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Articles: Connecticut aims to draw summer visitors

Posted by admin on Wednesday, June 23, 2004 - 03:15 AM

To keep things interesting and to lure people for a return visit, the region's family and gambling attractions -- Mystic Seaport, Mystic Aquarium, Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods and others -- are adding fresh programs and facilities.
Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration hopes to make a big splash with its new exhibit on the Titanic, the luxury liner that sank in 1912 and was found by undersea explorer Robert Ballard. Ballard, who heads the museum's Institute for Exploration, has set up a new exhibit about his find and its decay. The ship's deterioration has occurred more quickly than he expected when he found the Titanic in about 12,000 feet of water off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Frequent visitors, from thrill seekers to wedding parties, may be partly to blame. An exhibit at the aquarium explains how visitors to the wreck site have hastened the Titanic's decay. "We know Titanic has been naturally deteriorating over time, but I'm convinced that the deterioration is being accelerated by manmade impacts as well," said Ballard. The exhibit also has an 18-foot scale replica of the ship, the only one in the world built using the Titanic's blueprints. Another of Ballard's adventures -- the search for John F. Kennedy's World War II boat PT109 -- also is on display. The aquarium's favored creatures, including colorful tropical frogs and ghostly white beluga whales, remain on view. Nearby, at the Mystic Seaport maritime museum, a new exhibit called "Women and the Sea," opens July 2. The exhibit chronicles the deeds of female pirates and sea captains, and the work women have done with the U.S. Navy, the Coast Guard and commercial fishing ships. Fictional maritime females also are depicted, including mermaids and the carved figureheads that adorned sailing ships. Last year's exhibit, "Sea Dogs," about the history of dogs at sea, remains at the museum through September. During a "Melville Marathon," July 31 to August 1, hardy volunteers stay up all night to read "Moby-Dick" aloud on the deck of the Charles W. Morgan, the seaport's authentic wooden whaling ship. For the kids, a piece of roadside kitsch offers many new -- yet very old -- things to see. Nature's Art and Dinosaur Crossing has added new, life-size model dinosaurs to its stable of prehistoric creatures, nestled in the woods of Montville, off Route 85. The attraction also has added a model volcano that will "erupt" with smoke and sound-system tremors every hour. For adults, the gaudy world of Connecticut's two American Indian casinos also are trying to serve up something new. Foxwoods Resort Casino, operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, plans to open a $99 million renovation by the end of July. The project doubles the size of the nonsmoking bingo parlor and includes 800 new slot machines, some new table games and new restaurants, including a Hard Rock Cafe. At the rival Mohegan Sun, operated by the Mohegan Tribal Nation 10 miles away, it's the second year of play for its WNBA team, the Connecticut Sun. The team, which is owned and run by the casino, features some players from the University of Connecticut's NCAA-winning teams and other top female players.

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