Cincinnati has always had a story to tell. Since the late 19th century, Cincinnati has seen vast expansion and great historical change. Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) documents and explores these historical revolutions in two brand new exhibits: “Shaping Our City,” which features a charting of the city’s geography, transportation and design, and “You Are Here,” a dive into the diverse lives that populate and shape Cincinnati past and present.
“We want to share the story of Cincinnati’s history with an additional layer of celebrating and explaining invention and innovation, not only from a historical perspective but from a scientific perspective, as well,” says Elizabeth Pierce, president and CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center.
“Shaping Our City” is a brand-new exhibit neighboring the newly renovated “Cincinnati In Motion,” which now features new additions including glimpses into different decades and an interactive navigation through the model itself. “We’ve pulled out black and white photographs from specific parts of the community that you can see in the train model and on the screen, and now we can pair those with current-day images of those same intersections or neighborhoods,” says Pierce. “You get a way to appreciate the depth and breadth of this community over time.”
The new exhibit showcases the evolution of transportation within the city and the history of the region’s unique geography. Included among the artifacts are historic vehicles¬, maps and documents.
CMC is particularly excited about the updated experience to their popular historic orange streetcar, which now takes guests on trips through the 1910s, ‘30s and ‘40s using narratives and images straight out of the archives. “It’s a whole new experience,” Pierce says. “A whole new conversation [that] families can have.”
“It’s a culmination of how transportation has an impact on how this community has grown and is continuing to grow,” notes Scott Schuster, CMC’s vice president of philanthropy, emphasizing the importance of this new exhibit. “You will see a lot of neat learning opportunities — especially for our youth — to uncover the past, present and, potentially, where the future is heading, and to better understand all that has been put forth to get Cincinnati where it is today.”
“[‘Shaping Our City’] is a multilayered way to appreciate how the community has evolved,” Pierce adds. “We are hoping guests will make a connection and see that the physical geography of this community has helped shape the way we live and the way we do business.”
“You Are Here,” housed near the “Public Landing” exhibit, is about giving people a sense of place, a feel for what it’s like to live, work and play in this region. Divided into three sections, this new gallery features an impressive array of videos and photographs, alongside brand-new interactive pieces.
“We have created interactive exhibits that are reflective of how people are viewing Cincinnati in today’s world,” Pierce continues. “It’s a lot of understanding the components of the community and then creating opportunity to be a part of that going forward.”
CMC, for example, has teamed with ArtWorks to celebrate the murals in town.
“We’ve created an interactive experience where people can put themselves in a mural and, using social media, share it with others,” Pierce explains. An interactive called “Cincinnati Counts” takes survey information and reflects it back to guests so that they can compare their answers to others’. There’s also a time clock interactive that places guests in the shoes of past Cincinnati workers, giving them the opportunity to picture themselves in a specific role during a historical period.
“Guests will get a sense of working, living and playing here across demographics, ages, time and neighborhoods,” Pierce says. “This gallery is going to feel fresh and vibrant. It’s very much a historical gallery but it’s got some good modern energy to it.”
“It is so neat to be able to read some of the historical things that I wasn’t even aware of,” Schuster says about the exhibit. “For Cincinnatians, it’s important to be able to tell the Cincinnati story. It is an opportunity for both our donors and our members to come together and build something they can look upon and say, ‘This is my city.’ “
The role of technology has changed quite a bit since the beginning of the century. It isn’t all about light-up buttons for curious fingers anymore. While there are brand-new opportunities for immersive exhibits like the ones mentioned above, there are now opportunities to showcase even more stories, people and perspectives.
“The [constant] rise of technologies allows us to keep reaching into the historical collection to bring new content forward,” Pierce says.
“It is a platform for information, one we can now use to keep telling new stories. We can digitize photography, pull oral histories out of the collection and give people a way to explore information that gives them a new experience every time they come to see us.
“[The experience] is less static. We are meeting them where they are.”
The technology used is merely a tool for something both Pierce and Schuster know is far more important — education about and appreciation for our city and its rich history. There is an immense value in creating brand new exhibits like these, which are made possible largely by donor support. “Many of our donors who look at investing in capital projects — new exhibits — look to how our community can uncover and see new educational opportunities,” Schuster says.
“That is the draw of expanding our museum offerings.”
CMC has seen a huge increase in philanthropic support over the last three to five years. “It’s probably the highest level of financial support we have seen in our history,” adds Schuster. “We evaluate what the community wants us to be as we progress, and new and updated exhibits are part of that.
“Our donors have come to the table and said, ‘We want to make CMC the place to be to see new content.’ Our main focus has been getting everything refurbished and enhanced. That’s how donors can help us during this time.”
CMC wants to move forward with certain exhibits because they feel it’s important to offer these experiences to our community and region. “We want all of our guests to see us and what we have to offer,” says Schuster. “We are trying to grow all those things to continue to turn it into this phenomenal museum for our community.”
Addressing the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact
“We are hopeful for support. We are making evaluations of what philanthropy looks like post COVID-19,” Schuster says. “We are hoping our mission and the focus of these new exhibits can really excite people and help people get through this crisis. We have a team that Is spending a lot of time and effort to engage with members and donors.”
With the flexibility of technological platforms, CMC is also confident about expanding the ways guests experience interactive exhibits.
COVID-19 has forced CMC, like most other businesses and companies, to think differently. “We are shifting gears to put interactive exhibits in the power of [guests’] hands,” Pierce explains. “You can have an interactive experience and not feel anxious about it because you’ll be using your own device. This may be something people prefer to interact with post-COVID.
“We are [also] collecting data surrounding COVID-19 for the history library and archives. Our goal and job are to document the history of the community. We are asking people to share diaries, images, reflections, business records, etc. We want to make sure those things are preserved and collected so, 100 years from now, we can go back and see how Cincinnati responded to this global pandemic.”
CMC invites the community to share their stories. You can bring your items to CMC directly during one of their “drop off” days or mail it to them. You can also upload a digital item directly to their website.
“We have a community that is deeply rooted in its place,” Pierce concludes. “That place has influenced how we live, how we work and how we will continue to evolve. I hope guests appreciate the depth and richness of the community through these exhibits.”
Cincinnati Museum Center is located at 1301 Western Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45203. For more information, call 513.287.7000 or visit cincymuseum.org