The Mapparium is a 3 story painted glass globe. And to see the globe, you go inside of it and stand on a 30 foot long glass bridge.
The globe was completed in 1935 and is made of painted glass panels that were originally intended to be updated every time the world map changed. However, after WWII the museum decided the world was changing too fast to make any updates and the globe should stay as it was to serve as a historical reminder of the world in 1935.
We loved going inside of this globe. You could stand in the middle of the bridge and look up, down and to each side and could see the whole world in a glance.
Another interesting thing about the globe were the accoustics. They were fabulous.
Because the globe is glass and there are no corners, you can stand at one end of the 30 foot bridge and whisper, and someone else standing at the other end of the bridge will be able to hear you perfectly as if you were speaking directly into their ear.
And if you stand in the center of the bridge and speak out loud, you can hear yourself in surround sound.
If you are ever in Boston, I highly recommend the Mapparium. The admission ticket will also get you into the museum itself. We spent a little time looking at the exhibits on Mary Eddy Baker but the kids got bored with that after about 30 minutes so we left.
They don't allow cameras inside the globe so I don't have any pictures to show you of that. However, you can click on this link to the Mapparium's website and see a picture of part of the globe.
The bathrooms in the museum were very large and shiny and clean and Sarah wanted her picture taken while we were in there...
7 comments:
ooooo that sounds fabulously cool! :)
oh and yes, who can blame a girl for appreciating such a wonderful bathroom. tee hee
I remembered going to such a place when I was in high school, but I remembered it being called the Christian Science Center. I figured that there can't be two walk-inside-glass-globes in Boston, and a quick online search revealed that they are the same place! So, YES, I have been there, and I can vouch for the coolness of it. (I don't remember the bathrooms, but they look lovely!)
That sounds like fun! I love it that Sarah wanted her picture taken in the bathroom! And I love that photo of Peter looking up in wonder at that screen. It sounds like you guys had a great time on vacation! :)
The painted glass globe sounds so cool. I'll bet this is a lot of fun for the kids, I know mine would love it.
Long time no see. I lost your link when my computer crashed awhile back and finally got back to finding some old friends. Not sure how my blogrolling got messed up but it did.
We never get to travel anymore but I will definitely put this on my wish list. Thanks for posting about such a neat place to visit!
Sounds fascinating...
That sounds so cool! It sounds like a perfect place for a concert, though I doubt you would be able to do that. But still, sounds like perfect acoustics. :)
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