🦕 NYS Museum needs a serious makeover

Today in The 518

• NY State Museum needs a serious refresh 🦕 

• Rensselaer mill gets massive makeover ⚜️

• An adorable Cape Cod in Nisky is our Home of the Week 🏡 

• Plus, all the music listings you need this week 🎸

The New York State Museum needs a serious makeover

Let’s start by saying we love the State Museum. It’s charming in its own way, with stunning Ice Age and Native American dioramas, and a 9/11 exhibit that will bring you to tears.

But the museum has the potential to be so much more. What’s especially needed is more frequent rotating exhibits and better event programming for both school kids and young professionals (ala First Fridays at the LA Natural History Museum, which features DJs, cocktails and night tours). As impressive as they are, the exhibits are decades old, while a long promised museum makeover has never materialized.

A museum can’t let itself become a museum piece, gathering dust and mildly interesting only to field-trip classes. With the entire span of NYS history, from the Ice Age to the modern age, to tell stories about, the State Museum could be a world-class institution. It’s still one of the most visited tourist attractions in the Capital Region, if not the top destination.

Sunday’s story in the Times Union goes into depth about why the museum has struggled to stay fresh. The challenges include uninspired leadership that has stayed way too long, unpredictable funding, and sticky state bureaucracy.

The search is on to replace museum director Mark Schaming, who retired this month after 37 years. This is a golden opportunity to shake things up, even within the confines of the existing budget and bureaucratic machinations. As evidenced by this Reddit thread, the museum is beloved but there could be a lot more to love.

While we’re talking museums, we really need an excellent children’s and/or science museum in Albany. Please, please 🙏 

“A visit to a museum is a search for beauty, truth, and meaning in our lives. Go to museums as often as you can.” —Maira Kalman

Expect some thunderstorms in an otherwise hot & humid week.

Trip the light fantastic

Get ready for a double meteor shower event! The Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks early Tuesday morning, coinciding with the Alpha Capricornids—which often produces very bright meteors. Get yourself to a place with dark skies and expect to see 15-20 light shows per hour 🌠 [News 10]

Rensselaer relic goes upscale

An old textile mill in Rensselaer is undergoing a $27 million renovation to create 72 market-rate apartments and about 20,000 square feet of commercial space, potentially including a restaurant and boat services. The project is expected to be completed by mid-2025, giving new life to the former William Barnet & Son Shoddy Mill, a relic from the region's industrial past. [Albany Business Review].

Btw, don’t miss our guide to the best hotspots in Rens.

New Aldi & Chipotle coming

A new Aldi grocery store planned for Route 9 in Latham is moving forward, with concept approval from Colonie's planning board. The store is expected to employ at least 10 workers. Meanwhile, Chipotle is opening a new location at 1707 Central Avenue in Colonie, featuring a drive-thru "Chipotlane" for online order pickups. It’s the 10th Chipotle in the Capital Region.

Saratoga Spring’s first pot shop

Silver Cannabis Company, the first cannabis store in Saratoga Springs, celebrated its grand opening this past weekend. The 1,250-square-foot store at 75 Weibel Avenue is the third in the county, and last week, Robinson’s Dispensary in Colonie became the state’s 150th location. Meanwhile, in Amsterdam, Mt. Marcy Farms has received approval to open a cannabis cultivation and processing facility. The pot farm will operate under a micro-business license, focusing on cultivating, processing, and distributing cannabis without onsite retail.