Meanwhile... at the Museum

Have you noticed how everything these days, from refrigerators to televisions, is connected over the internet? Our VP of Technology Jason Perkins sure has - because he's the one who has to keep it all running! From interactives in the exhibits to employee computers to our website and ticketing systems, the Museum is full of tech that needs to be maintained. We'll talk to Jason about how he ended u...

In his over 25 year career as an astronomer, Dean Regas has been the lead astronomer at Cincinnati Observatory, the host of the podcast Looking Up, co-host of the PBS show Star Gazers, a contributing writer for the Cincinnati Enquirer and so much more. Now flying solo, Dean is a rogue astronomer out to show you the wonders of the universe. We'll chat with Dean about his career, what's new in astro...

When we brought this week's guest in to record at 9:30 a.m. on a Tuesday, her day was almost half over already. As a morning TV meteorologist with Channel 5 WLWT in Cincinnati, Randi Rico is gets up at 2 a.m. to get into the studio and bring you the info you need to plan your day, your week or even for safety in a weather emergency.  We'll talk to Randi about her career path in meteorology, her lo...

He's been a podcast host for one of the wildest grocery stores anywhere, a tiger-striped Pepsi ad star, and a giant cicada. And now Mark Borison, host of The Jungle Jim's Podcast, can add "guest on Meanwhile... at the Museum" to his extensive resume! We'll chat with Mark about how he ended up hosting a podcast for Jungle Jim's International Market, his career as an actor in commercials and films,...

Did you know that Cincinnati Museum Center co-owns and manages (with The Nature Conservancy) a nature preserve in Adams County Ohio? The Richard and Lucile Durrell Edge of Appalachia Preserve System is a hotspot of biodiversity located on the edges of the Appalachian mountain chain. For over 30 years, Chris Bedel has been CMC's man on the outside, managing the care, protection and research of one...

The Cr(eat)e Culinary Studio Featuring the Kroger Food Lab is a space that brings together some of our favorite things about Museum Center - science, history, culture, community - through food. People of all ages and abilities can learn how to cook some awesome dishes, as well as the science of how and why they work and the history and culture behind them. Leading many of these programs is Chef Me...

In Barbie: A Cultural Icon, you can explore over 65 years of toys, fashion, and culture through the lens of the best selling doll of all time, Barbie. Today, we're talking to the man who made it happen, Exhibition Producer Tim Clothier. Tim is the founder of Illusion Projects Inc., an exhibition and theatrical fabrication company operating out of Las Vegas. We'll dig into what the exhibition is al...

Cam Hardin is many things, including an Applebee's superfan, deviled eggs connoisseur and Mountain Dew sommelier. But he's also a meteorologist, or a scientist who studies weather. You may recognize him as a TV weatherman at WCPO in Cincinnati. We'll dig into what it's like to be a meteorologist, Cam's varied culinary curiosities and his experiences bringing his kids here to Cincinnati Museum Cent...

As a nonprofit institution, our mission and our goals would not be possible without our generous donors. But finding those donors, helping them to see how their money can make an impact and managing those relationships takes the work of a whole team of people. That's why we have a Philanthropy team here at CMC. The leader of that team is our VP of Philanthropy, Scott Schuster. In this episode, we...

The Blue Angels are the U.S. Navy's incredible flight demonstration team, and right now their Super Hornet jets are roaring across our OMNIMAX screen at Cincinnati Museum Center. The skills of the pilots are incredible, but it takes a whole team to put on the shows, to do them safely and to keep the pilots in top physical form. As the flight surgeon, Lt. Commander Dr. Monica Borza was the ground s...

Julia Child is an icon of American cooking. With her cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" and her TV show "The French Chef," Julia made French cooking accessible to millions. In our featured exhibition "Julia Child: A Recipe For Life" (February - May 2025) you can explore the life of Julia Child, from her time in the OSS during World War II to her star turn on TV and beyond. Today, we're...

Dave Duszynski has been part of our organization since before it was Cincinnati Museum Center. While he originally worked at the planetarium in the Museum of Natural History & Science's old Gilbert Avenue location, has been in charge of our OMNIMAX theater since it opened in 1990. He's also been a key player in bringing in our Featured Exhibitions like Pompeii, Maya and Bricktionary. We'll dig...

Our latest OMNIMAX film features one of the biggest stars to ever grace our domed screen - Tyrannosaurus Rex! We sat down with Andy Wood, the writer, producer, and co-director of T. REX to talk about the process of making a movie this big, what it takes to get dinosaurs into the movie, and what it was like to be there with cameras rolling as the dinosaur bones that had been discovered by three you...

Dan Hurley has been a public historian in Cincinnati for a long time. You may have seen him on TV, heard him on the radio or read his essays in local newspapers. He also worked in our History Library and Archives for years. Now, in his new book Four Cincinnatis and Other Essays, Dan has collected 88 of his essays written over the last 25 years that explore Cincinnati's history from a wide variety...

Every year from the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve, you can visit with Santa Claus here at Cincinnati Museum Center. So for Christmas this year, we asked Santa himself to come be on the podcast. We'll get the inside scoop on Santa's cookie and milk preferences, how to end up on the naughty or nice list, and why he comes back to CMC year after year. 

Is Brian Pollock a physicist, a scientist or a chef? Depends who's asking. Brian is an informal educator extraordinaire. A lover of science and education who has come to be a lover of history and museums, Brian is part of the team that develops programs at CMC, particularly science programs. If you've visited our CreEATe Culinary Studio Featuring the Kroger Food Lab, seen a science stage show, or...

Arynn McCandless is our Director of Program Development. So when you come into the museum and see a demonstration on the water cycle, dance in the Children's Museum, or watch a show on our Science Stage, you're seeing some of Arynn's work in action. In this episode, we'll talk to Arynn about her career here at CMC, her time as an art teacher, her connection to rabbits, candy, Pokemon, and a whole...

Our Cincinnati History Library and Archives started collecting documents in 1831. So you can probably imagine that after almost 200 years, we have quite a few papers in our collection. So how do you manage and care for all those historical records? Enter Christine Engels, our Manager of Archives. In this episode, we'll ask our burning questions about what an archivist does, how Christine became an...

Almost 30 years ago, Dr. Glenn Storrs arrived in Cincinnati as Museum Center's new Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology. At the time, the vertebrate paleontology collection was mostly focused on ice age animals. Which are great! But Glenn had a vision for a dinosaur collection and exhibit. Over the years, through active digs and partnerships with other institutions, Glenn and his fellow collections...

After bouncing from coast to coast and even a few stints in Hong Kong, Amy Vlastelica has landed at Cincinnati Museum Center as our Director of Exhibition Design. So what does an exhibition designer do? We'll dig into that, Amy's career in museums and design firms, and her efforts to create the first children's museum in Hong Kong! 

If you've seen an OMNIMAX film at CMC in the past 26 years, James Burns has likely been part of that experience, whether he was greeting you as you came in, operating the film projector, introducing the movie or all of the above. In this episode, we'll dig into James' journey from his small town theater to CMC's OMNIMAX, our theater's switch to a digital projector in 2018 and his many side project...

If you've been to Cincinnati Museum Center's Dinosaur Hall and Ancient Worlds Hiding in Plain Sight gallery, you probably notice our Paleo Lab. And if you've been here recently, you saw Katie Hunt hard at work preparing fossils! Katie works in our lab whenever the museum is open as part of a partnership we have with Elevation Science Institute, a non-profit organization that has a field program wh...

Today we're shaking up our usual format as Cody and Mitch discuss some of their favorite moments from the first twenty-five episodes and first year of Meanwhile... at the Museum. We'll talk about Shakespeare, the Hamburglar, a few varieties of historic toilets and a whole lot more. Take a listen, and let us know some of your favorite moments by messaging us at meanwhile@cincymuseum.org!  

Tim McQuillan has had a lot of jobs: roller coaster ride operator, airport bus driver, K-9 security officer and more. But today he's our Senior Director of Public Safety and Security here at Cincinnati Museum Center. We're chatting with Tim to get the inside scoop on what he does here, exploring a 500,000 square foot National Historic Landmark, and his long history of interesting jobs.

Though collecting objects is just one part of what a museum does, it is a very important one. But why is it important to collect objects like a safe, bed or small piece of rope? Today we're digging into that question with Katherine Gould, our Curator of History Objects and Fine Art. We'll also learn about Katherine's path to becoming our curator, and about some of her favorite objects in the colle...