Best Ayla Anderson Podcasts (2024)

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Episode 55: Luray Caverns (Repeat) 42:18

2d ago42:18

42:18

Send us a Text Message. This week we head to Virginia to visit Luray Caverns, the most highly decorated caverns in the world according to the Smithsonian. In this episode, we hear from three professionals who share the history of the caverns, the science behind the decorating formations, and how The Great Stalacpipe Organ creates music. Phantom Cha…

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Episode 54: Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum 39:42

16d ago39:42

39:42

Send us a Text Message. Join us as we delve into the tragic and mysterious world of Edgar Allan Poe, one of literature's most intriguing figures. Discover his legacy and unravel the secrets of his life at the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. 🕯️ Melancholy and Masterpieces 🎭 Explore how Poe's tumultuous adolescence, marked by…

1
Episode 53: SPAM Museum 32:00

1M ago32:00

32:00

Send us a Text Message. Ever wondered how a humble canned meat could become a cultural icon? Join us as we uncover the rich history and global legacy of Spam. We'll take you back to its origins in Austin, Minnesota, where Jay Hormel's quest for a fully cooked ham led to the creation of Spam 87 years ago. Discover how this innovative product became …

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Episode 52: Neon Sign Museum 47:22

1M ago47:22

47:22

Send us a Text Message. Step behind the neon glow with me as we venture into a radiant corner of Las Vegas history at the Neon Sign Museum. With Aaron Berger as our guide, we delve into a treasure trove of glowing lights that tell the story of Sin City. 🎰 Illuminating Las Vegas's Past and Preserving Its Glow 💡 Las Vegas's neon signs are more than j…

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Episode 51: Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum 38:21

2M ago38:21

38:21

Send us a Text Message. Embark on a captivating journey through the life of the legendary Babe Ruth, from his humble beginnings in Pig Town to his towering fame in American baseball. Dive deep into the story behind his iconic status, dispelling myths and revealing the influences that shaped him early on. Explore the man behind the legend, tracing h…

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Episode 50: Boonsboro Trolley Station Museum 52:26

2M ago52:26

52:26

Send us a Text Message. All aboard as we delve into Maryland's captivating trolley history at the Boonsboro Trolley Station Museum. Uncover how these transport marvels transformed rural connections, surprising even in funeral processions. With Reuben Moss leading the way, we unravel the intricate impact of trolleys on local trade, education, and th…

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Episode 49: National Road Museum 30:41

3M ago30:41

30:41

Send us a Text Message. Embark with us on a highway through history as we unravel the fabric of America's love affair with her roads. From the meticulous preservation efforts of past pathways in Frederick County to the lonely stretches of Nevada's Route 50, this episode is a true homage to the arteries that have shaped our nation. With guest Bob Sa…

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Episode 48: National Museum of Dentistry 31:47

3M ago31:47

31:47

Send us a Text Message. Embark on a journey into the heart of Baltimore where the first dental school took root, revolutionizing oral health care. We'll reveal the pivotal moments that sparked the dire need for dental regulation, from sideshow jaw hackers to educated dentistry professionals. 🔧 From Baltimore's Roots to Regal Dentures 🦷 With Scott S…

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Episode 47: Lee-Fendall House 26:06

4M ago26:06

26:06

Send us a Text Message. Step into the whispered secrets of the past and uncover the echoes of history within the walls of the Lee-Fendall House. With our guide, Jenny Waters, we stroll through the timeline of this architectural marvel, from its conception in 1785 by Philip Richard Fendall to its dramatic roles during the War of 1812 and the Civil W…

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Episode 46: Mob Museum 31:00

4M ago31:00

31:00

Send us a Text Message. Step into the glittering past of Las Vegas and discover how the city's infamous mobsters played a pivotal role in its rise to fame. Our journey chronicles the visionaries like Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel, who laid the foundations of modern Vegas, and the likes of Moe Dalitz and Benny Binion, who left indelible marks on the…

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Episode 45: Poozeum 36:38

5M ago36:38

36:38

Send us a Text Message. Step into the quirky and captivating realm of the Poozeum, where fossilized feces are not only objects of curiosity but also a cultural phenomenon reshaping our understanding of natural history. Guiding you through this journey is your host Ayla Sparks and Coprolite Captain George Frandsen, who boasts an extraordinary reposi…

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Episode 44: Drum Point Lighthouse 44:00

5M ago44:00

44:00

Send us a Text Message. Step aboard a journey through time as we illuminate the remarkable tale of the Drum Point Lighthouse! Your host Ayla Sparks and guest Kevin Allor guide you through the immersive chronicles of this iconic beacon and the dedicated souls who tended to its flame. From guiding vessels through the Chesapeake Bay's misty waters in …

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Episode 43: Museum of Industry 49:41

6M ago49:41

49:41

Send us a Text Message. Discover a treasure trove of history as your host Ayla Sparks, along with guest Jess Cragg, take you through the industrial evolution of Pensacola, Florida. Our episode unearths how the Industrial Revolution reshaped a fort town into a center of progress, revealing the ingenuity behind Snapper Smacks and the monumental role …

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Episode 42: Car and Carriage Caravan Museum 23:02

6M ago23:02

23:02

Send us a Text Message. On today’s episode, join host Ayla Sparks as she embarks on a captivating journey through the evolution of roadway travel at the Car and Carriage Caravan Museum in Luray, Virginia. Our guest, Rod Graves, takes us on a tour of this remarkable institution, showcasing over 140 items that paint a vivid picture of transportation …

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Announcement: Curator's Choice is Back! 3:57

6M ago3:57

3:57

Send us a Text Message. Curator’s Choice is back and better than ever! We're thrilled to unveil a fresh design, upgraded mic equipment, and an array of new museums and artifacts to share with you. Get ready for some upcoming highlights, including a visit to the Poozeum – yes, you heard that right! We'll also be exploring the enchanting Drum Point L…

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Episode 41: Shenandoah Heritage Village Museum 25:38

2y ago25:38

25:38

Send us a Text Message. Continuing our trek in Luray, Virginia, I meet with Isabela Graves from the Shenandoah Heritage Village Museum. She shares the incredible work she and her husband have been doing to preserve the history of the valley, and some truly spectacular artifacts housed there. Shenandoah Heritage Village The Shenandoah Heritage Villa…

1
Episode 40: Luray Caverns 42:09

2y ago42:09

42:09

Send us a Text Message. This week we head to Virginia to visit Luray Caverns, the most highly decorated caverns in the world according to the Smithsonian. In this episode, we hear from three professionals who share the history of the caverns, the science behind the decorating formations, and how The Great Stalacpipe Organ creates music. Phantom Cha…

1
Episode 39: Marietta House Museum 40:25

2y ago40:25

40:25

Send us a Text Message. This week we meet with Julia Rose at the Marietta House Museum. “Marietta House Museum houses the histories of multiple generations of families, free and enslaved, who lived and labored on the roughly 600 acres that made up Marietta Manor. The historic site holds the stories of how life was lived in agricultural Maryland fro…

1
Episode 38: Mutter Museum 48:43

2y ago48:43

48:43

Send us a Text Message. This week we meet with Robert Hicks, the previous Director of the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia. The Museum contains a collection of anatomical and pathological specimens, wax models, and antique medical equipment, and is part of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Along with the many preserved specimens in the macabr…

1
Episode 37: Chesapeake Railway Beach Museum 18:27

2y ago18:27

18:27

Send us a Text Message. This week we meet with Kristin DeGrace at the Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum in Maryland. She shares with us the incredible dream behind a vacation paradise destination, getting buried alive to make a living during the Great Depression, and about a railway trying to stay relevant in a changing world. “In the late 1800s, a g…

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Episode 36: Old Fort Niagara 44:23

2+ y ago44:23

44:23

Send us a Text Message. This week we meet with Robert Emerson at Old Fort Niagara in New York. The first fortified structure on the area was built in 1678 and has a few rebuilds and remodeling done since. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the roads were abysmal and the best way to travel was by water. And the great lakes created this water superhighw…

1
Episode 35: Indian River Life Saving Station 28:42

2+ y ago28:42

28:42

Send us a Text Message. This week we meet with Laura Scharle at the Indian River Life-Saving Station Museum in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Life saving stations were erected along the Eastern coastline, at about 5 - 7 mile intervals. The purpose of these stations was to offer rescue and first aid to victims of shipwrecks. A precursor to today’s U.S. C…

1
Episode 34: American Helicopter Museum and Education Center 44:20

2+ y ago44:20

44:20

Send us a Text Message. This week we meet with Bob Beggs, co-founder of the American Helicopter Museum and Education Center in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He shares with us the process of establishing a museum and what progressive programs have been developed there. We discuss rotor heads, whirly girls, and the impressive ingenuity of rotary flight…

1
Episode 33: Niagara Falls Oakwood Cemetery 33:56

2+ y ago33:56

33:56

Send us a Text Message. This week we meet with Tim Baxter at the Oakwood Cemetery in Niagara Falls, New York. Historic Oakwood Cemetery was founded in 1852 on land donated by Lavinia Porter, daughter of Judge Augustus Porter (who is also one of the acknowledged founders of Niagara Falls). The Oakwood landscape we know today dates from an original d…

1
Episode 32: Historic Sotterley 34:15

2+ y ago34:15

34:15

Send us a Text Message. Starting off the new year, we meet at Historic Sotterley and speak with Katherine Humphries, who is the Education Coordinator, and Jeanne Pirtle, who is the Director of Educational Programming and Partnerships. Sotterley is a historic plantation, with parts of the house dating back to 1703. It has survived 3 major wars, hurr…

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A Year in Review 18:45

2+ y ago18:45

18:45

Send us a Text Message. Happy New Year! And welcome to Season 2 of Curator's Choice! So, for today's episode, I thought it could be fun to do a year review of the podcast, talk about some of the success, some of the not-so-great moments, and give you a sneak peek of what the next year will look like and what goals I have for the podcast. 31 regular…

1
Episode 31: Indian River Citrus Museum 54:29

2+ y ago54:29

54:29

Send us a Text Message. This week we meet with Heather Stapleton, who is the Executive Director at The Heritage Center and Indian River Citrus Museum in Vero Beach, Florida. She shares with us the amazing story of their Micro and Mighty Museum, and what makes the citrus from the Indian River District so special (it is the only district in Florida w…

1
Episode 30: American Civil War Museum, Collections 37:59

2+ y ago37:59

37:59

Send us a Text Message. Part 3 of 3 This week, for our third and final installment of the American Civil War Museum series, we meet with Robert Hancock, who is a Senior Curator and Director of Collections. The museum manages over 15,000 artifacts and over 150,000 manuscript items, and we talk to Robert about just a few of them. Though many items ha…

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Episode 29: American Civil War Museum, White House 1:13:57

2+ y ago1:13:57

1:13:57

Send us a Text Message. This week we meet with Ana Edwards for our second installment of a three-part series featuring the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, Virginia. Ana tells us about the history of Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States, and home life in the “White House of the Confederacy” during his Presidency. We also d…

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Episode 28: American Civil War Museum, Tredegar 56:40

2+ y ago56:40

56:40

Send us a Text Message. For the first episode of our three-part series at the American Civil War Museum, we meet with Chris Graham. He is the Curator of Exhibitions and shares with us the history of the Civil War in Richmond and how Tredegar Iron works influenced the location of the Confederate Capital. He also tells us about a map of the Battle of…

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Bonus Episode 5: Appalachian Oddities 34:11

2+ y ago34:11

34:11

Send us a Text Message. For our second October bonus episode, we speak with Katy Perrine, who is a paranormal tour guide at the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum and the co-owner of Appalachian Oddities. During this episode, we cover the tools of the trade for paranormal investigations, stories about the asylum and the infamous lobotomist Walter Freem…

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Episode 27: Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum 43:31

2+ y ago43:31

43:31

Send us a Text Message. This week we meet with Bethany Cutright, Office Manager at the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. Though known as one of the most haunted places in North America, it was originally designed to be a place of help and healing for the mentally ill. Bethany shares with us the intent of the Kirkbride plan and architecture of the hos…

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Bonus Episode 4: Appalachian Glass 23:12

2+ y ago23:12

23:12

Send us a Text Message. For the first bonus episode of October, we meet with Todd Turner at Appalachian Glass. Keeping on with last week’s glass theme, this week we learn from Todd all the tricks of the trade for handmade glass, including what elements are combined to make glass, how it is molded and colored, and the three generations of craftsman …

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Episode 26: Museum of American Glass 43:46

2+ y ago43:46

43:46

Send us a Text Message. Happy October! For the first episode of our mini-series “October in Weston, West Virginia”, we meet with Larry Woods at the Museum of American Glass. We talk about the impressive history of glass; from glass made in ancient Rome and Egypt, to its production from the late 1700s until after the Civil War, and specifically, the…

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Bonus Episode 3: Maryland Folklore and More 47:51

3y ago47:51

47:51

Send us a Text Message. For the second September bonus episode, we meet with my coworker Vincent Turner, an Exhibit Educator at the Calvert Marine Museum. Throughout his land deed research of Calvert County, and his passion for reading about Maryland’s folklore, he has some spooky stories that can connect to real-life places and people (even some i…

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Episode 25: Captain Avery Museum 33:44

3y ago33:44

33:44

Send us a Text Message. This week we meet with Deborah Gangloff, Executive Director of the Captain Avery Museum. The museum is located in the old home of Captain Salem Avery, originally a one-room cabin built-in 1859. Though the house has changed size, hands, and location a few times, it still houses some amazing items that belonged to Avery and hi…

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Bonus Episode 2: Marine Corps Artist in Residence 42:33

3y ago42:33

42:33

Send us a Text Message. For the first of September’s two bonus episodes, we meet with Kristopher Battles, the Marine Corps Artist in Residence at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. We discuss how the creation of artwork for the Marine Corps includes a whole series of historical illustrations going from post-Vietnam all the way through to the …

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Episode 24: Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center 40:26

3y ago40:26

40:26

Send us a Text Message. This week we are in New York speaking with Joseph Malek, the Visitor Experience Specialist at the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center. Join us as we talk about the (not so underground) Underground Railroad and the important role Niagara Falls played in the fight for freedom. The Heritage Center focuses on the …

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Episode 23: Historic Oakleigh House Museum 36:05

3y ago36:05

36:05

Send us a Text Message. This week we are at the Historic Oakleigh House Museum in Mobile, Alabama. We speak with Marye Newman and Paula Lenor Web and learn about two significant works of art housed at the museum, which was built in 1833 on what was the outskirts of Mobile. Man in Brown Hat The first artifact is a painting created by Emma Langdon Ro…

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Episode 22: National Automobile Museum 1:08:11

3y ago1:08:11

1:08:11

Send us a Text Message. Today we are back in Nevada at the National Automobile Museum speaking with Jay Hubbard. Bill Harrah was an entrepreneur who created a money-making empire in Reno that began with good ol' bingo. He became a very rich man who had the money and the passion to amass one of the largest collections of automobiles in the world. Wh…

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Episode 21: Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site 50:02

3y ago50:02

50:02

Send us a Text Message. This week we are at the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site in Richmond, Virginia, speaking with Ethan Bullard. We learn all about the wonder woman Maggie Walker: A strong black woman who was the Nation's first black female bank president, a civil rights activist, an advocate for social progress for women, an educator, a…

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Episode 20: W.M. Keck Earth Science and Mineral Engineering Museum 29:07

3y ago29:07

29:07

Send us a Text Message. This week we are at the University of Nevada, Reno (my alma mater!) speaking with Garrett Barmore at the W.M. Keck Earth Science and Mineral Engineering Museum. Speaking of mouthfuls, we learn all about the helicoprion with its spiraled jaw, as well as John William Mackay and his spectacular silver collection of over 1,200 p…

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Episode 19: National Museum of the Marine Corps 35:43

3y ago35:43

35:43

Send us a Text Message. Part 2 For the final installment of our two-part series from the National Museum of the Marine Corps, we meet with Ben Kristy, the Collections Chief and Aviation Curator. We discuss the incredible restoration stories of the World War II Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bomber and the Vietnam-era Sikorsky UH-34D vignette. It is r…

1
Announcement! 0:40

3y ago0:40

0:40

Send us a Text Message. Hello everyone! I am terribly sorry but do to a technical difficulty, I am unable to upload the episode today. However; Never Fear! I am working on the problem and will publish the next episode as soon as possible! Thank you so much for your understanding and I am sincerely sorry for the delay! Ayla Curator's Choice Support …

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Episode 18: National Museum of the Marine Corps 29:50

3y ago29:50

29:50

Send us a Text Message. Part 1 This week we meet with Owen Conner for the first in a two-part series at the National Museum of the Marine Corps. Conner is the Curator of Uniforms and Heraldry and talks to us about the interactive immersion exhibits in the museum, as well as one of the most iconic photographs in Marine history. The history of the ic…

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Episode 17: Virginia Randolph Museum 22:41

3y ago22:41

22:41

Send us a Text Message. This week we meet with Julian Charity in a single-room museum entirely dedicated to one amazing woman: Virginia Randolph. Miss Randolph began her young adult life as a teacher and never left that role, developing new curriculum for black schools that would be adopted countywide. " However, this day was of particular importan…

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Episode 16: Zwaanendael Museum 39:23

3y ago39:23

39:23

Send us a Text Message. Today we meet with Kaitlyn Dykes to talk about why there is a Dutch museum in the middle of a small town in Delaware. Zwaanendael Museum was built in commemoration of Delaware’s first European colony, Swanendael, established by the Dutch in 1631. The small whaling colony only lasted for a year, when an unfortunate misunderst…

1
Episode 15: Woodrow Wilson House 29:31

3y ago29:31

29:31

Send us a Text Message. Today we speak with Elizabeth Karcher, the Executive Director at President Woodrow Wilson House. This home, built by architect Waddy Butler Wood, was home to President Woodrow Wilson and his wife Edith Wilson until her death. Upon her death, she bequeathed the home to WHERE to be preserved as a historic home. The National Tr…

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Episode 14: Torpedo Factory Art Center and Alexandria Archeology Museum 46:56

3+ y ago46:56

46:56

Send us a Text Message. The Torpedo Factory Art Center is just what its title implies, an old WWI torpedo factory turned into an art center, one with the largest collection of artists under one roof in the country. Today we meet with Alyssa Ross to talk all about this building’s amazing history and transformation from a war equipment producer to a …

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Episode 13: George Washington's Mount Vernon 46:06

3+ y ago46:06

46:06

Send us a Text Message. Today we meet with a real George Washington expert. Jeremy Ray is the Director of Interpretation at Mount Vernon, which is the former President's 18th-century home. It has been fully restored and includes the estate mansion, four separate gardens, both the old and new tomb where George Washington is buried, historic outbuild…

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