Meanwhile... at the Museum

Cincinnati Museum Center wouldn't be what it is without the hundreds of volunteers who greet guests, take tickets, guide tours, catalogue the collections, and so much more. But coordinating those volunteers is a job all its own. In this episode, we chat with Cordel George Jr., Manager of Volunteer and Intern Services at Cincinnati Museum Center, about what it takes to run a large and diverse volunteer program and the impact our volunteers have across every part of the museum. And Cordel reflects on his path from history student to educator, his personal journey of uncovering his ancestry and how these experiences shaped his perspective on community and service. 

Go behind the scenes with Sarah Staples, Helen Steiner Rice Archives Manager at Cincinnati Museum Center, as she shares what it takes to preserve the documents that give us a better understanding of the past.  In this episode, Sarah Staples discusses her work managing over 1,300 collections ranging from business records to personal correspondences, playing "history detective" to reveal the deeply human side of history and the challenges of preserving modern history in the digital age.

Wild Rescue is a film that celebrates the wildlife heroes who care for, rehab and release animals in need, focused on Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network. We talked to SBWCN's Executive Director, Ariana Katovich, about what it takes to run a rescue that cares for thousands of animals every year, and get a behind the scenes view of Wild Rescue. 

Cincinnati Museum Center is a place that people form a lifelong connection with. Case in point - today's guest, Kelsey Enderle. From visiting as a kid, to working in Camps and overnight programs in college, to her current role as Associate Vice President of Guest Engagement, Kelsey keeps coming back to CMC. We talk to Kelsey about her long history with CMC, her time in the Disney College Program and status as resident Disney Adult, her advice for getting into CMC's Summer Camps and more!

You may not know it, but you’ve probably already seen some of the work of our guest this week, Ian Shive. From documentaries aired during Shark Week to contributions to major Hollywood films of the early 2000s, Ian has had a long career in film and media. All of that has led up to his latest directorial release: Wild Rescue, a film for giant screens (like the domed screen in our OMNIMAX Theater!) that depicts the real-life heroes who rescue, rehabilitate and release wild animals in need. We’ll chat with Ian about how Wild Rescue got started, get some behind the scenes detail of making the movie and what it’s like to work with wild animals.

Cincinnati Museum Center is gearing up to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence. As part of our Past Forward at CMC series, we'll post a handful of podcast shorts diving into topics across American history through the lens of our collections.     One of the founding principles of America is freedom of religion. How has that applied to Jews throughout American history? And zooming in to a more local focus, what has been the experience of Jews in Cincinnati? How have they impacted the local community, and the larger community of American Jews? We sat down with Rabbi Dr. Gary Zola and our Curator of Manuscripts Christine Engels to explore the history of Jews in America and in Cincinnati.

Cincinnati Museum Center is gearing up to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence. As part of our Past Forward at CMC series, we'll post a handful of podcast shorts diving into topics across American history through the lens of our collections.    History doesn't happen in a vaccuum - it happens in our world. What people do both impacts, and is impacted by, the natural environment around them. With that in mind, what is the environmental history of the region Cincinnati Museum Center calls home? How has American history affected the plants, animals, and land in the Ohio River Valley and surrounding areas? We'll talk to Heather Farrington and Makayla Dean in our Zoology department to find out more. 

Cincinnati Museum Center is gearing up to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence. As part of our Past Forward at CMC series, we'll post a handful of podcast shorts diving into topics across American history through the lens of our collections.    In this episode of Past Forward, we're talking about preserving the history of one of America's oldest traditions - protest. Through protest, Americans have been making their voices heard for over 250 years. Why is documenting protests important? What do museums do to document protests throughout American history, including ones that are happening now? We'll talk to Katherine Gould, our Curator of History Objects and Fine Art, to find out. 

Do you know anyone who is a juggler, actor, fire-breather, stilt-walker, viking warrior, TV mascot, and guest experience professional? We're going to guess you said no and introduce you to Bill Stringer, Assistant Manager of Museum Engagement at Cincinnati Museum Center.

If you're our host Cody, a room brimming with jars of dead animals preserved in fluid sounds like a nightmare. If you're Makayla Dean, our Manager of Zoology Collections and DNA Lab, it's part of an average day at work. From preparing study skins to feeding flesh eating beetles, managing zoology collections is a messy job. We'll talk to Makayla about what inspired them to work in a natural history museum, how their career path led them to work in ours, and find out why we have a room full of dead things in jars.

In 1974, Franciscan Nun and 8th grade teacher Sister Nancy Linenkugel sent a letter to Doubleday, the American publisher of The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, which Sister Nancy was teaching in her class. She was hoping to get more information on Otto Frank, Anne's father, who had edited Anne's diary for publication. What she got was a response from Otto Frank himself, beginning a correspondence between a young nun in Ohio and a Holocaust survivor in Switzerland. We sat down with Sister Nancy to talk about her connection with Otto Frank and what she learned from getting to know him. 

Cincinnati Museum Center is gearing up to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence. As part of our Past Forward at CMC series, we'll post a handful of podcast shorts diving into topics across American history through the lens of our collections.    Today, we're talking about Cincinnati Museum Center's collection of over 6 million objects with Registrar Maat Manninen and Bob Genheimer, our George Rieveschl Curator of Archaeology. Why do museums collect? What do we collect? What is the process of bringing new objects into the collection? We'll dig into those questions, as well as talk about CMC's roots in the early 1800s. 

After spending some time in the museums at CMC, there's nothing like grabbing some grub from one of the cafes, or browsing the gift shop for a souvenir or gift! Our partners at SSA Group manage our food at retail in Union Terminal. And our guest today, Megan Dillon, manages the SSA team at CMC. Megan has a long history in hospitality, but she's also a singer-songwriter with experience playing around Nashville. We'll talk to Megan about her journey to CMC, what makes a good museum menu, and that time she opened for Dolly Parton.

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. is an incredible opportunity for people in Cincinnati and the surrounding regions to experience hundreds of authentic artifacts from Auscwhitz. In this episode, we're talking to Paweł Sawicki, Deputy Spokesman at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum about the the mission of the museum, the importance of remembering this history and the power of experiencing authentic history in person. 

If you're a radio listener in Cincinnati, you know his voice. Now get to know the man behind the mic. In this episode, we've got Jon Jon in the studio to get the inside scoop on how he made it to the airwaves, his thoughts on a rapidly changing media landscape, and how to stay relevant in a world of influencers and AI. 

Cincinnati Museum Center is gearing up to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence. As part of our Past Forward at CMC series, we'll post a handful of podcast shorts diving into topics across American history through the lens of our collections.  Today, we're talking about two American icons - turkey and corn - with Bob Genheimer, our George Rieveschl Curator of Archaeology, and Tyler Swinney, our NAGPRA Manager and Tribal Liaison. We'll dive into the history of turkey and corn, how humans have cultivated them for thousands of years, and their importance to America's Native Peoples as well as settlers from Europe and beyond. 

Today, Auschwitz is remembered as the primary example of the Holocaust, one of the darkest chapters of human history. In our latest featured exhibition, Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away., visitors can experience this story through a selection of over 500 artifacts from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland and from 20 institutions around the world. Today we're talking to Luis Ferreiro, Director of Musealia, the company that created the exhibit. We'll discuss the origins of the exhibit, why it's important to remember this story, and what goes into creating an exhibit on such an important topic.

Today we welcome our friend Michael Anderson to the show! Michael is the Director of PR & Photography for the Cincinnati Reds, which means it's his job to get the word out about the team and organization, both on and off the field. We'll talk to Michael about his experiences during his 17 years with the Reds, ballpark food and some of the various ways Museum Center and Union Terminal have intersected with the Reds over the past 156 years. 

When you have a paleontology collection as large as ours, it's a full time job just to keep it organized. And the person in charge of keeping it organized is Cameron Schwalbach. As our Paleontology Collections Manager, Cameron keeps track of our massive collection, works in our Paleo Lab to prepare fossils, goes on field expeditions, and more! We'll chat with Cameron about how he went from running through the woods and creeks of southwest Ohio to being an official paleontologist, life on a dinosaur dig and what it's like to be able to build your dream museum exhibit.

If you're a CMC Member, and you've attended any of our special Member exhibit previews, Member OMNIMAX screenings or special member hours, you should know that there's someone in particular that helped make them happen: Lauren Brewer, our Manager of Memberships! Not only does Lauren lead our efforts to increase our Member base, but she also acts as an advocate for our Members, doing everything she can to maximize the value of a CMC Membership. After 21 years here at CMC, we finally got Lauren on the podcast to talk about her career path, the value of CMC Membership and some of her favorite OMNIMAX films and exhibits!

Over the past two years, we've put out 50 episodes of Meanwhile... at the Museum. That's 50 incredible conversations with curators, exhibit designers, educators, scientists, movie directors, meteorologists, registrars, astronomers and so many more. In this episode, Cody and Mitch are looking back at the second year of the show and talking about some of their favorite moments. So sit back and join us as we reminisce, go back through and listen to the episodes we are highlighting here or your own personal favorites, and get ready for more as we gear up for year 3 of Meanwhile... at the Museum!

Cincinnati Museum Center is a rare museum in that we have our own in-house Exhibits team that can do it all, from design to fabrication and installation. This team also manages the featured exhibitions that we bring to Cincinnati, like Barbie: A Cultural Icon (open through Sept. 1, 2025), Pompeii: The Exhibition or the upcoming Auschwitz: Not long ago, not far away (coming October 2025). One of the key people in the process of bringing in traveling exhibitions is John Auer, our Director of Featured Exhibitions and Exhibits Business Development. We'll talk to John about what he does here at CMC, what it takes to fit traveling exhibits into a 1930s train station, and his background in both construction and art.

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 up in tech-based career and what it takes to keep an organization this size running smoothly. We'll even take a detour to the final frontier and talk some Trek. Engage!

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 astronomy and let him try to convince you that Pluto really shouldn't be classified as a planet. 

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 love of sports, taking part in the World Bratwurst-Eating Championship at Oktoberfest Zinzinnati and more!

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, and how food connects people around the world.

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 of Ohio's wildest spaces. We'll talk to Chris about how he ended up living on the Edge, what it means to be a nature savior, and the importance of the Eastern Forest ecosystem. 

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 Megan Aylward. In this episode, we'll chat with Chef Megan about some of her favorite recipes, ingredients and kitchen tools, as well as how she's making the jump from chef to teacher. 

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 all about, how it came together and what it's like to take the original Barbie through airport security. Don't miss Barbie: A Cultural Icon, open April 4 - September 1, 2025 at Cincinnati Museum Center.  https://www.cincymuseum.org/barbie/

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 Center.

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 talk to Scott about the work of philanthropy and insights he's learned in a career focused on fundraising for educational institutions. 

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 safety coordinator and doctor for the Blue Angels. Lt. Commander Borza joined us from San Diego to chat about her time with the Blue Angels and her role in the film. 

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 talking to Todd Schulkin, the Executive Director of the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts. We'll talk all things Julia, but also dig into Todd's background and his work with the Foundation.

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 into how Dave's fascination with astronomy as a child led to a degree in astrophysics and eventually a distinguished career at Cincinnati Museum Center, as well as some of his favorite OMNIMAX films and exhibits.

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 young boys in North Dakota turned out to be a T. rex! 

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 of angles and topics. We sat down with Dan to discuss his personal history, his new book and the work of a historian.    Make sure to keep an eye out for Four Cincinnatis and Other Essays, available in our CMC gift shop and on Amazon. Proceeds from the sale of the book go to our History Library and Archives!

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 have seen one of our famous liquid nitrogen explosions, you've seen his work. In this episode, we'll dig into a bit of Brian's backstory and ask him whatever science related questions pop into our heads. 

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 lot more. 

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 archivist, and who has the best and worst handwriting in the collection. 

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 staff and volunteers built up an incredible collection of dinosaur fossils. Some the biggest and rarest are on display now in our Dinosaur Hall! In this episode, we'll find out how Glenn went from dinosaur kid to dinosaur adult, talk about how he brought his vision for a dinosaur exhibit to fruition, and ask all the questions we've always wanted to ask a paleontologist.

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 projects, which include a music career and a screen printing business. 

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 where you can get your hands (and everything else) dirty digging up dinosaurs! We'll dig into Katie's background, her experiences in the field, and find out what it's like to prepare dinosaur fossils while people watch through the window.    Check out Katie's Instagram, @KateWhoExcavates to see her updates from the field!

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 [email protected]! 

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 collection, like a fallout shelter toilet. 

15 years ago, a child wandered into CMC and never left. Now that child is an adult, and that adult is Graham Turner, an Assistant Manager of Museum Engagement. Join us as we talk to Graham about our room full of things in jars, his time in CMC's Youth Programs, that time he ran away to the circus at age 6, and just how passionate Graham is about Cincinnati Museum Center.

A family walks into Union Terminal for the first time, overwhelmed by not just by the sheer scale of the Rotunda, but by the plethora of options before them. History museum, science museum, children’s museum, OMNIMAX Theater, featured exhibitions, programs, Membership, our friends in the Holocaust & Humanity Center?! Luckily, a friendly face is waiting to help these baby birds out of the nest: Charisse Lawrence. In a way, without Charisse you wouldn't be listening to this podcast, since she trained Cody at the box office 13 years ago! Join us as we talk to Charisse about reading and guiding museum-goers, favorite family meals, and her go-to karaoke song.

Today we are flipping the script, as we welcome CMC President & CEO Elizabeth Pierce back to the pod as host instead of guest. We've learned a lot about Cody over the previous 20 episodes, but now we're ready to turn things around and dig into his story. We'll talk about his 13 years with CMC, his path to being a Marketing VP with a graduate degree in history, and oh so many shenanigans.    And as requested, here's a playlist of just a few of Cody's finest moments.  https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKg_QLggSmtjJTGgI4p8s_I26FAVRQH_l&si=cXMwz4-f5ilnntrF