Check out the latest youth travel industry updates.
We Have Liftoff: 8 Galleries Reopen at National Air and Space Museum
WASHINGTON—The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum reopened Oct. 14, with eight new and renovated galleries in the west wing of its building in Washington, D.C. The planetarium and museum store also reopened, along with the new Mars Café. The east wing of the museum will remain closed while it is renovated. Free timed-entry passes are required to visit the west wing and can be reserved on the museum’s website.
“We are thrilled to finally unveil the first part of the newly renovated museum,” says Chris Browne, the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the museum. “Visitors will have a more modern and engaging experience, visiting favorite icons as well as many new artifacts never before seen at the museum in D.C. We hope each visitor will see themselves in these exhibitions and that young people will be inspired by all that is possible in aviation and space exploration.”
The museum has been undergoing a seven-year renovation that began in 2018 and includes redesigning all 23 exhibitions and presentation spaces, complete refacing of the exterior cladding, replacement of outdated mechanical systems, and other repairs and improvements. The entire project is expected to be complete in 2025.
Credit: Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum/Jim Preston
John Meehan Joins Kaleidoscope Adventures Team
ORLANDO, Fla.—Kaleidoscope Adventures announces the addition of John Meehan to its consulting team. Meehan joins with a robust performing arts background, underscoring the company’s focus on delivering outstanding performance travel for students.
Meehan has had an extensive history with the Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps since 1994. He is the director of community arts programs for BD Performing Arts, as well as the brass arranger for the Blue Devils and composer in residence/associate conductor for the Diablo Wind Symphony, both programs of BD Performing Arts. In 2019, Meehan was inducted into the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame and the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame. He has served as a composer and arranger for marching bands and as a world-renowned clinician on ensemble technique and performance excellence. He is also a respected marching band adjudicator.
Meehan has published numerous wind ensemble pieces through GPG Music and has composed music for global competitions and scored scenes for several student and independent films.
“We are thrilled to have someone with John’s stellar reputation and years of experience in the band world join our ranks,” says Keith Snode, chief operating officer of Kaleidoscope Adventures. “His expertise will bring a fresh, new, and incredibly innovative perspective—he’ll help our clients exceed their performance travel expectations!”
Kaleidoscope Adventures, celebrating its 29th year, is a full-service tour operator focused on student and performance group travel.
Biltmore to Present World Premiere of Grande Experiences’ Italian Renaissance Alive
ASHEVILLE, N.C.—Coming March 3, 2023, Biltmore will host the world premiere of the latest multisensory experience created and produced by Grande Experiences, Italian Renaissance Alive. The exhibition spans the Renaissance period of the 14th to 17th centuries, immersing its audience in the architecture, sculpture, literature, and other artistic and cultural influences of this movement in European history.
The Renaissance brought cultural, artistic, political, and economic rebirth to Europe after the Middle Ages and the fall of the Roman Empire. Out of the darkness emerged a new vision of civilization that was portrayed on canvas, in fresco, and in sculpture throughout Italy.
Using large-scale projections of great beauty and detail, hundreds of masterpieces from some of the world’s most revered Italian artists and sculptors surround visitors in the brilliance of one of the greatest artistic periods in history. Light, color, sound, and fragrance are choreographed in this multisensory experience to explore Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper,” Sandro Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus,” and other works by Raphael, Caravaggio, Titian, and Paolo Veronese, among others. A powerful Italian operatic score will accompany the immersive visuals, including the musical works of Giacomo Puccini and Giuseppe Verdi.
Do You Have a Yeuk?
BOSTON—The Museum of Science, Boston and Dictionary.com are collaborating to bring science to life through Science Word of the Week, a weekly digital video series that describes scientific terms, their meanings, and how they are used. Science Word of the Week features popular science influencers describing unique, interesting, and funny science words to enhance the audience’s command of science terms. What is an areologist? Do you have a yeuk? Science Word of the Week videos will explain these words and more every week on Friday, across social media and at dictionary.com and mos.org. An areologist is someone who studies Mars, and a yeuk is an itch.
