Plimoth Plantation - USA

Plimoth Plantation, founded in 1627, is a living history museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA, that exhibits the original settlement of the Plymouth Colony established in the 17th century by English colonists, some of whom later became known as Pilgrims. They were among the first people who emigrated to America to avoid religious persecution and to seek religious separation from the Church of England.[1] It is a not-for-profit museum supported by Administrations , contributions, grants and volunteers.[2]

The re-creations are sourced from a wide variety of first and second records, accounts, articles and period paintings and artifacts,[3] and the museum conducts ongoing research and scholarship, including historical archaeological excavation and curation locally and abroad.[4]

In the 1627 English Village section of the museum, interpreters have been trained to speak, act and dress appropriately for the period.[5] At Plimoth Plantation they are called historical interpreters, and they interact with their 'strange visitors' (i.e. the modern general public) in the first person, answering questions, discussing their lives and viewpoints and participating in tasks such as cooking, planting, blacksmithing and animal husbandry.[6] The 1627 English Village loosely follows a time line, chronologically representing the calendar year 1627 from late March through November (the months the museum is open),[7] depicting day-to-day life and seasonal activities as well as featuring some key historical events such as funerals and special celebrations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plimoth_Plantation

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Millennium Park - USA

Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, US, and originally intended to celebrate the second millennium. It is a prominent civic center near the city's Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a 24.5-acre (99,000 m2) section of northwestern Grant Park. The area was previously occupied by parkland, Illinois Central rail yards, and parking lots.[1] The park, which is bounded by Michigan Avenue, Randolph Street, Columbus Drive and East Monroe Drive, features a variety of public art. As of 2009, Millennium Park trailed only Navy Pier as a Chicago tourist attraction.[2] In 2015, the park became the location of the city's annual Christmas tree lighting.

Planning of the park began in October 1997. Construction began in October 1998, and Millennium Park was opened in a ceremony on July 16, 2004, four years behind schedule. The three-day opening celebrations were attended by some 300,000 people and included an inaugural concert by the Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus. The park has received awards for its accessibility and green design.[3] Millennium Park has free admission,[4] and features the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Cloud Gate, the Crown Fountain, the Lurie Garden, and various other attractions. The park is connected by the BP Pedestrian Bridge and the Nichols Bridgeway to other parts of Grant Park. Because the park sits atop a parking garage and the commuter rail Millennium Station, it is considered the world's largest rooftop garden.

Some observers consider Millennium Park to be the city's most important project since the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893.[4][5] It far exceeded its originally proposed budget of $150 million. The final cost of $475 million was borne by Chicago taxpayers and private donors. The city paid $270 million; private donors paid the rest,[6] and assumed roughly half of the financial responsibility for the cost overruns.[7] The construction delays and cost overruns were attributed to poor planning, many design changes, and cronyism. Many critics have praised the completed park.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Park

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National WWII Museum - USA

The National WWII Museum, formerly known as the D-Day Museum, is a military history museum located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, on Andrew Higgins Drive between Camp Street and Magazine Street. The museum focuses on the contribution made by the United States to Allied victory in World War II. Founded in 2000, it was later designated by the U.S. Congress as America's official National World War II Museum in 2003.[2] The Museum maintains an affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution.[3] The mission statement of the Museum emphasizes the American experience in World War II.[4]

Museum description

A C-47 on display in the museum atrium
The Museum opened on June 6, 2000, the 56th anniversary of D-Day, and has since undertaken a large-scale expansion project which is still ongoing. In addition to the original building, known as the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion, the Museum has since opened the Solomon Victory Theater, the John E. Kushner Restoration Pavilion, the U.S. Freedom Pavilion, the Boeing Center, and the "Road to Berlin" portion of the Campaigns of Courage pavilion. (The "Road to Tokyo" portion of the Campaigns of Courage pavilion is currently under construction and is tentatively scheduled to open in 2015.) There are further plans to construct what will be called the Liberation Pavilion.

Within the large atrium of the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion several aircraft are on display, including a Supermarine Spitfire, Messerschmitt Bf 109, Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber, and Douglas C-47 Skytrain, all suspended from the ceiling. An LCVP, or "Higgins boat", is also usually on display in this pavilion. The exhibits in this pavilion focus on the amphibious landings of the war, in both the European and Pacific theaters of war. Topics covered include the Allied strategy of island hopping, culminating with nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. The Louisiana Memorial Pavilion is also home to rotating temporary exhibits, as well as the immersive and interactive Union Pacific Train Car (part of the larger "Dog Tag Experience" interactive), which opened in 2013.

This part of the Museum includes several permanent galleries, including the Home Front, Planning for D-Day, and The D-Day Beaches. A Pacific D-Day gallery has since been closed in preparation for the upcoming Road to Tokyo exhibit. The third floor of the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion includes an observation deck for closer viewing of the hanging aircraft.

In January 2013, the Museum opened The US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center, which is the now largest building on the campus.[5] The collection in the US Freedom Pavilion includes a B-17E Flying Fortress bomber, a B-25J Mitchell bomber, an SBD-3 Dauntless, a TBF Avenger, a P-51C Mustang, Corsair F4U-4 and an interactive submarine experience based on the final mission of the USS Tang.[5] The B-17E is the airplane dubbed My Gal Sal, famous for having been lost in a mission over Greenland and recovered 53 years later.[5] The US Freedom Pavilion was paid for with a $15 million donation from the Boeing Company and with a $20 million grant from the US Department of Defense with Congressional approval.[6]

In December 2014, the Museum opened the Road to Berlin portion of the Campaigns of Courage pavilion, focusing on the European theater of war. The Road to Tokyo portion of this same pavilion, which will focus on the Pacific war, is scheduled to open at some point in 2015. The entire pavilion, including both galleries, measures 32,000 square feet.[7]

The museum also has plans to eventually open what would be called the Liberation Pavilion, whose goal would be to explore the "joys, costs, and meaning of liberation and freedom", as well as how the legacy of World War II affects us today.[8]

Visitors to the Museum are encouraged to allocate roughly 2½ to 3 hours to tour the Museum. An award-winning 4-D film, Beyond All Boundaries, is shown in the Solomon Victory Theater and gives the visitor an overview of the war on every front. A variety of other multimedia displays are integrated into most of the Museum's exhibits, notably the dozens of video oral histories conducted with veterans of the war by museum staff. The Museum currently houses two restaurants, the American Sector and the Soda Shop, both operated by noted chef John Besh until August 2014.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_National_WWII_Museum

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Ellis Island - USA

Ellis Island is an island that is located in Upper New York Bay in the Port of New York and New Jersey, United States. It was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States as the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with land reclamation between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the site of Fort Gibson and later a naval magazine. The island was made part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965, and has hosted a museum of immigration since 1990. Long considered part of New York, a 1998 United States Supreme Court decision found that most of the island is in New Jersey.[4] The south side of the island, home to the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital, is closed to the general public and the object of restoration efforts spearheaded by Save Ellis Island.

Geography and access
Ellis Island is located in the Upper New York Bay, east of Liberty State Park and north of Liberty Island, in Jersey City, New Jersey with a small section that is territory of New York City enclaved within it.[5][6] Largely created through land reclamation, the island covers a land area of 27.5 acres (11.1 ha), most of which is part of New Jersey. The 2.74-acre (1.11 ha) natural island and contiguous areas comprise the 3.3 acres (1.3 ha) that are part of New York.[6][7]

The entire island, much of which is closed to the general public, has been owned and administered by the U.S. federal government since 1808 and has been operated by the National Park Service since 1965.[8]

Since September 11, 2001, the island is guarded by patrols of the United States Park Police Marine Patrol Unit. Public access is by ferry from either Communipaw Terminal in Liberty State Park or from Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan. The ferry operator, Hornblower Cruises and Events, also provides service to the nearby Statue of Liberty.[9] A bridge built for transporting materials and personnel during restoration projects connects Ellis Island with Liberty State Park, but is not open to the public. Proposals made in 1995 to use it or replace it with a new bridge for pedestrians were opposed by the city of New York and the private ferry operator at that time.[10]

The island was closed to the public after Hurricane Sandy in October 2012.[11] The island was re-opened to the public and the museum partially re-opened on October 28, 2013, after major renovations.[12][13] While additional floors and areas of the museum were re-opened in 2014, it is not expected to be fully re-opened until the end of 2015 at the earliest due to continuing repairs.[14]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellis_Island

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Discovery Cove In USA

Discovery Cove is a theme park owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a subsidiary of Blackstone Group, and located in Orlando, Florida. It is a sister park of SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica. At this park, guests can interact with a variety of marine animals, most notably bottlenose dolphins. In addition to swimming with dolphins, Discovery Cove guests can interact with exotic birds, tropical fish, rays, and land mammals.

Dolphin swim
Discovery Cove offers the opportunity to schedule a reservation to “talk, touch, play and swim” with bottlenose dolphins.[1] With the help of trained dolphin adventure guides, guests receive a safety orientation and information session to learn about the dolphins before moving to the dolphin pool. Guests are shown how to use hand signals and positive reinforcement to encourage the dolphins to perform behaviors before participating in a one-on-one swim.[2] The “Trainer for a Day Package” includes the regular 30-minute dolphin session, adding deep-water dolphin interaction, private photo sessions, increased time with the dolphin trainers, and a behind the scenes tour. The dolphin interaction is between a single dolphin and a group of around eight people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_Cove

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Bishop Museum In USA

The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaiʻi State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science located in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu. Founded in 1889, it is the largest museum in Hawai'i and is home to the world's largest collection of Polynesian cultural artifacts and natural history specimens. Besides the comprehensive exhibits of Hawaiiana, the Bishop Museum has an extensive entomological collection of over 13.5 million specimens, the third largest collection in the United States. The museum is accessible on public transit: TheBus Routes A, 1, 2, 7, 10.
The museum complex is home to the Richard T. Mamiya Science Adventure Center.

Establishment
Charles Reed Bishop (1822-1915), a philanthropist and co-founder of Kamehameha Schools and of the First Hawaiian Bank, built the museum in memory of his late wife, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop (1831-1884) - the last legal heir of the Kamehameha Dynasty, which had ruled the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi between 1810 and 1872. Bishop had originally intended the museum to house family heirlooms passed down to him through the royal lineage of his wife.

Bishop hired William Tufts Brigham as the first curator of the Museum; Brigham later served as director from 1898 until his retirement in 1918.

The museum was built on the original boys' campus of Kamehameha Schools, an institution created to benefit native Hawaiian children as outlined in the Princess' last will and testament. In 1898, Bishop constructed Hawaiian Hall and Polynesian Hall in the then popular Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style. The Pacific Commercial Advertiser newspaper dubbed the buildings "the noblest buildings of Honolulu". Both Hawaiian Hall and Polynesian Hall stand today and have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Hawaiian Hall is home to a complete sperm-whale skeleton with papier-mâché body suspended above the central gallery. Along the walls are prized koa wood display cases worth more than the original Bishop Museum buildings. It is also home to the Hawaiian Royal regalia, including the Hawaiian royal crown and the consort's crown.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop_Museum

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Great Blue Hole of Belize

In American there are several big “Blue Holes” all around the world but the Great Blue Hole of Belize is probably the most impressive of them all. The hole is a submerged sinkhole, it has a terrifying 125 meters vertical drop to the bottom of the Atlantic ocean. The blue hole is located in the middle of the Lighthouse Reef, situated about 65 kilometers to the east of Belize City’s shoreline. The famous French Naval Explorer, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, once said that the Great Blue Hole is of the world’s top 10 diving locations.

 Image by Andrew Hounslea (Click Andrew’s flickr)

Image by U.S. Geological Survey (pd)

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San Diego Zoo In USA

The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California housing over 3,700 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies.[1] Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Global, is the largest zoological membership association in the world, with more than 250,000 member households and 130,000 child memberships, representing more than a half million people.[6] San Diego Zoo pioneered the concept of open-air, cageless exhibits that re-create natural animal habitats.[7] It is one of the few zoos in the world that houses the giant panda.[8] In 2013 the Zoo added a new Koalafornia Adventure, providing an Australian experience. [9]

It is privately operated by the nonprofit Zoological Society of San Diego on 100 acres (40 ha) of parkland leased from the City of San Diego, and ownership of all animals, equipment and other assets rests with the City of San Diego. The San Diego Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), and a member of the Zoological Association of America (ZAA) and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). San Diego Zoo Global also operates the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Zoo

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Central Park In USA

Central Park is an urban park in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It was initially opened in 1857, on 778 acres (315 ha) of city-owned land (it is 843 acres today[5]). In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they titled the Greensward Plan. Construction began the same year, continued during the American Civil War, and was completed in 1873. Central Park is the most visited urban park in the United States.[1]

Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962, the park is currently managed by the Central Park Conservancy under contract with the city government. The Conservancy is a non-profit organization that contributes 83.5% of Central Park's $37.5 million annual budget and employs 80.7% of the park's maintenance staff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Park

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SeaWorld In USA

SeaWorld is a United States chain of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, and animal theme parks owned by SeaWorld Entertainment. The parks feature orca, sea lion, and dolphin shows and zoological displays featuring various other marine animals. There are operations in Orlando, Florida; San Diego, California; San Antonio, Texas; and previously Aurora, Ohio. On March 5, 2007, SeaWorld Orlando announced addition of the Aquatica water park to its adventure park family, which already includes SeaWorld and Discovery Cove.

SeaWorld parks also feature a variety of thrill rides, including roller coasters like Kraken and Manta at SeaWorld Orlando and Steel Eel and The Great White at SeaWorld San Antonio. Journey to Atlantis, a combination roller coaster and splashdown ride, can be found at all three US parks. The parks were owned by Busch Entertainment Corp., the family entertainment division of Anheuser-Busch, which is best known for brewing beer. In November 2009, Busch Entertainment was sold to the Blackstone Group and subsequently renamed SeaWorld Entertainment. On April 19, 2013 SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment had an initial public offering of stock. Blackstone sold 19.9 million SeaWorld shares at $27 apiece in the offering. After accounting for underwriting fees, Blackstone saw proceeds of about $505 million. After the IPO Blackstone retained a 63% stake in SeaWorld.[2]

In 2003 SeaWorld created the non-profit SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund. SeaWorld is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), meaning they have met and or exceeded the standards the AZA has set forth in their accreditation standards for Education, Conservation and Research.

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Pupukea Beach Park In USA

Pūpūkea is a community and census-designated place (CDP) in the Koʻolauloa District on the island of Oʻahu, City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. In Hawaiian, pūpūkea means "white shell". As of the 2010 Census, the CDP had a population of 4,551.[1] The Koʻolauloa District ends at Waimea Bay, with the Waialua District extending south and westward.

Pūpūkea is a popular area on Oʻahu's North Shore for living and for visiting. The best known surfing sites of Velzyland, Sunset (at Sunset Beach Park), Kammieland, Pūpūkea, ʻEhukai, Pipeline (these latter two off adjacent ʻEhukai Beach Park and Banzai Beach) and lesser breaks are arrayed off this shore. Popular diving areas known as Three Tables and Sharks Cove are located at Pūpūkea Beach Park. At the southwest end of Pūpūkea is Waimea Bay, with one of the most popular beaches on the island forming the shore at Waimea Beach Park.

Popular residential areas here include the beach lots at Sunset Beach and the uplands of Pūpūkea. The biggest drawback to living in this part of the island is the considerable driving distance to Honolulu.

The U.S. postal code for Pūpūkea and the communities of Waialeʻe, Sunset Beach, Lihilani, Waimea, and Kawailoa is 96712.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C5%ABp%C5%ABkea,_Hawaii

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Vancouver National Historic Reserve In USA

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in the states of Washington and Oregon. The National Historic Site consists of two units, one located on the site of Fort Vancouver in modern-day Vancouver, Washington; the other being the former residence of John McLoughlin in Oregon City, Oregon. The two sites were separately given national historic designation in the 1940s.[4] The Fort Vancouver unit was designated a National Historic Site in 1961, and was combined with the McLoughlin House into a unit in 2003.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Vancouver_National_Historic_Site

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Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade In USA

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a themed area spanning two theme parks in the Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida, USA.

The first phase was officially announced for Islands of Adventure on May 31, 2007,[6][7] and after a two-and-a-half-year construction period, the area officially opened to the public on June 18, 2010.[2][8] The area's flagship attraction is Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, which exists within a re-creation of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It takes riders on a journey through Harry Potter's wizarding world.[9] Other attractions include Dragon Challenge, a pair of inverted roller coasters, and Flight of the Hippogriff, a family roller coaster. The area also features a re-creation of Hogsmeade containing many gift shops and restaurants from the series of Harry Potter books including Dervish and Banges, Honeydukes, Ollivanders, Zonko's Joke Shop (though it houses Honeydukes), the Three Broomsticks, and the Hog's Head.

The second phase was initially announced on December 6, 2011, as a significant expansion of the existing Wizarding World of Harry Potter. On May 8, 2013, it was officially announced that a substantial portion of phase two would be constructed in the adjacent Universal Studios Florida theme park with a replica of the Hogwarts Express taking guests between the two lands. This area's flagship attraction will be a roller coaster called Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts. The remaining attractions will be themed around London and Diagon Alley. The second phase was announced on June 18, 2014 to open on July 8, 2014, during the red carpet premiere.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizarding_World_of_Harry_Potter_(Universal_Orlando_Resort)

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USS Arizona Memorial In USA

The USS Arizona Memorial, located at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, marks the resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and marines killed on the USS Arizona (BB-39) during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 by Japanese imperial forces and commemorates the events of that day. The attack on Pearl Harbor and the island of Oʻahu was the action that led to the United States' direct involvement in World War II.

The memorial, built in 1962, is visited by more than one million people annually.[1] Accessible only by boat, it straddles the sunken hull of the battleship without touching it. Historical information about the attack, shuttle boats to and from the memorial, and general visitor services are available at the associated USS Arizona Memorial Visitor Center, which opened in 1980 and is operated by the National Park Service. The sunken remains of the battleship were declared a National Historic Landmark on 5 May 1989.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Arizona_Memorial

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