News Release
June 6, 2008
New Chilo Museum Displays Designed to Make You Smile
Batavia, Ohio. Is that a cave snake? The designer of new wildlife displays at the Chilo Lock #34 Museum loves to stand on the sidelines and listen to comments about his work. "They help me in designing my next project," said Wayne McClain, who describes his display of wildlife living along the Ohio River, as a work in progress. "Actually the white snake that everyone is talking about, hasn't been painted yet," he chuckles. "I told you it's a work in progress!"
McClain uses humor to attract visitors to his displays on the third floor of the Lock #34 Museum. A fox that once roamed the surrounding hillside, has now been stuffed and posed to keep watch on all who enter the museum. "Kids actually jump when they see him looking right at them," he said. Also posed among tree branches once gnawed on by a real beaver, are wildlife critters that have been preserved, including owls, birds, snakes, and a beaver. McClain also uses running water in a simulated stream as a way to attract and hold attention to the display.
Painting a giant toad stool in the backdrop of another exhibit, it is apparent that McClain loves his work. "Nothing is new, things just keep getting reinvented," he said. "This one is called The Critter Condo and will have separate homes for those who live here." The condo occupants will include two live creatures, a Box Turtle and a Black Rat Snake.
Summer hours of operation for the Chilo Lock #34 Museum are Monday though Saturday, from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., and on Sunday, between noon and 5 p.m. The museum is located near US Route 52 in the Village of Chilo.
Pictured above: Wayne McClain calls the new wildlife displays at the Chilo Lock #34 Park "works in progress."
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