Sneak Peek: Beyond Katrina
Travelers
who missed being in New Orleans to observe the fifth anniversary of
Hurricane Katrina will have the opportunity to discover what really
happened during the storm beginning this October 26, when the Louisiana
State Museum opens an exhibit devoted to the hurricane and the wild,
wet weather that has influenced the Gulf Coast in its history.
Living With Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyondis a $7.5 million exhibit opening at the historic Presbytere in the
heart of the French Quarter. “Visitors to New Orleans will see and
experience what happened, and see how the region has rebuilt itself to
be better than it was before,” said Louisiana State Museum Director Sam
Rykels. Rykels and his curators hunted down and found iconic artifacts
to display — like the Fats Domino’s water-damaged Steinway piano
(above) salvaged from the musician’s Lower Ninth Ward home and a tarnished
menorah, retrieved from a flooded synagogue in Lakeview, an affluent
neighborhood. Also in the exhibit: videos that relay stories of
survival and rescue like Ken Bellau’s – the professional bicycle racer
commandeered a loose boat and proceeded to rescue some 400 people from
their homes. (Watch one of the videos after the jump.)
- Nat Geo Expeditions
Though the State Museum of Louisiana is housed in the
Presbytere, a 219-year-old building, it boasts some thoroughly cutting edge technology — QR codes — a bar code that will immediately link smart phone
users to in-depth additional information. In the museum’s case, the
QR code for its upcoming exhibitLiving With Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyondlinks visitors to the exhibit’s Facebook page where they can upload their own thoughts or experiences.
Images and video: The Louisiana State Museum