Special Holocaust Exhibit Coming To Charlotte

There are some attractions that I believe should be experienced because they are fun.  The world is a dark place sometimes and its pressures can be crushing.  There's not enough fun in the world, so when the opportunity arises to have some, take it.  That being said, there are also some attractions that should be experienced because they are necessary.  There is knowledge to be gleaned or lessons to be learned or both.

For example, to fully appreciate modern United States History, I believe two sites are must-visit.  First (and hardest to get to), one of the most emotionally moving experiences of my life was a visit taken to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and the Arizona Memorial.  Japan's attack on December 7, 1941 thrust our country into the World War II conflict-changing lives forever.  Another, and I must admit even more gut-wrenching afternoon was the one I spent at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City.  To be 100% honest, I didn't make it all the way through, as it proved to be too much.  That doesn't change the fact that I believe it is a place that every American should and want to visit.

Neither of these is a feel-good moment.  However, they and the lessons they teach are priceless.  Along these same lines, there is a unique Holocaust exhibit coming to Charlotte that I will make time to spend time viewing.  "Seeing Auschwitz" is coming to The Visual Arts and Performance Center on February 9.

"Seeing Auschwitz" is made up of 100 photos, sketches, and accounts painting a picture of the lives of both the more than 1 million Holocaust victims and the Nazis of Germany that were the cause of their demise.  And it's presented in a unique way.    Judy La Pietra is the associate director of The Stan Greenspon Center of Holocaust and Social Justice Education at Queens University.  She first saw this exhibit in London and has been passionate about bringing it to Charlotte since.  Pietra tells the Charlotte Observer, “They’re not photos in the camps, per se. We’re building a picture of life and what was lost.  It’s not a very scholarly approach to Auschwitz, but rather, presented in a way that kind of everyday people without any background knowledge can really understand what took place. And that is the goal, you know, to touch people with this history.”

The saying goes, those that ignore the lessons of history's mistakes and errors are destined to repeat them.  "Seeing Auschwitz" is something that all of us owe to ourselves to see.  This stunning Holocaust exhibit will be at The Visual Arts and Performance Center (9189 Studio Gallery at VAPA, 700 N.Tryon Street) February 9-15.  Tickets are $15 for adults and $8.50 for children 12 and under.

As the calendar turns and spring begins to turn to summer, it's time to start planning how to occupy your kids time this summer.  I know this was a top priority of my mom growing up.  Sure, there was LOTS of time spent playing with friends-OUTSIDE, but mom also tried to plot out trips and adventures that she felt would enhance our lives.  One of her favorite go-tos?  Museums.

Good God Almighty if I spent one summer day in Houston's natural history museum or art museum, I spent 200.  I don't know why she thought there was going to be great change year to year.  No matter, off to them my sister and I were dragged.  Honestly though, you see one dinosaur skeleton, you've seen them all, right?

So, if you're a summer museum mom as well, here are some alternative trips that your kids will always remember.  And one of these unique museums is here in the Tar Heel State

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This is crazy.  Nine years ago in February of 2014 and ENORMOUS sinkhole (40-foot-wide, 30-foot-deep) emerged in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  Not just in the town, but in the National Corvette Museum.  It swallowed eight rare cars.  The hole, of course, has since been fixed, but you can check out the cars that drew the black bean that day.  Definitely one of the most unique museums around.

Okay, granted this one's gonna take some travel.  And it's probably not going to be all that interesting to the kids, but as far as unique museums go, you HAVE to include The Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb.  The founders, artists Olinka Vistina and Drazen Grubisic are a couple no more.  However, when they called it off, they created this spot where mementos of their time as a couple would remain together, even as they were not. As the years have gone on, other couples have donated their past relationship memorabilia.

If we're talking fun ideas when it comes to unique museums, then this one will have to be on your list.  You into things like Bigfoot, the yeti, and the Loch Ness monster?  Then you will be all in on the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.  It's got more mysterious objects from mysterious unknown creatures than anywhere else in the world.

Who says Vegas isn't for kids?  Mom, now you can kill two birds with one stone.  You and the hubby can have some fun on the Strip, while enriching your kids with one of America's most unique museums.  Quick history lesson, Las Vegas, Nevada, was once the epicenter of watching weapons of mass destruction explode (ie atomic bomb testing). The Atomic Museum (previously known as the National Atomic Testing Museum) is a memorial to that glorious time.  The museum has more than 12,000 artifacts that paint the whole bomb testing picture from the 1950s and 1960s.

Okay, so it's not the Vegas Strip, but if you were going to pick one city in North Carolina with similar moral sensibilities, it would have to be Asheville, North Carolina.  And this city's contribution to our list of unique museums is the Asheville Pinball Museum.  Back in the day, to play pinball and video games required a roll of quarters.  Once those ran out, you were done.  Not anymore.  According to their website, just $15 gets you unlimited play on 35 pinball machines and 35 classic video games.  Woo-hoo Mom!  Keep the kids occupied and engaged for hours less than 2 hours from Charlotte!