Music? Check. Planetarium show? Check. Dinosaurs? You better believe it. The stage was set for alumni from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to reunite with their alma mater and each other this past summer, and they did so in memorable fashion.
More than 160 people attended Night at the Museum with LAS, at the Peoria (Ill.) Riverfront Museum in July. Organized by the LAS Alumni Board, the event featured family friendly activities including exclusive viewing of the museum exhibits, a planetarium show in their Dome, a 3-D I-max movie, and a special exhibit, “Dinosaurs in Motion.”
Kids participated in face painting and a scavenger hunt throughout the museum. Professor Jonathan Marcot, from the Department of Animal Biology, brought dinosaur fossils, and Professor Wayne Pitard, director of the Spurlock Museum, and Tandy Lacy brought giant Southeast Asian masks.
“Not only did I haven an absolutely delightful time, but my kids (ages 9 and 11) mentioned repeatedly how much they enjoyed it,” remarked one attendee.
More than 80 guests also attended An Evening at Ravinia, held in mid-August at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Ill. They were treated to what the Chicago Tribune called one of the finest performances of a Richard Wagner opera, as vocalists and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed “The Flying Dutchman.”
Prior to the opera, alumni enjoyed a reception and dinner with live piano music. Maestro George Stelluto, associate conductor of Ravinia Festival and music director of Peoria Symphony Orchestra, gave an interesting presentation about references to “The Flying Dutchman” in today’s music.
Those who attended the event were also the first group of alumni to meet Barbara Wilson, the Harry E. Preble Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, after her appointment as interim chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus.
