Although the mighty Colossus no longer looms over Rhodes and seafarers no longer look to the great Lighthouse of Alexandria for guidance, these and other marvels of the ancient world are still open to exploration thanks to 21st century technology.
Kingman Museum will present the second production in its new planetarium beginning Friday and running through Feb. 20. "Seven Wonders" takes audiences on a visual tour of the seven wonders of the ancient world and the universe, many of which have never been seen by modern man's eyes.
"The film explores the wonders like the pyramids, then some that we don't see anymore," said Museum Educator Jennifer Sellers. "So you can see what happened, what destroyed them and from an archeological standpoint, what they've found out about them."
Of the seven wonders of the ancient world, only the Great Pyramid of Giza is still standing. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and Lighthouse of Alexandria were all destroyed by man or natural causes.
The film also pairs the ancient world with the outer world, highlighting wonders of the universe such as black holes and fluorescent, jellyfish-like nebulae.
"I think the most interesting thing about it is it first introduces you to words you have heard of but don't know the meanings behind them, then combines that history with a study of the stars," said Chief Executive Officer Sara Ann Briggs.
Kingman staff and board members had high hopes for the museum's new state-of-the-art planetarium system bringing in more visitors more often. A little more than a month after its public debut, Briggs said they haven't been disappointed.
"Except for one Friday when we were snowed out, it's going really good," she said.
Besides opening day and last Saturday, which had more than 200 and 70 attendees, respectively, Briggs said about 45 viewers visit the shows each day. Planetarium shows are given four times per day each Friday and Saturday, whereas they were only given monthly with the previous planetarium system.
Although it's difficult to gauge how much of an asset the new planetarium has been to the area's tourism so far, Calhoun County Visitors' Bureau President Dwight Butt said it has brought the museum back on radar.
"We've certainly had an increase in inquiries on Kingman and their hours and I know a lot of people are going and interested in it," he said.
The museum has several other events planned for January. In conjunction with their "Safari Africa: Changing Perspectives" exhibit, Tom Funke, Michigan Audubon Society's director of conservation, will give a free lecture about his African explorations on Jan. 6.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Orchid Hotels to continue looking for acquisitions
The year 2008 has been full of challenges for the Indian hospitality industry. The global recession negatively impacted foreign tourist arrivals, which grew in the range of merely 1.5-2 per cent in September-October compared to 10-11 per cent growth witnessed in August. Travel advisories against India that were issued by foreign countries in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks last month, made a dent in the peak holiday season about to begin. However, as a silver lining, Indians have not lost their love for travel yet. Travel within India by domestic tourists is still vibrant and the travel industry feels that there is more potential to it.
In light of the above, Mr Chender Baljee, Chairman and Managing Director, Royal Orchid Hotels, tells Business Line in an e-mail interview how 2008 panned out for the hospitality industry and what is in store from 2009:
How would you describe the year 2008 for the hospitality industry? 2008 was a year of transition, from the boom times to the bad. It ended on a sour note with the terror attacks in Mumbai.
What are the expectations from 2009?
We expect the effects of the recession to sink in, leading to some subdued leisure and corporate travel. However, we have prepared ourselves for the same. We are also hopeful of opening several new hotels this year, including Royal Orchid Suites, Whitefield and Royal Orchid Central, Ahmedabad.
2009 is also going to be the election year. As part of the industry what are your expectations from the new Government?
We are hopeful of getting infrastructure status for the hotel industry.
Apart from unforeseen incidents such as terror attacks, what are the other challenges that the hospitality industry needs to brace for in the coming year?
The economic slowdown will affect us all, and we need to gear up for it. However, there are positives as the market for talent has eased considerably and we are able to find good talent at reasonable costs now.
What were the corporate developments that took place in Royal Orchid in 2008 and what does the year ahead hold for you in terms of expansion, diversification, acquisition (if any), marketing etc?
In 2008, we acquired a beachfront resort in Goa, and rechristened it Royal Orchid Resort. We acquired a beachfront property in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, marking our international foray. We acquired properties in Jaipur and Hyderabad for the development of 5-star hotels. We acquired a property in Ahmedabad for the development of a four-star hotel.
We acquired the Royal Orchid Central hotel in Bangalore. Finally, we also signed a partnership with Parsvnath Developers for the development of 10 hotels over five years. This has been a year of hectic deal making, where we grew to 12 operational hotels and cemented a pan-India presence. We have been awarded the Best Regional Hotel Brand award by Galileo-Express Travel World, the Oscars of the travel industry, and we are happy that our achievements have been rewarded.
The year ahead is one of further development activity, where we will continue to look out for acquisitions. We are also focussing on management contracts, and expect to make significant announcements on this front soon. Our sales offices, many of which were opened in 2008, are likely to help us grow our presence nationally and internationally. Finally, we would be looking at a nationwide corporate ad campaign towards the end of the year to build brand awareness.
In light of the above, Mr Chender Baljee, Chairman and Managing Director, Royal Orchid Hotels, tells Business Line in an e-mail interview how 2008 panned out for the hospitality industry and what is in store from 2009:
How would you describe the year 2008 for the hospitality industry? 2008 was a year of transition, from the boom times to the bad. It ended on a sour note with the terror attacks in Mumbai.
What are the expectations from 2009?
We expect the effects of the recession to sink in, leading to some subdued leisure and corporate travel. However, we have prepared ourselves for the same. We are also hopeful of opening several new hotels this year, including Royal Orchid Suites, Whitefield and Royal Orchid Central, Ahmedabad.
2009 is also going to be the election year. As part of the industry what are your expectations from the new Government?
We are hopeful of getting infrastructure status for the hotel industry.
Apart from unforeseen incidents such as terror attacks, what are the other challenges that the hospitality industry needs to brace for in the coming year?
The economic slowdown will affect us all, and we need to gear up for it. However, there are positives as the market for talent has eased considerably and we are able to find good talent at reasonable costs now.
What were the corporate developments that took place in Royal Orchid in 2008 and what does the year ahead hold for you in terms of expansion, diversification, acquisition (if any), marketing etc?
In 2008, we acquired a beachfront resort in Goa, and rechristened it Royal Orchid Resort. We acquired a beachfront property in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, marking our international foray. We acquired properties in Jaipur and Hyderabad for the development of 5-star hotels. We acquired a property in Ahmedabad for the development of a four-star hotel.
We acquired the Royal Orchid Central hotel in Bangalore. Finally, we also signed a partnership with Parsvnath Developers for the development of 10 hotels over five years. This has been a year of hectic deal making, where we grew to 12 operational hotels and cemented a pan-India presence. We have been awarded the Best Regional Hotel Brand award by Galileo-Express Travel World, the Oscars of the travel industry, and we are happy that our achievements have been rewarded.
The year ahead is one of further development activity, where we will continue to look out for acquisitions. We are also focussing on management contracts, and expect to make significant announcements on this front soon. Our sales offices, many of which were opened in 2008, are likely to help us grow our presence nationally and internationally. Finally, we would be looking at a nationwide corporate ad campaign towards the end of the year to build brand awareness.
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