Eileen's Travel Blog: Ringling museum and grounds in Sarasota

I will skip Sunday, since we spent that day with my friend Janet and her two kids, at the pool. Monday, however, was a day of more sightseeing. We spent most of the day at the John and Mabel Ringling Art Museum and grounds, with enough to see to keep one busy for several hours. John Ringling was one of 7 Ringling brothers, who all became involved in their circus. On the grounds of the museum is the home of John and Mabel, a circus museum, a miniature model circus, and a very nice art museum.

We went to the art museum late in the day, to see a temporary exhibit on botanical art of the 16th through 18th centuries. All the familiar names where there - nicely done exhibit. No photos to show.

Lee and I first saw the miniature model, to scale, created over several years. It was one man's hobby. He did a lot of research, down to the names of real circus performers and their animals. People who had relatives in the Barnum and Bailey Circus can actually pick out their kinfolk from the models! This exhibit was installed in 2006, and is still being worked on. I have several photos - it was so amazing. I enjoyed it especially because it told the story of the Big Top from beginning to end - pulling into town, setting up the Big Top and performing for the day, then packing up and pulling out late the same day. The Big Top was used into the 1950's, but no longer. The circus came with a kitchen that cooked three meals a day for the 1300 entertainers, every day!! Managing the logistics of it all was quite a feat.