Peoria Riverfront Museum - July 25, 2013

OLLI toured the Peoria Riverfront Museum in late July.

We started our behind-the-scenes tour in the planetarium where Sheldon Shafer,Director of Education/Planetarium Curator, explained the technology behind the sky of stars and whet our appetite with a snippet of the Black Holes film.

Ann Schmidt, Assistant Director/Curator of Education, guided us in the Ansel Adams gallery and "The Street," a dramatic exhibit designed with a sense of grandeur, with a large media display to immerse visitors in more than 300 years of Peoria's rich history.

In addition, we learned about a few of the building features and practices that make it an environmentally sustainable museum.

OLLI would like to thank the outstanding staff at the Peoria Riverfront Museum for such an enjoyable tour.

Caterpillar Vistors Center - July 23, 2013

OLLI hosted a second VIP tour of the Caterpillar Visitors Center in late July. OLLI members explored interactive displays and exhibits with two Caterpillar docents.

Some of the highlights included climbing into the seat of a massive two-story Cat® 797 Mining Truck and taking a virtual ride into a customer's mine site down a haul road, seeing what the Holt steam track-type tractor prototype from 1905 looked like, and sitting in the seat of an antique Cat® D8 Tractor to feel what it was like to operate the machine in the 1930s.

OLLI thanks the Caterpillar Visitors Center for welcoming our gang.

For more information about the Visitors Center, please visit www.cat.com

Pat Sullivan's Le Vieux Carre - July 18, 2013

OLLI spent the afternoon touring downtown buildings that have been revitalized by local entrepreneur Pat Sullivan.

Sullivan, Peoria native, and co-developer of the city's warehouse district, was our host as we toured a complex of buildings getting a private, behind-the-scenes look at Le Vieux Carre ("small quarters") building on Water Street, a former buggy and implement warehouse built in the 1800's which was also rumored to have once housed Al Capone's whiskey stills and gambling devices.

Sullivan kept our group entertained with stories from the past, and OLLI would like to thank him for not only his time, but for his ongoing contributions and efforts toward downtown Peoria.

Wheels O'Time - July 17, 2013

Our mid-July trip to Wheels O'Time gave OLLI members a chance to view interactive exhibits that described what life was like in Peoria between 50 and 100 years ago.

Our private tour guides led us through an eclectic collection of antique autos, Caterpillar machinery, clocks, toys, tools, coin-operated machines, a railroad steam locomotive, a working windmill, and more!

OLLI would like to thank the staff at Wheels O"Time for an enjoyable afternoon and allowing our members to take a step back in time.