Possible Tourist Attractions

[Francisco]

Pretty much the City Market will be hindered severely until the private owner sells or the property is transferred to his estate and then likely sold.

[niko]

thanks for the clarification

[Jake]

Yet another reason I’ve always liked MAB and will be voting for her for Mayor.

[Kevin]

I actually really like City Market Sushi and Vic’s, both restaurants are great at what they do. It’s a shame that the owners are in no rush to upgrade the rest of the tenants.

[cxbrame]

I’m putting my vote in for the following:

• Signature tower/Observation Deck in Dix Park (‘light house’ inspired)
• Marketing natural assets (tubing, canoeing, zip-lining, camping, swimming)
• Water feature(s)
• Supporting growth of local festivals

[Timothy]

Wow, lighthouse idea is interesting! Could be very cool if it was done well.

[Timothy]

Not downtown, but I’ve wished that the old smoke stack over at NCMA that was saved to turn into some kind of art could have a lighthouse-style observation deck installed at the top with an exterior mounted spiral staircase to get there. Would be great view of downtown from there… Google Maps

[Tenkai]

Wasn’t the smokestack preserved for the swifts that nest in it?

As much as I like the idea of some kind of lighthouse, I really like the idea of it keeping it “for the birds”.

[daviddonovan]

Wegmans has officially cemented itself as one of Raleigh’s top tourist attractions.

https://www.newsobserver.com/living/food-drink/article235608107.html

[keita]

This idea came up in a conversation with a coworker the other day.

Here in the Triangle, we like our education, we’re proud of all the research and startups and cool ideas we have. But there’s not a lot of ways or places for the average kid (or adult!!) to see the latest and coolest. So when my coworker brought that up, I was about to say that some park or museum for tech and the life sciences (for all ages) could help with that sort of engagement and exposure.

But wait. That’s not a thing.

…which made me wonder: why don’t we have a biotech museum in the Triangle? Or… anywhere?

Existing science museums don't let people see what's new and why they (not just scientists) should care about science things. (click me)

There’s an exhibit on microbe design in San Jose and a gallery of videos on biotech researchers in a Smithsonian museum, but those are small parts of a bigger collection on advanced tech in general.

Then there’s the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, plus the NC Museum of Natural Sciences (which sometimes has a paid course on biomanufacturing that actually sounds kinda cool). Yeah those ARE in the Triangle, but most of the exhibits are for small children, and kinda repetitive/identical to other science museums. The exhibits are nice to see some animals or introduce basic ideas for grade-school science classes, but that only drives home the point that science exists and can be fun to do at times.

I can tell you that I would've loved a place like this as a kid/teenager. (click me too)

Besides, I remember going to the Mus. of Nat. Sci. in middle school and being bored as hell, since you can only be entertained by penny-eating funnels or models of planets so many times. Plus if you want to talk about biology-related things (which is supposedly a speciality around here?), odds are, you won’t go much farther than putting up a plastic model showing human body parts, and maybe a picture of DNA.

Cool story, bro. Middle school me just watched the newest episode of House and wants to see cool things that doctors get to do; where’s the exhibit on that??

What would it take to create something like this? I feel like it’d make sense for us to have a one-of-a-kind museum or attraction like this. (Plus actual researchers or companies could also present things and connect with the community?)

[Francisco]

Thing about tech museums is that they get extremely dated, really fast. So such a museum would require continuous funding and updating. Just go to Valencia, Spanish and see how ridiculously outdated the science museum is. Really nice structure but last time I was there they were still using iMac G3’s.

[keita]

That’s true, though I feel like you could minimize the risks of becoming outdated through some sort of partnership with departments or labs in local universities, or discounts for certain events/conferences.

Keita has cool ideas, sometimes.

I was at a department event this past Friday at the NC Biotech Center for the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering between UNC and State. …and I’m pretty sure this is not the only sort of event where biomedical experts from around the area and country get together for scientific/industry meetings. Usually, these sorts of events do not just involve people meeting and talking; rather, there’s usually a lot of presentations, demos, and other ways for experts to communicate and show off cool stuff to each other. (…with varying degrees of attempts at making it easy-to-understand for non-experts too)

So the work is usually already done to produce and communicate the cool stuff; the material is already there. Could we apply that?

Maybe there could be discount rates for people using this museum as venues for scientific events -but with the condition that they leave something behind for future visitors? (This would almost certainly guarantee a steady-ish flow of new exhibits, as long as the museum has staff who know what to do with them)

Then again, you’re right, continuous (or even initial) funding will be a big issue. I wonder what’s the best place to go for this? Could this be pitched to the Research Triangle Foundation or UNC System, or is there a more appropriate place?

[Kanatenah]

I made the mistake of driving down WF rd yesterday. Traffic was backed up all the way from Duke Raleigh down through where Costco is. I’m gonna go check it out a some point. But I’ll wait a couple of weeks and let the mayhem pass.

[John]

@keita

That’s true, though I feel like you could minimize the risks of becoming outdated through some sort of partnership with departments or labs in local universities, or discounts for certain events/conferences.

Sadly, even universities can’t keep up with the increasing rates of change, and the funding required to support it.

[Jake]

By 8PM last night, getting into the deck and parking was a breeze. I will say, if you’re from up North and have missed Wegmans… it’s glorious. And if it’s your first Wegmans experience, it will hopefully live up to the hype. Wegs is basically a food hall, restaurant, full scale bakery, farmer’s market, bottle shop, Hallmark store, specialty foods grocer, home goods store, and floral and garden shop inside of a grocery store. And it’s all themed, from floor to ceiling. It is the Universal Studios Orlando of grocery stores, and the first Raleigh location does not disappoint. I almost got choked up walking in.

[dtraleigh]

Put me in the camp that hasn’t been but can’t get as excited as others. (srsly, I have to drive there??? ) It’s all good though cause I love seeing people get SO into things, like geeky subcultures. Whether it’s books, games, or tech, for example, that people stand in line overnight for, why would food be any different? Glad others are excited, 100%.

I just hate crowds so will certainly wait until it calms down and get over there off hours some time. (well, maybe )

[Jake]

It was definitely still packed when I was there at night, just not difficult to get into/drive around it (the cops directing traffic were long gone). But yeah… huge crowd. Speaking of lines, apparently there were 3,000 people waiting in line to get in at 7AM opening, breaking Wegmans records. That’s insane…

[Brian]

Apparently you weren’t the only one who had an emotional reaction to Wegman’s.

Why Wegmans matters to our community

Multiple people commented on the Facebook page that they cried when they saw my sneak peek video inside the store on Friday.

I don’t get it but I’ll be sure to bring a box of tissues when/if I go.

[JoeZ]

If you forget to bring tissues, I think they’re in aisle 6.

[Francisco]

Mark your calendars folks, this is the day Raleigh died as a Southern city and it now fully apart of the Midatlantic region.