International Life Cast Museum Logo: Lifecast: An Impression Derived After the Molding of an Organic Subject
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Learn more from the Nature gallery

Facility Plan

The History Gallery

The historical gallery includes plaster life and death masks of famous historical figures and visual support material. Duplicates of heads will be placed in front of exhibits to be touched by museum visitors, and copies of exhibits text will be available in Braille and oversized text for the visually impaired. A small three tiered benched theatre will focus on multimedia presentations of these historical figures.

The Entertainer Gallery

This gallery features life masks of motion picture actors and the casters that helped create the busts. Throughout the history of motion picture, actors have worked with make up and special effects departments to create life masks for various productions. These masks or life casts created from the molds taken directly from the faces or whole heads of the actor would be used as stand-ins for the long process to design make up, masks, wigs and other appendages that would eventually be applied to the actor for their film. Examples of these to be found in the museum will include Peter Sellers with his facial application for "Alice in Wonderland", Christopher Reeves full head bust with his Superman wig attached from the first of his Superman films, and an ape mask from the opening sequence to "2001 Space Odyssey".

The Nature Casts Gallery

This gallery features reproductions of fossils, skeletons and footprints. Resin castings of skulls and skeletons will be housed in the Nature Room. A complete fossilized Ichthyosaur skeleton, the jaws of a great white shark and the skull of Sarcosuchus,Supercrocwill be displayed along side many other extinct, as well as present day creatures. All the rails lining the hall will showcase footprints of various creatures, ranging from a one inch chipmunk track to a T-Rex footprint.

The Fine Art Body Cast Gallery

This gallery highlights the extensive variety of bodycasting art currently being produced by artists around the world. Examples of works are cast and or enhanced with wood, leather, glass, pewter, clay, wax, bronze or fiberglass. These pieces originated from heads, hands, legs and torsos to produce a wide variety of themes. A full length pin screen will also be featured in the gallery giving a detailed body impression created from 127,000 pins! See more information about the art of bodycasting...

The Mad Gallery

The MAD Gallery (Making A Difference) or the Hall of Recognition is designated space devoted to honoring local and national figures with their casts displayed along side the story of their accomplishments. People can be nominated through the museum web site or other means. The letter of nomination will be included in the display.

The Life Cast Workshop

This workshop is designed to be a separate space from the rest of the museum but visually accessible through a large picture window looking into it from the exhibit area. The workshop will include tables and benches for creating traditional plaster hand casts and space to create a traditional face cast. Museum visitors can watch a live workshop from seating placed outside the window or when there is no activity, can watch a video of a life cast being created on the monitor directly above the window. Hand casting can be reserved for school class visits.

The Digital Workshop

The Digital workshop is devoted to creating a safe laser scan of a museum visitors face. After the portrait is captured, it is transferred as a digital file to a 3D copier and reproduced into a resin life size face. As an incentive for paying for a digital cast, the client will have the option of allowing the Museum to create a miniature bust of what they take home. The smaller version will line the walls of the front entrance. The goal is to eventually fill the lobby area walls with these miniatures, so that visitors entering the main area may view them.

The Digital Theatre

This Theatre will show a wide variety of historical and biographical presentations. The theatre will hold approximately 60 people. At some point, an in-house project, "The History of Life Casts" will be shown on a daily basis.

Children's Interactive Exhibits

These exhibits will include:

  • A large pinscreen for making body/face impressions
  • A shadow wall
  • Tracing Windows
  • Digital Mirror profiles of the face workstation
  • Traditional hand casts molded in the workshop.
  • Laser Crystal portraits in the special photo booth
  • A daily contest to solve the mystery question

The Lobby

The lobby walls will be lined with miniature face casts of museum visitors who have had their face cast in the digital workshop. The fountain known as "The Weeping Tree" will be in the center of the lobby. This sculpture will consist of a large tree trunk with life cast faces imbedded in the bark. The branches will be designed to incorporate cast hands at the ends. The faces will release water through holes in the eye ducts giving the impression that there are crying (or weeping). The water will gather at the bottom of this trickle down fountain. Seating will completely surround this centerpiece of the lobby.

The Gift Shop

The gift shop will include miniatures of some casts, sign language hand casts, images that support the casts, nature casts, kits on life casting, and much more.