Museums & Attractions
Kudos
- A super-sized installation of colorful abstract paintings in ice, by Canadian artist Gordon Halloran, will be the centerpiece of a new winter celebration in Chicago’s Millennium Park, Museum of Modern Ice. Halloran’s artworks, which will be on display throughout the month of February, mark the U.S. debut of his series Paintings Below Zero, which incorporate a vividly colored ice wall measuring 95 feet long and nearly 12 feet tall into Millennium Park’s architecture. Situated on Chase Promenade behind Cloud Gate, this project will be the artist’s largest installation to date. Halloran will also embed an abstract ice painting within the Park’s McCormick Tribune Ice Rink, allowing visitors to skate on its multicolored surface. The installation and ice rink will be available free of charge. For more information, call 312.742.1168 or visit www.museumofmodernice.com.
- Wonders of Wildlife, the national fish and wildlife museum in Springfield, Mo., is expanding and renovating its museum and aquarium. The expansion will add water features and live animals, a new atrium and new wildlife galleries. A new entrance will allow the attraction to expand the useable exhibit space and animal collection, bringing the overall facility to more than 150,000 square feet from its current 92,000 square feet. The renovation began in December and will force the facility’s closure for up to six months during construction. For more information, call 417.890.9453 or visit www.wondersofwildlife.org.
Kudos
- Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center recently became one of only a handful of convention centers in the nation to be LEED-certified as a green building. Monona Terrace earned a Silver LEED certification for existing buildings (LEED-EB). The investment required to obtain LEED certification totaled about $111,000. Monona Terrace has already booked eight additional conventions and conferences, as a result of its seeking LEED-EB certification, according to the Greater Madison CVB. The economic impact from these conventions and conferences is estimated to be about $292,000. For more information, call 608.261.4000 or visit www.mononaterrace.com.