The boys and I went to the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum.
It was a lot of fun and we all learned something new as well. The Museum has an audio tour (716)566-2772 with 7 stops. Since the museum closed at 3 every day, Ben wasn’t able to go with us. He did however, look at our pictures and listen to the audio tour later.
The Museum used to be an actual factory where they made the carousel horses. Each horse was carved by hand! The original horses had real horsehair tails and ears that stuck up. However, people started using the ears to pull themselves on and off and to hold on to. When the ears started breaking off, they switched to the ears laid back design that we see now. The horses also just slightly rocked back and forth in the beginning before they went up and down like they do today. Today’s new carousels are made from fiberglass molds.
Other fun facts we learned: The non-horse animals are called menagerie animals, although the only one to wear clothes is the Jumpy Fog! The carousels in the US run counter-clockwise, which means the animal face to the right. If you look at an older carousel next time you ride one, you may notice the public facing side is decorated more elaborately than the inside facing side. It helped save on costs. There is also usually a lead horse, who is slightly bigger than the others.
It was fun to find pieces of Ohio in the museum. The Wurlitzer Company made band organs and began in Cincinnati, Ohio! The organs are what gives the carousel it’s music. King’s Island’s carousel is an Allen Herchell carousel!
It wasn’t too expensive and we all really enjoyed our time there. Each ticket came with 2 ride tickets that worked for either carousel (kid only or the larger carousel).
DETAILS:*
- TICKETS: $10/adults, $5/child (ages 2-16). COVID Restrictions: masks required
- HOURS: Wednesday-Saturday 10am-3pm, Sunday 12pm-3pm
- PARKING: Yes
- BATHROOM: Yes
- TIME RECOMMENDED: 1-2 hours
- *Details correct at the time of posting, but please double check before you go.