Theatre Artist Set To Move Into MSI
Kate McGroarty Beat Out 1,500 Other Applicants
CHICAGO (CBS) - A Chicago theatre artist is set to begin her monthlong stay at the Museum of Science and Industry Wednesday morning.
Kate McGroarty, 24, is scheduled to move in, after beating out 1,500 other applicants in the Month at the Museum contest. She will spend the next month blogging, tweeting and posting video, and interacting with museum guests.
.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Mary Frances Bragiel Reports
Podcast
McGroarty will also have full access to the whole museum. She will get to take a peek into the nooks and crannies of the museum that are normally off-limits to visitors, and she'll sleep absolutely anywhere she wants.
But if the Coal Mine or the U-505 submarine aren't the most comfortable sleeping quarters, McGroarty will also have a soft bed to snuggle up in.
With the help of CB2, the museum has put together a glass cube on the main floor, which has been outfitted into a "chic science geek bedroom." But once the project actually gets underway, the space will mostly be used as an office for blogging, social networking and Web video production, museum spokeswoman Beth Boston said over the summer.
There will also be private living quarters with a shower and other accommodations upstairs.
McGroarty spent her childhood in Minnesota "climbing trees, catching frogs and putting on plays in my backyard." When not working as a theater writer, director, teacher and performer, she spends time bicycling on the lakefront, inventing new games, and "co-writing musicals about sloths with my roommates."
"I've always wanted to be an explorer. Well, when I was around two I wanted to be a fire truck," McGroarty wrote on her application essay, which was reprinted in part by the museum. "After I recovered from the crushing realization that I would never grow wheels, I wanted to go on adventures. Moving into a museum for an entire month and sharing that journey with the public sounds like one of the biggest adventures I could have in my lifetime."
When she's done, McGroarty will take home $10,000, a lifetime museum membership, and a package of tech gadgets.
(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS Radio and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
