Friday Five: Reasons to Get Excited about the new Chrysler Museum

I've never hidden the fact that our little family love love loved going to the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk together (you can see some of our previous outings here, here, and here). The day it closed its doors in 2012 was a sad one. (Just so you can get a scale of things, that photo up top was taken only a few months before the museum closed! Look how small Anoukie was! There's nothing like a baby growing up to help you mark time).

Well, after a lot of work by a lot of dedicated people, the Chrysler Museum is set to reopen in May even bigger and better than before and we can't wait. For the Friday Five today, I thought I'd let you all know the main reasons why we're so excited about the new Chrysler Museum.

1. There's going to be a giant inflatable rubber duck floating in the Hague. Seriously: giant. The 40-foot (yacht-sized) sculpture by Florentijn Hofman will be bobbing through downtown Norfolk from  May 17 to 26 to celebrate the Chrysler's reopening.

2. There will be an extended sculpture garden outside the museum, featuring some pretty amazing geometric mirrored sculptures by Danish artist Jeppe Hein. I know we parents are always looking for an outdoor space where our kids can run free and still reap some cultural benefits, and this looks like just the spot.

3. One of the exhibits we have to look forward to when the museum reopens is Worn to Be Wild, a history of the leather jacket that shows this quintessentially American item of clothing's "journey from function to freedom to fashion." The exhibit, which is on loan from the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, will open in October and I can't wait.

4. As an amateur photographer and longtime lover of all things photography (the smell of a good old film darkroom is still one of my all time faves), I'm really looking forward to the Frank Photography Galleries, which will document the various forms of photography across two centuries. It promises some pretty amazing history and good looks at old-fashioned photo equiment and techniques.

5. In honor of the re-opening, the Chrysler is offering a new membership level, according to AltDaily.com: the $40 young professional membership. This will get you into some exclusive events at the museum and its glass studio AND the members-only reopening party.

...so are you excited yet? Let us know how much in the comments.

P.S.: This week I wrote a guest post for MyActiveChild.com about the Hermitage Museum's Stories and Songs program. I also started pinning to the HRVA Bloggers Pinterest account -- check it out to find posts by some of the area's best bloggers all in one place! Finally, stop by the Friday link party at Virginia Bloggers to leave yours!

Happy weekend!