Chasing Rainbows Museum facts for kids
 |
|
| Established | 2002 |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | 2023 |
| Location | Adventures in Imagination, Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, United States |
| Type | Biographical |
The Chasing Rainbows Museum was a special place dedicated to the life and career of famous country music singer Dolly Parton. It was located inside the Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, United States.
History
The Chasing Rainbows Museum first opened its doors in 2002. It was part of a section of Dollywood called "Adventures in Imagination." Steve Summers, Dolly Parton's creative director, helped design the museum. The building itself was built in 1996. It was first a cafe, then a different restaurant, before becoming the museum.
This was actually the second museum about Dolly at Dollywood. The first one was called "Rags to Riches: The Dolly Parton Story."
The Chasing Rainbows Museum held many items from Dolly Parton's life. These included her famous "Coat of Many Colors." Her high school band uniform was also on display. You could even see her wedding gown and her husband Carl Dean's wedding suit. A special hologram of Dolly explained the museum's name. She said she called it "Chasing Rainbows" because she had been "chasing" her dreams since she was born.
The museum closed at the end of 2021. This was to make room for a new Dolly Parton experience. This new area is planned to open in 2024.
Exhibits
The museum had many interesting exhibits. They showed different parts of Dolly's life and career.
- Dolly's Friends - This area featured pictures of Dolly with her celebrity friends. Some of these friends included Cher, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Johnny Cash.
- Dolly's Attic - This room looked like an attic. It showed many of Dolly's personal items. Some items were even made by her fans. A video played with Dolly telling stories about these items.
- Dr. Robert F. Thomas - This exhibit had a copy of Dolly's birth certificate. It also showed the original doctor's bag of the doctor who helped deliver Dolly.
- Tennessee Mountain Home - This was a copy of the small cabin where Dolly grew up. It included dolls like "Little Tiny Tassletop." This doll was made by her father and inspired Dolly's first song.
- Coat of Many Colors - A copy of the famous coat Dolly's mother made for her was here. Next to it was a laundry slip. Dolly wrote the song "Coat of Many Colors" on the back of this slip.
- Greene's Rolling Store - This exhibit showed a copy of a bus. This type of bus traveled around the area where Dolly grew up.
- House of Prayer - This was a copy of a church house. It displayed items from Dolly's grandfather, Rev. Jake Owens. These included his glasses, a fiddle, an organ, and a family Bible.
- School House - This exhibit looked like a one-room school house. It was like the one Dolly attended as a child. You could see love letters written to Dolly by a schoolmate. There was also a photo of Dolly in front of the United States Capitol from her senior year. Her high school band uniform was also displayed.
- Cas Walker Show - This area was about the Cas Walker show. This show helped Dolly start her career in music.
- Early Career - This exhibit showed a copy of Dolly's first record, "Puppy Love." Other items from her early music days were also on display.
- Do You, Dolly... - You could see a copy of Dolly's wedding certificate here. There were also pictures of Dolly and her husband.
- The Porter Wagoner Show - This exhibit featured costumes from Dolly, Porter Wagoner, and others from their show.
- The Dolly Show 1970s - Costumes from Dolly's 1970s TV show were on display. You could also watch video clips from the show.
- Lyrics - This section had a collection of Dolly's hand-written song lyrics.
- Movies - Costumes from Dolly's movies were displayed here. These included 9 to 5, Rhinestone, Steel Magnolias, and Straight Talk.
- Dolly Remembers Porter - A video of Dolly talking about Porter Wagoner was shown. One of Porter Wagoner's costumes was also displayed.
- Awards and Accomplishments - Dolly's many awards were shown in a tall display case. These included her Academy of Country Music Awards, Grammys, and Country Music Association awards.
- Listening Station - Visitors could listen to Dolly's music here.
- Videos - You could choose and watch Dolly's music videos.
- Family and Friends - Using a touch-screen, visitors could watch interviews with Dolly's family and friends.
- Ask Dolly - With a touch-screen, visitors could "ask" Dolly questions.
- Dolly's Closet - This display showed Dolly's old stage costumes. It also had costumes from her 1980s TV show.
- Wear Dolly's Wigs - Using a touch-screen and cameras, visitors could see their own picture on a screen. Then they could try on different Dolly wig styles virtually.
- Imaginary Library - A video played of Dolly talking about her Imagination Library program. This program gives free books to children.
- Dollywood - This exhibit showed Dolly at different events from the Dollywood park.
- Family Tree - Pictures of Dolly's family were displayed.
- For God and Country - This room was about Dolly's love for her country.
- Rotating Costumes - Various display cases showed different costumes from Dolly's career. These changed over time.
- Smoky Mountain Reflections - This room was designed to look like the outdoors. It served as the exit from the museum.
See also
- List of Dollywood attractions
- List of music museums
