10.19.11
Blockbuster Exhibition Opens This Weekend!
THE HORSE
Acclaimed Exhibition Opens This Week
Prestigious American Museum of Natural History Sends its Blockbuster Exhibition to the International Museum of the Horse
LEXINGTON, Ky. (October 17, 2011)-The Kentucky Horse Park’s International Museum of the Horse (IMH), in collaboration with the American Museum of Natural History, is set to open its newest exhibition, The Horse, from October 22, 2011, through April 6, 2012.
The eternal bond between horses and humans is explored in the largest equestrian traveling exhibition ever assembled. The Horse graphically portrays the horse’s impact on trade, transportation, labor, warfare, culture, and sports. It showcases spectacular fossils, models, dioramas, and cultural objects from around the world, including many from the American Museum of Natural History’s world famous collections.
Bill Cooke, director of the Kentucky Horse Park’s International Museum of the Horse, stated, “The American Museum of Natural History is truly one of the world’s great natural history museums, and they did a masterful job in developing an exhibition that not only illuminates the timeless union between humans and horses, but does so in an amazingly entertaining way.
“We are also excited that this will be our first blockbuster-level exhibition while schools are in session. I have no doubt that both teachers and their students will love The Horse.”
The New York Times called this exhibition “charming and illuminating” and “an uplifting example of how horses enrich our lives.” The New York Post said, “You absolutely must see it.”
More than 140 artifacts and cultural objects from around the world will be on view, including a complete Samurai saddle from Japan, a full suit of 15th-century German horse armor, and Native American horse accoutrements. Bringing the exhibit to life are a stunning 220-square foot diorama that depicts the horse’s ancestors, a high-definition video that captures in slow motion the rippling muscles of a Thoroughbred race horse, and an interactive video of a life-size horse where visitors can investigate a horse’s pulmonary and digestive systems and other biological traits.
The Horse is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, United Arab Emirates; the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Gatineau-Ottawa; The Field Museum, Chicago; and the San Diego Natural History Museum. Curator of the exhibition is Ross MacPhee.
For more information on The Horse, go to www.amnh.org/exhibitions/horse/, www.imh.org, or www.kyhorsepark.com.
Admission to The Horse is included with park admission, or a “museums only” ticket may be purchased for $8 for adults or $4 for children ages 7-12, which also includes admission to the entire International Museum of the Horse, the Al-Marah Arabian Horse Galleries and the American Saddlebred Museum.
Park Hours and Rates: Through November 6 (and March 15-April 6, 2012), the park is open seven days a week. Admission is $16 for adults, $8 for children 7-12. From November 7 to March 14, the park is open Wednesdays through Sundays. Winter admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 7-12. Children age 6 and under are always admitted free of charge. Admission includes the International Museum of the Horse – a Smithsonian Affiliate, and the American Saddlebred Museum.
AbitaNet Corporation