Meanwhile... at the Museum

Maat Manninen, Resgistrar

Some people seem to drop right into a role in life and stay there. Others undertake a long and epic journey, zig-zagging through a series of jobs, fields, and possibly even across the country a few times. Maat Manninen, our Registrar at CMC, is from that second group. His six and a half years at CMC were preceded by time spent in a rock band, as a professional art handler/hanger, and in museums as far apart as Boston and Northern California - and a whole lot more too. 

Jeb Brack, Museum Engagement Specialist

If you've been to Cincinnati Museum Center in the past few years, you've likely run into Jeb Brack. And if you ran into Jeb, you probably learned something interesting, like the history of Cincinnati's inclines, how the surface of the ground impacts rainwater runoff or how air currents interact with spherical objects. But you probably didn't learn that Jeb has been a radio host, an artist and even a magician! So sit back, hit play and get ready to meet Jeb in a bit greater detail. 

Whitney Owens, Chief Learning Officer

Answer: During the course of this Chief Learning Officer at Cincinnati Museum Center's 25-year museum career, she has traveled the world with Sue the T-rex, overseen the development of many exhibits and negotiated with Siberians for the North American display of Lyuba, the perfectly preserved baby mammoth.
 
Question: Who is Whitney Owens?
 
Settle in, because this episode is endlessly fascinating and stick around to find out why we wrote this description Jeopardy style. 

Tyler Swinney, NAGPRA Manager and Tribal Liaison

Today's guest is Tyler Swinney, CMC's NAGPRA Manager and Tribal Liaison. You may be asking, what is NAGPRA and what does a Tribal Liaison do? If so, just hit play! Plus, we'll talk about what you can find in a hundreds of years old trash pit, and what Tyler's got going on in his garden.

Celebrating 25 Years of The Children’s Museum with Tony Lawson, Senior Director of School and Teacher Partnerships

October 24, 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of Cincinnati Museum Center's Children's Museum! First opened in 1998, The Children's Museum has been the site of so much learning, fun, adventure and creativity. Now, halfway through its third decade, the museum has become a tradition passed down through generations as its earliest visitors start bringing children of their own. And who better to talk about this with than Tony Lawson, current Senior Director of School and Teacher Partnerships and former Director of The Children's Museum, who has been here at CMC since before The Children's Museum opened? We'll talk early childhood education, learning through play, Bob Ross and more.

Jill Beitz, Manager of Reference and Research

Did you know that Cincinnati Museum Center is home to the Cincinnati History Library and Archives? With collections dating back to 1831, the History Library and Archives are a treasure trove of regional history and one of the best kept secrets in Cincinnati. Today we're talking to Jill Beitz, the library's Manager of Reference and Research to see how she went from running a neighborhood library out of her garage at 6 years old to being the world's go to source for info on 1950s sea monster sightings in the Ohio River. 
If you've got a question about Cincinnati history, you can visit the Cincinnati History Library and Archives by appointment Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. For more information or research inquires, please contact library@cincymuseum.org.

Brenda Hunda, Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology & Stacey Kutish, Senior Director of Exhibit Development

Cincinnati Museum Center is celebrating the opening of a brand new permanent exhibit in the Museum of Natural History and Science! Ancient Worlds Hiding In Plain Sight lets visitors dive beneath and waves and into deep time, to a time when what is today Cincinnati was at the bottom of a shallow tropical sea, teeming with life. We talked to Dr. Brenda Hunda, CMC's Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology, and Stacey Kutish, Senior Director of Exhibit Development to find out how an exhibit like this comes together.

Dave Zlatic, Chief Technology Officer

Have you tried turning it off and back on again? This week week we're talking to Dave Zlatic, our Chief Technology Officer, who will be the first to tell you that it usually works. We'll talk cybersecurity, guest experience, and find out if Dave can beat Cody in a race down the hallway. It's all happening... Meanwhile... at the Museum.

Rene Dean, Manager of Event Services - AKA Venomous Valdez

If you haven't caught on by now, Cincinnati Museum Center tends to collect interesting personalities. Case in point: the voice of today's guest may be familiar to longtime fans of Cincinnati radio as Venomous Valdez, though our employment records here at CMC call her Rene Dean, Manager of Event Services. 
We asked Venomous Valdez to come up with a playlist of music that has some connection to the Cincinnati region, and she delivered. Check it out here:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKg_QLggSmtgaWGp0fp4I5HSpE_coP1OD&si=1lL9SoHCGT5qIzl1
We'll also note that this was recorded the week of the Taylor Swift concert at Cincinnati's Paycor Stadium, which you may guess from the conversation.

Bill Stringer, Assistant Manager of Museum Engagement

Do you know anyone who is a juggler, actor, fire-breather, stilt-walker, viking warrior, TV mascot, and guest experience professional? We're going to guess you said no and introduce you to Bill Stringer, Assistant Manager of Museum Engagement at Cincinnati Museum Center.