Category: McMullen Musings

My Favorite Museum: The Beatles Story

Post author By theterracebc
Post date February 6, 2019
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By Annabel Steele

One of the best parts about my experience studying abroad was my two-and-a-half week long Easter break. I left Ireland for a fortnight and spent time in Scotland, England, Italy and France, enjoying every single second of it (and making good use of every single second, too—I hardly slept at all). And while I was excited to see famous sights like Loch Lomond, Edinburgh Castle, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, the Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, I was even more excited to see something else.

It may seem odd, but the most excited I was during that entire fortnight was the morning I boarded a train in Preston, Lancashire, England, fresh off of spending a day and a half visiting a friend there. The train pulled out of the station and chugged resolutely towards Liverpool, where another friend awaited along with everything a Beatles fan could ever want to see.

The Beatles are my very favorite band, and they have been for my entire life. I have devoured books and biographies, endlessly re-watched their movies, papered my room with their posters and, of course, played their music on a loop. I cannot identify one single favorite Beatles song, because that answer changes depending on the day. (I can, however, identify a single favorite Beatle: Paul McCartney. Musically, he and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys are it for me.)

So when I arrived in Liverpool, my friend and I hopped on a Magical Mystery Tour bus and saw the sights around the city, stopped off for a pint in the (new) Cavern Club and had a photo shoot with the Beatles statues on Albert Dock. Two days later, we returned to the dock ready to visit The Beatles Story, a museum devoted to all things Fab Four.

The Beatles Story is an incredible experience. Guests receive a headset and walk through the museum with an audio tour featuring commentary from Julia Baird, John Lennon’s half-sister. The museum is laid out with rooms resembling the real places the Beatles visited or played; for example, there are replicas of the Cavern Club and the Casbah, allowing visitors to see what those places looked like when the Beatles played them. The tour follows the band’s trajectory chronologically. A special treat is the room devoted to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, a cacophony of color and sound so reminiscent of 1967 and that seminal album.

Spread throughout the rooms are actual artifacts from the Beatles’ careers. There are instruments, programs, photographs and even a suit that belonged to Brian Epstein. Music is constantly piped through speakers, giving the entire experience a cheery and familiar feeling.

The end of the tour focuses on the four Beatles’ post-band solo careers. While I am a Paul girl through and through, I found the most compelling part of this end of the tour to be a replica of the white room from John Lennon’s Tittenhurst estate. It was hopeful and idealistic, with the song Imagine playing through the speakers, and yet also sobering and melancholy, as visitors reflect on John, what he accomplished and what he might have done if not for his untimely murder.

I walked out of the museum feeling happy, content and so, so lucky to have had the opportunity to visit Liverpool and soak in all of the Beatles sights. While I did go on to have plenty more incredible experiences over my Easter break, every time a Beatles song comes on my shuffle, I think back to the days I spent in Liverpool and give a satisfied smile. I’d go back there any time at all.

McMullen Musings

Rainy Tuesdays at the Museum

Post author By theterracebc
Post date November 20, 2018
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By Carolina Gazal

It just so happens that every Tuesday, it rains terribly during my shift at the McMullen Museum. The second the clock strikes 1:30 pm, it begins to rain right as I head to the Museum. The bright red leaves become soggy piles of mush, puddles of mud flood my walk, and I ask myself why does it have to rain every Tuesday?

I walk from Gasson Hall to the Museum, hair drenched and shoes soaked, peeved at Mother Nature for deciding to downpour during my shift. Then I sit at the front desk, watching the rain hit the glass windows of the atrium, wondering when the rain will end, and question why this happens every week.

Despite it all, I’ve come to realize that the McMullen Museum is the perfect place to be when it’s raining. Although rain is associated with gloom and darkness, I’ve come to love watching the rain fall from the comfort of the glass atrium. I’ve been so accustomed to the darkness of dorm rooms, especially when it rains, and the glass windows of the McMullen Museum are a bright escape from the poorly lit dorm room and dark hallways of Gasson Hall.

It’s actually quite uplifting to watch the rain fall in the atrium, especially when a beautiful rainbow shines over the Brighton campus. The most beautiful rainbow I’ve ever seen grew over the terrace and circled around the museum. Everyone rushed to the terrace to photograph the double rainbow, and suddenly everything I dreaded before took on a new light. The soggy leaves became crisp and dotted with rain droplets and the puddles were reflections of nature around me – nature I usually neglect amidst heaps of homework and assignments.

The next time it rains, I highly recommend walking over to the McMullen Museum and watching the rain from the atrium. Grab an umbrella, don your rain boots, set up a rainy day playlist – or even download the McMullen’s podcasts – and make the journey to the museum. I’ve never been one to enjoy the rain, but the museum space provides a cozy nook to admire the Brighton campus and the beautiful nature I usually take advantage of.

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Harvard Art Exchange

By Kate Oksen

On Friday, November 9, student guides and staff members from the Harvard Art Museums came to the McMullen Museum to complete the second component of our exchange program. Harvard students were greeted in the atrium by Professor Nancy Netzer before heading to our first floor conference room.

Sophia Cocozza, co-chair of the Education Committee, had the opportunity to delve a little deeper into the specific roles and responsibilities of a McMullen student ambassador. The co-chairs of each of our six committees presented an overview of their main projects and goals for the semester while using visual aids to showcase components of our website, 3D-Vista tours of past exhibitions, an inside look at our database, and more.

The Harvard students were split into two groups and brought on tours of the second and third floor galleries of the museum. The tours were facilitated by members of our Education Committee, who each conducted extra research on components of Strategies of Engagement to inform Harvard’s student guides about Carrie Mae Weems herself and pieces from her vast array of work. Interacting with other student workers, conversing about the exhibition and discussing the differences and similarities of our experiences working in art museums coupled with the actual trips to these unique spaces has been such a positive endeavor for all involved. We are so happy to have had this exchange and so grateful to have had the Harvard student guides participate!