Need Something to Do with Out of Town Guests?: Checkout Free Museum Passes at the Hoboken Public Library

11 Dec

It’s the time of year when you may have visitors from out of state or even from overseas visiting for the holidays.  For Hoboken residents there are lots of area attractions across the river in New York City to show off and our library card holders can borrow passes to get in free thanks to the Friends of the Hoboken Public Library.  Passes may be borrowed by Permanent Hoboken Public Library resident card holders in good standing for a 48 hour period.  Here are a few of my favorite choices and some books and DVDs available from BCCLS libraries to checkout before you go.

Intrepid Museum

intrepid
My son loves all types of vehicles, including ships, and I can’t wait to take him to explore the Intrepid.  For military buffs both big and small it is a site not to be missed.  In Intrepid: The Epic Story of America’s Most Legendary Warship by Bill White and Robert Gandt, learn all about the history of one of the country’s most famous warships from its military service during battles in Word War II, its return to service during the Cold War, and how it was used to retrieve astronauts in the 1960s.  You’ll even find out about the process of turning it into a tourist destination.  Beyond the aircraft carrier itself, the museum also features original artifacts and interactive exhibits. The Library’s Museum Pass allows up to 6 people entrance to the Intrepid as well as Growler, the only American guided missile submarine open to the public!

American Museum of Natural History

night-at-the-museum
My father was a biology and chemistry teacher and The American Museum of Natural History has always been his favorite museum.  I have many happy memories as both a child and an adult visiting it with him.  This is the perfect place to take visiting friends and family who are interested in science.  Windows on Nature: The Great Habitat Dioramas of the American Museum of Natural History by Stephen Christopher Quinn shows the awe inspiring images of the museum’s impressive dioramas and explains what went into their creation.  Or if you prefer shiny things check out Gems & Crystals from One of the World’s Great Collections by George E. Harlow, Curator of Gems and Minerals and Anna S. Sofianides.  Besides numerous nonfiction titles, you can also find plenty of fiction set at the museum with everything from mysteries to picture books including The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, Eloise and the Dinosaurs by Lisa McClatchy and illustrated by Tammie Lyon, and Murder at the Museum of Natural History by Michael Jahn.  Plus of course there is the charmingly funny Night at the Museum movie series starring Ben Stiller.  The museum is open daily from 10 am – 5:45 pm except on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

growing-suspicion
Living in Hoboken and North Jersey means many of us don’t have the space for the gardens that our hearts desire, but with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden so close by we can all enjoy nature’s beauty.  The museum pass includes admission for 2 adults and all children under the age of 16.  Check out this December bromeliads and other tropical plants cascading from the Conservatory skylight into a ground-level leafy mosaic in a display of kokedama (a type of indoor bonsai), part of the Garden’s annual holiday exhibit.  If your child has a green thumb he/she might be interested in the handbook Gardening with Children by Monika Hannemann or the fictional A Growing Suspicion: A Rebecca Mystery by Jacqueline Dembar Greene set at the gardens.

The Guggenheim Museum

speeding
I am a huge art fan so no matter what city I visit, I always need to check out some of the local art museums. But my favorite museum–not just for art, but the amazing building itself–The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, is right across the river.  Its unique snail shell design provides an unusual and fun art viewing experience as you slowly spiral past modern art masterpieces.  To learn more you can check out the 2010 documentary Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum, a film by Neil Levine and Timothy Sakamoto, which looks at the iconic building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. If you have a budding young art lover in your life they might enjoy the adventure of three curious mice in The Great Googlestein Museum Mystery by Jean Van Leeuwen or the picture book Speeding down the Spiral: An Artful Adventure by Deborah Goodman Davis and illustrated by Sophy Naess.  Right now until January 6, you can view one of the most comprehensive shows ever presented of the work by Alberto Burri. Plus see breathtaking works from the Guggenheim’s collection by Kandinsky, Picasso, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Seurat, van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Cézanne.

The Hoboken Public Library also offers free passes to several other great area museums including the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, Cooper-Hewitt Museum, The Frick Collection, Museum of the City of New York, and the New-York Historical Society!  For more information is available on our website.

-Written by Aimee Harris, Head of Reference

Defying Gravity: Upside Down, Patema Inverted, and The Light Princess

2 Dec

Upside Down

upside-down
Upside Down is a 2012 film starring Kirsten Dunst and Jim Sturgess that although having an intriguing science fiction premise will appeal to those who might not typically be science fiction fans.  Adam and Eden are from two different twin planets.  The upper planet is prosperous and wealthy while the lower planet lives under poor conditions.  Matter and people from each planet are affected by the planet that they come from.  Adam and Eden meet on a mountaintop between their two worlds and despite being literally drawn in two different directions find a connection.  Their sweet romance and gentle humor carries Upside Down.  Some reviews I read felt the story stayed too small with such a large concept, but I found it a refreshing change from stories about superheroes and I liked seeing how a large concept can effect two individuals.  Upside Down reminded me of the British film Ex Machina, which was released this past year and dealt with the topic of Artificial Intelligence in a way that hinted at a larger impact on the outer world, but dealt with it on a smaller psychological scale.  I loved the visually unique look of the film.  Upside Down is available from Hoopla and on DVD from BCCLS libraries.

Patema Inverted

patema-inverted
Patema Inverted is a 2013 anime (Japanese animated film) that also features two characters, Age and Patema who are affected by two gravities.  In this case though they are both from a future version of Earth where an experiment has caused an alteration of gravity where some people and matter are pulled in the opposite direction.  Now the totalitarian nation of Aiga, where Age is from feels that the “Invert” group is being punished for their past sins and seeks out to destroy Patema and the others living in hiding who they believe will destroy their current way of life.  It was interesting to see how a similar concept could be handled in a very different way; while Upside Down dealt more with the idea of social issues and ideas of economics that could be applied to the industrialized world’s relationship with developing world countries, Patema Inverted takes the idea of gravity and uses it as a metaphor for intolerance and shows how things can appear completely different from another’s perspective and the need for open-mindedness towards others. Patema Inverted is available to Hoboken and other BCCLS cardholders through Hoopla and on DVD.

The Light Princess

light-princess
The Light Princess is a Scottish fairytale by George MacDonald.  The story is similar to Sleeping Beauty with a cursed princess, but instead of falling asleep for a hundred years, the Light Princess gets her name from the fact that she is cursed with not being effected by gravity so she floats and risks being carried away by a breeze. She can only regain her gravity when she can cry, something she also has lost the ability to do.   It was adapted recently as a musical with book and lyrics by Samuel Adamson and lyrics and music by Tori Amos.  Tori Amos’s Little Earthquakes is one of my favorite albums so I would have loved to see it, but since I couldn’t fly to London (antigravity powers would be an advantage sometimes) I had to be satisfied with the excellent cast recording instead.  Although you miss out on seeing the clever staging of the floating Princess, the beautiful buoyant music and dramatic story are conveyed through the recording.  Amos and Adamson gave the story a strong feminist viewpoint with a heroine whose fairytale ends with more than simply finding her Prince.  You can listen to The Light Princess and other music by Tori Amos on Hoopla or borrow the CDs and the original MacDonald fairytale from BCCLS Libraries.

-Written by Aimee Harris, Head of Reference

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