Museum of the Great Plains
Lawton
Focusing on Oklahoma’s history, the Museum of the Great Plains reopened last November after an extensive renovation. Located an hour southwest of Oklahoma City, the museum evolved out of the Comanche County Historical Society, which was formed in 1952.
The main gallery houses 17,000 square feet of exhibit space and was completely revamped. The museum still focuses on regional history, but exhibits now have an interactive component.
“Prior to the renovation, we had traditional exhibits with lots of artifacts in cases,” said deputy director Bart McClenny. “Now, it’s very interactive and similar to what visitors might find in a science museum. For instance, our popular ‘Take-Apart Bison’ exhibit allows people to pull up a flap on the bison like they’re pulling up the hide and see the internal organs. On the floor around the bison are pictures of how Native Americans used each particular part of the animal.”
Interactive stops include a hide-scraping station where visitors can attempt to scrape a real bison hide. At the Council Saddle Shop, visitors can try their hand at leather tooling. Howard Council was a local leather-maker who created saddles for George Strait, among others. The shop includes examples of his work, as well as videos of Council crafting his signature items.
Another gem, the Tingley Collection, came from Anadarko. The Tingley Store, also known as Jake’s Pawn Shop, served for many decades as a resource for Native American crafts. Today, the extensive collection rotates through the exhibit.
“The family wanted it to stay in Oklahoma,” said McClenny. “Otherwise, this significant collection would have gone out of state to a national museum.”
One of the museum’s most unusual and popular exhibits is the new “Terrible Tuesday.” It re-creates the story of the 1979 Wichita Falls tornado through an immersive experience of hunkering down in a basement during the tornado.
A Gathering Place
Tulsa
Slated to be completed in 2017, A Gathering Place will be a multipurpose park in Tulsa along the banks of the Arkansas River. Located on Riverside Parkway, it will transform nearly 100 acres of waterfront property. The multiuse destination features nature trails, a large lawn for concerts, a boathouse, a five-acre playground and more.
“The project is being funded with the largest private gift to a public park in the nation’s history, and we are quite excited about it,” said Vanesa Masucci, vice president of the Tulsa Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Anchoring it all, a glass-and-stone lodge will host numerous park activities and include a cafe, changing cabanas, educational activity rooms and indoor lounge spaces. Upon arrival, lodge visitors will be welcomed in the reception space for orientation and information. The main lounge will provide a gathering space for public and private functions and will feature a large fireplace.
