Where-To-Go Wednesday - The 1939 and 1964 World's Fairs Exhibit

What: The 1939 and 1964 World's Fairs Exhibit 

Where: Queens Museum 

            100-01 Northern Blvd.

            Corona, Queens 

Who: All ages

The 1939 and the 1964 World's Fairs both took place in the area of Queens, New York which is known as Flushing Meadows Corona Park. It is not far from Citi Field, home of the Mets. The U.S. Tennis Center where the U.S. Open is held is also in the vicinity as is the Queens Museum. The museum was actually built for the 1939 World's Fair and was used for the latter fair as well. It currently houses among other things an extensive exhibit on both World's Fairs.

The exhibit consists of a giant display case with objects and memorabilia from the 1939 fair on one side and objects and memorabilia from the 1964  fair on the other. In the middle, there is a screen playing videos from the 1964 World's Fair. Included in the collection are numerous souvenir items including plates, banners, and even salt and pepper shakers, and more. There are also items on display that were first introduced at one of the World's Fairs. Plus, there are models of locations from the fairs including various pavilions, and a giant Ferris wheel shaped like a tire. There are some other things as well. 

In addition to the items in the display case, there are a few other things including a tour guide's uniform and a full-scale model of the 1964 World's Fair enclosed within a glass case. There is also a much larger model of all five boroughs of New York City which was created for the 1964 World's Fair housed in a different location within the museum. We will talk more about the latter in a future post.

There is a comprehensive audio tour that can be downloaded to listen to as you view the exhibit. It provides fascinating information not only about the items in the museum's collection but about the 1964 World's Fair itself. It includes audio clips of people who attended the fair as well as famous people associated with it including Walt Disney and John F. Kennedy. Although Kennedy did not actually live to see the fair, he promoted the upcoming fair and initiated a countdown to the fair by ceremoniously dialing a special number on a touch-tone phone exactly one year prior to the date of its opening. 

The audio tour also includes a fun scavenger hunt for kids. It can be founded in the last two sections of the audio tour, the segments numbered 21 and 22. 

And that's our view. For more about the World's Fairs exhibit visit queensmuseum.org/exhibition/worlds-fair-collection. For more about the Queens Museum in general, visit queensmuseum.org.

Tune in tomorrow for Theater Thursday.