I go back I want to learn more about what his artwork means.     

Outside the Dali Museum "Enigma" building

$36m to build. An amazing building the glass element has no two panes that are the same.

At the main entrance with "stone" keystone, "live wall" and fountain of youth water element. 

Central staircase inspired by DNA double-helix that inspired Dali.

Wish tree in front of hedge labyrinth entrance.

Tri-fold paper mam made to reference art styles, form and content.

Dali's Hallucinogenic Toreador (1969-70) - one of Jack's favorites. Can you find the toreador?
Even more difficult, can you find the dalmatian?

Dali's Gal Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea
Which at 20 Meters Becomes a Portrait of Abraham Lincoln -
Another favorite! Look for Gala (Dali's wife and muse) the crucified Jesus, Lincoln's face at a distance
and the portraits within the portrait.

Entering the labyrinth.

As a project after our trip, we had some friends over to make "surreal" Rice Krispie art. That's Rice Krispie treats flattened into canvases and/or sculpted then painted with gel food coloring and water. Then perhaps most surreal of all, we ate our creations! Yumm!