Six Special Places In Kentuckiana

SIX SPECIAL PLACES IN KENTUCKIANA

By Carrie Vittitoe | Photos submitted

With the COVID-19 vaccine in play, we’re all hoping to spend more time out and about in 2021. Fortunately for us, there are numerous spots in Kentuckiana that promise to stimulate our brains, offer feasts for our eyes, or help us engage in nature.

“GREAT KENTUCKIANS” IN THE “COOL KENTUCKY” EXHIBIT, FRAZIER HISTORY MUSEUM

The “Cool Kentucky” exhibit is exactly what it sounds like: information about cool geologic features, cool products, and people. “It spans all areas of interest; it gives you a little taste of a lot of different parts about the history and culture of Kentucky,” curator Amanda Briede says.

One special feature of the exhibit is called “Great Kentuckians,” and it is full of names you probably haven’t heard or don’t know much about if you have heard them. For example, John Scopes, who was born in Paducah, was an educator who became the defendant in the 1925 Monkey Trial in Tennessee after being fined for teaching evolution. Another Great Kentuckian in the exhibit is Louisvillian Saint Elmo Brady, who in 1916 became the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry and went on to develop curricula for historically black colleges.

“We really wanted to focus on diversity, and we had a really huge team of people working in all different departments in the museum who would help contribute,” Amanda says.

BERNHEIM ARBORETUM AND RESEARCH FOREST GIANTS

After being cooped up, a trek out to Bernheim Forest may be the perfect way to spend the day. With 16,000 acres, Bernheim provides ample space to socially distance and escape the confines of our homes. With life still being fairly chaotic, marketing and communications manager Amy Landon says, “Nature can be healing, and Bernheim offers some peace.”

For a touch of whimsy, check out the “Forest Giants,” an exhibit that was completed in 2019 by Danish artist Thomas Dambo. Each of the giants was created using recycled materials, including wooden pallets, and discarded Louisville Slugger bats. Not only does the exhibit immerse visitors in nature, Amy says it is a reminder to “reconsider your trash [because] recycling can be a beautiful thing.”

The three giants are located at different points at Bernheim and offer a bit of a treasure hunt for visitors who want to see them. Individuals who like to walk and don’t have mobility issues can start at the visitor’s center and take a trek that is about two miles out and back.

“ISABELLE DE BORCHGRAVE: FASHIONING ART FROM PAPER,” SPEED ART MUSEUM

Many people had a lot of downtime in 2020; so much downtime that they began taking up craft projects. The Speed Art Museum’s exhibit “Isabelle de Borchgrave: Fashioning Art from Paper,” which will run until August 22, takes the idea of crafting with paper, glue, and paint to a mind-blowing level.

Curator Erika Holmquist-Wall says Isabelle de Borchgrave was inspired by historic costumes during a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “She was interested in trying to recreate them out of paper and make them come to life,” she says. “Her work brings together the simplest and humblest of materials. She literally just uses rolls of craft paper to create these incredible confections.”

While the interpretive text and labels in the exhibit are the same no matter which city it travels to, curators can make the exhibit unique to each institution. “For example, there’s a whole section on the Medici family from Renaissance Florence. We’re looking at how do you build a family tree or timeline of how these people are related to each other. So there’s flexibility there to add additional layers of interpretation for our audience,” Erika says.

THE FALLS OF THE OHIO STATE PARK

There is an ancient sea floor that sits on the banks of the Ohio River in Clarksville, Indiana. At some 390 million-years-old, the fossil beds at The Falls of the Ohio State Park “are the largest exposed Devonian fossil bed in the western hemisphere,” according to assistant property manager Dale Brown.

Originally the beds were located 20 degrees south of the equator in a shallow ocean, but Dale says continental drift moved the limestone deposits some 4,000 miles north from its original latitude. There is evidence of all kinds of sea creatures that once called this ocean home at The Falls of the Ohio, including brachiopods, clams, crinoids, and trilobites. “At least 600 species of fossils have been documented at the Falls and its surroundings,” Dale says.

The Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center, through the support of The Falls of the Ohio Foundation, was able to renovate with upgraded technology to allow individuals with limited mobility to “see” the falls even if they can’t navigate the paved disability ramp that leads to the fossil beds.

The Falls offers opportunities to see birds and beautiful scenic views of the river. Visiting the area can feel meditative in part because you’re surrounded by so much geologic time.

YEW DELL BOTANICAL GARDENS

Yew Dell Botanical Gardens in Crestwood, Kentucky has a garden adoption program perfect for individuals who want to get outside, be around a few other people, and have a desire to learn about gardens.

“We have a wonderful group of volunteers who adopt gardens at Yew Dell and maintain them throughout the year. They’re most active from March to October, and they work very closely with our garden and arboretum manager,” Yew Dell marketing and PR manager Lindsay Duncan says. People who love to learn find this program to be one that fulfills them both socially and intellectually.

The trial and evaluation gardens at Yew Dell is just one fascinating space that needs to be adopted at Yew Dell. “We don’t only have plants in our collection like a museum would have works of art. We also create plants here; we propagate them and sell them through our online plant market,” director of development and external relations Aimee Conrad-Hill says.

The spring Yew Dell calendar of events includes informative virtual workshops on bonsai, body movement while gardening, and pruning with more being added each month.

NORTHEAST REGIONAL LIBRARY

Due to COVID-19, all Louisville Free Public Library branches were closed for a time in the spring of 2020 and then reopened for curbside pickup and technology appointments. On March 26, 2021, the library will begin offering inperson “Grab and Go” access to library materials. This will allow book lovers to return to the Northeast Regional branch which was designed with light, people, and books in mind. One of its most unique features is its river of books which visitors can walk up and down; this design was intentional according to communications director Paul Burns. “One of the goals [was] to put books front and center,” he says.

Another feature of the Northeast branch is the Maker Pavilion, which consists of a demonstration kitchen, an audio/visual lab, and the maker lab. “The library is all about learning,” Paul says. Patrons regularly visited the maker lab where they could craft, sew, and design. “It was definitely a lively and well-utilized space in the library,” says Paul.

For those not ready to return inperson, the library will continue to offer curbside pickup, and assistance with technology issues and questions. The technology appointments can be made by calling 502.574.1611.