Day 53: Geppi’s Entertainment Museum

On July 10, 2009, we first went to the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum and the Sports Legends Museum, but from the start I promised Mik that if we had time we would also go to the Geppi Entertainment Museum. Of course, he was rushing us along all day, so he could see this museum, but we ended up with plenty of time here even though we did not really let him make us rush. The best part is the museum admission is only $1 on game days and it is located right above the Sports Legends Museum, so it was very easy to fit in time wise since we were almost already at the park by being in this building.

The museum starts with a room with the walls covered with comics on display and even more comics in display cases in the middle of the room. This room was enough to keep Mik’s attention throughout. Dad actually went back to check on him while Mik was watching a movie in here and brought Mik to near the end of the museum where we were. Thus this really is all Mik saw during our hour plus visit and boy was he not happy that Dad made him leave the movie. He was not exactly mad to miss the rest of the museum, but he was no longer motivated to see anything after Dad pulled him away from what he was enjoying already. Other than Dad being annoying, though, Mik thought this was an awesome museum or at least what he did see of it.

The rest of the museum is organized like a timeline. It begins with the Pioneer Spirit exhibit representing 1776-1894 continues to the Extra! Extra! Exhibit representing 1895-1927 and so on. Honestly, the first two parts were not all that interesting to me. It was just a confusing representation of things that were not exactly historically explained very well or at least I could not notice the signs that really explained what the heck was on display and why adequately. Not that I really tried that hard, as I kind of quickly went through these two to get to the somewhat more modern stuff. I like historical stuff great and small and all, but I was kind of in a rush to get to the Orioles game and wanted to make it to the Wizard of Oz exhibit near the end.

I spent some time in the When Heroes Unite exhibit (1928-1945), as they had a display of Mickeys and such, but I did not get a chance to linger because they had to kick everyone out of this exhibit in order to fix a Minnie doll that fell down and I forgot to go back to the exhibit. The American Tunes In (1946-1960) exhibit was kind of minimal and was mostly just about Howdy Dowdy. There were, however, some baseball souvenirs, such as a Jackie Robinson game and about 40 little ballplayer figurines.

The next exhibit is called Revolution (1961-1970) and has a giant Batman as the centerpiece. The displays here include Flintstones and Pez dispensers. The next room is called Expanding Universe (1971-1990) and has things like McDonalds toys and Star Wars collectables. The final timeline exhibit is the Going Global one that is in part of the gift shop and has things like Harry Potter figures and the 25th Anniversary Care Bear.

Before getting to that final exhibit and the gift shop, though, there is a special edition exhibit room. Currently the exhibit is on the Wizard of Oz. It had some Wizard of Oz series books on display, but I was actually quite disappointed in the exhibit. I really thought there would be more to it, especially with all the rooms leading up to it being so full of items on display. This one ends up looking extremely bare in comparison.

Overall it was a worthwhile museum to visit, especially since it was only $1 a person. I am not sure it would really be worth admission otherwise, but Mik thinks it would. I know I would definitely think so if the Ducktales exhibit that opens later this week was on display.

Day 57: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Today we went to see the latest Harry Potter movie. Mik was extremely disappointed because they basically changed everything and it is almost just a movie based on the characters of the book or inspired by the book. Mik said he would have rather gone to the Civil War sites we originally planned for today before the movie release got moved from Friday to Wednesday. It was not horrible in my opinion, but it was not very good either. I really think it left a lot of important things out and added a lot of crap comedy.

Almost as soon as we got back to camp it started to rain, so now we are sitting in the Rec Room for a few hours until it closes and hopefully the rain clears up entirely. I am going to try to catch up on posts from the last five days or so, as I still have things to post about from July 10 through July 14. It would be nice to catch up before we begin going to games again tomorrow.

Car Sticker Update: Baltimore Orioles

The American League side of the car is getting very full even, as only two more of the six remaining ballparks we need to see are American League ones. The one Dad got for the Baltimore Orioles says Orioles and has the Orioles bird above the team name.

Kj’s Baseball Collection: Camden Yards

I was able to find a pretty interesting Camden Yards ballpark baseball at the Orioles game. One strip has a brick background and says Camden Yards in big orange letters on it. The other strip is a view of the Orioles Park at Camden Yards outfield with the unique warehouse and Eutaw Street in the background. Actually it really is not a view of the outfield and really just of view of the park behind the outfield wall. Anyways it is a view that makes it quite clear that it is none other than Orioles Park at Camden Yards.

Kj’s Baseball Collection: Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum

At the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum I got a souvenir baseball with the museum’s logo. The logo features an image of Babe Ruth at bat and says Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum. The baseball also has an image of Babe Ruth’s signature. The other side lists Babe Ruth’s records such as home runs, walks, home run titles, and mutli home run games.

Mik’s Mini Bat Collection: Orioles Park at Camden Yards

Mik choose a mini bat of the ballpark as his Orioles mini bat. He actually got it at the Sports Legends Museum, but they ended up having them at the Orioles game as well. The mini bat is natural on the bottom and has an orange background on the top. There is an image of the ballpark as a sort of aerial view on the mini bat. It says Orioles Park at Camden Yards about the ballpark image.

Mik’s Mini Bat Collection: Babe Ruth

At the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum Mik got a Babe Ruth mini bat. The mini bat has a photo image of Babe Ruth and a Yankees logo on it. It also has the National Baseball Hall of Fame logo. Basically it is the design that they sell at the Hall of Fame, so it is not like it is unique to this attraction, but it was better than the Louisville Slugger that just said Babe Ruth and also did not say anything about it being from the Babe Ruth Museum.

Smashed Pennies: Sports Legends Museum

At the Sports Legends Museum I got two smashed pennies and Mik got one smashed penny. The design we both got has an image of the museum’s building. It says Sports Legends History Heritage Heroes. The other design that only I got is of Orioles Park at Camden Yards, although the penny just says Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD. It has an image of the park and little Orioles logos on it.

Smashed Penny: Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum

At the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum Mik and I got the same smashed penny design. The design we both choose is of Babe Ruth holding a baseball bat ready to hit. Underneath Babe Ruth it says Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum Baltimore, MD.

Baseball Museum 14: Sports Legends Museum

The second museum we visited before the Orioles game on July 10, 2009, was the Sports Legends Museum. This museum is located in a building on the same block as Orioles Park at Camden Yards and is located the near Eutaw Street entrance to the park. The museum focuses mostly on the history of baseball and football in Baltimore, although it does have a little bit about other sports in the Baltimore. Mik and Dad have seen this museum before and since I am not into football, we skipped that half of the museum and just saw the baseball exhibits. By the way this museum is fully accessible and you still get to see some Babe Ruth history, so until the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum is remodeled to be accessible this is a decent only stop if accessibility is an issue.

On the first floor the baseball exhibit is mostly organized by inning. Basically the history of baseball in Baltimore is broke into nine innings, which is a great themed way to organize the exhibits. One of the most amazing items on display is an 1895 Championship Banner that honored the team being a championship team in 1895. Another interesting display was things salvaged from the rubble of Old Orioles Park, which was destroyed in the July 4, 1944 fire. Some of the other displays include the closing of Memorial Stadium, the current ballpark, and Cal Ripken Junior and Senior memorabilia.

The most amazing part of the first floor, though, is the Hall of Fame area. The Hall of Fame displays are presented in a unique way. The displays are square glass cases broken into three or two triangle displays depending on the amount of players per pillar. For each player there is some memorabilia and below is a trading card or two on display. A few of the Orioles honored are Cal Ripken Sr, Cal Ripken Jr, and Brooke Robinson.

The second level to explore is actually the lower level of the building. On this level there are displays about the old stadiums of Baltimore. In this area there are a few items from Memorial Stadium including benches. There is also a model of the current Orioles Park at Camden Yards. The other displays on the lower level are about Maryland baseball from sandlot to the show (includes high school and college ball) and the Negro League history of Baltimore.

Overall the Sports Legends Museum is a fun place to visit and certainly better than the Babe Ruth Museum since this place is fully accessible. It has some overlap with a similar display, although on a small scale, of Babe Ruth memorabilia. The organization of the history of baseball in Baltimore by innings is very well done. The Hall of Fame is more interesting than just plaques, as they are actually cases with memorabilia. Plus, there is some other sports things to see if you want to, especially related to football, but we were not interested and skipped that.