Atomic Age Food

Atomic Age Food
CHC/file
Atomic Age Food
CHC/file

Atomic Age Food

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

Barbara Kuck, Culinary Historians of Chicago And Seleena Kuester Museum Educator, presents how American food production and consumption were transformed in the years after World War II. Discover how the mass marketing and automobile culture of the 1950s changed the way America cooked and ate in “Food in the Atomic Age.”

Food in the Atomic Age features Curt Teich advertising postcards from the museum’s archives, as well as period textiles and kitchen objects from the museum’s collections. The exhibit traces how Atomic Age conveniences created the streamlined, efficient American home of the 1950s. Visitors explore a re-created 1950s kitchen and learn about the rise of pre-packaged foods and state-of-the art kitchen appliances. They visit a 1950s diner to learn about the increasing popularity of fast food and see period fast food restaurant advertising. They also learn how food makes it from the farm to the table, and how this process has changed since the Atomic Age.

Lake County Discovery Museum
The Lake County Discovery Museum, located in the beautiful Lakewood Forest Preserve, features hands-on interactive exhibits for visitors of all ages. This nationally accredited museum takes visitors on a journey through local history in the Vortex Roller Coaster Theater and Mall of History. The museum is also home to Bringing the World Home which showcases images from the museum’s Curt Teich Postcard Archives, the world’s largest public collection of picture postcards. The White Room Gallery hosts various art exhibits throughout the year, while the Special Exhibition Gallery features exhibits of national and local interest on subjects such as popular culture, history and art. Children 10 and under can explore the Children’s Learning Gallery, a prairie-themed play area and learning space, designed especially for kids. For information on current and upcoming special exhibitions, visit the museum website.

Recorded Sunday, January 17, 2010 at Lake County Discovery Museum.