The Carousel is BACK!

Longtime friends of the Museum will remember our colorful carousel, which has been out of commission for a while because, like all well-loved Children’s Museum components, sometimes they need a little extra care! Young children especially have always been drawn to the cheerful music as the carousel rotates to reveal some unexpected creatures. So we’re thrilled to have it back and in its new location, right in the lobby, where we know it will once again get a lot of attention.

In honor of the carousel’s reappearance, here’s a blast from the past: an article announcing the carousel’s arrival in the Museum’s January/February 2000 newsletter!

Local Group Carves Out New Exhibit
Gnomes, bears, birds and clowns abound as the Museum hosts a fascinating exhibit of wood carvings done by a local circle of friends who call themselves “The Splinter Group.” The nine men in the group meet every week in a Bristol basement to carve intricate and charming figures from wood. The best examples of these carvings have been brought together and are on display at the Museum.

One of the most whimsical creations in the exhibit is a colorful carousel that six members of the Splinter Group made and donated to the Museum [in summer 1999]. The working carousel is accurate down to the last detail: it has tiny horses that move up and down, a popcorn stand with real popcorn and a brightly striped cloth canopy on top. “Even the music that plays as the carousel rotates is a recording of the Looff Carousel in East Providence,” explained Dan Elkins, Splinter Group secretary and long-standing member...

Hand-carved animals and exotic animals prance around the
Museum’s model carousel, a gift of the Splinter Group.

Check out more of Dan Elkins’s carvings in the circus case in the stairwell. And look for more information about the many artists whose work is featured in the Museum in future posts. What artist or artwork do YOU most want to know about?
Related posts:
The Story of Estrella
Puppet Masters!
(About our marionette collection - look for a new display coming next month!)