Rockford, Illinois (Top40 Charts/ Burpee Museum of Natural History) The Burpee Museum of Natural History and its newest exhibit, Rick's Picks: A Lifelong Affair with Guitars & Music, have launched an exciting new exhibit website. The new platform provides viewers and Rickophiles dynamic new content modules, including a social media feed and a marquis blog/content area where Rick and the Rick's Picks team will provide frequent updates, stories, and news.
The site features Responsive Design technology that enables it to conform to visitors' devices and window size/proportions with a minimum of resizing and scrolling for an optimal visitor experience.
Burpee board member and Guitar Exhibit Committee Chair Dan Roszkowski explains, "Rick's Picks is a one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art experience about a one-of-a-kind artist. Burpee Museum's leadership is proud of the exhibit and we are pleased to offer a new website that mirrors the excitement of the exhibit itself. Visitors to the exhibit step into the world of a legend - and we wanted to replicate the feeling of what it's like to step into the mind of Rick Nielsen. Of course, if you know Rick, that's a lesson in futility--but we think this comes close!"
Also coming very soon is an an online shopping module that will allow visitors to purchase tickets and merchandise from anywhere in the world.
The website is intended to provide exhibit information and help drive new and repeat visitors to Rick's Picks, which has on display more than 3000 artifacts, including 73 iconic guitars including those belonging to celebrity friends like Conan O'Brien, Dave Grohl and Slash. Visitors enjoy an exciting environment enhanced by audio and video, including a 30-minute biopic "Rickumentary" movie featuring appearances by Rick and his family and friends--some of which is viewable on the new website.
The site concept, design and development is the work of GrahamSpencer Inspired Strategic Communications, which also designed and curated the exhibit itself.
The exhibit opened in August at The Burpee Museum of Natural History, 737 North Main Street Rockford, IL 61103 and will run through April 2013. Find more information on Facebook. Or follow emerging news on Twitter.
This project was partially funded by a Grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Office of Tourism.
Post-Rockford, officials intend to send the exhibit on a worldwide tour. Corporations and Organizations interested in national and international sponsorship of the exhibit are invited to visit the Rick's Picks Sponsorship page, or to contact Rick's Picks Director of National Sponsorship, Jennie Walker at jwalker(at)rickspickslive(dot)com for more information. Many levels of collaboration are available. Current exhibit sponsors include Illinois. Mile After Magnificent Mile., BMO Harris Bank and Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, along with other supportive businesses and organizations.
About Rick's Picks
It's Guitars. It's Rick. It's Music History. It's a Fundraiser. From Rockford, Illinois' skating rinks to Tokyo's Budokan, Rick's Picks tells the 40-year story of one of the hardest-working stars in Rock & Roll. As one would expect, Rick has more stories than his five neck has strings. Rick's Picks also is a fundraiser for Rick Nielsen's favorite hometown museum, the Burpee Museum of Natural History. For more information, visit https://www.rickspickslive.com or contact Anne Boccignone, 815-742-0110, aboccignone(at)grahamspencer(dot)com.
About Burpee Museum of Natural History
Since 1942, Burpee Museum of Natural History has inspired people to engage in a lifetime of learning about the natural world. Burpee Museum of Natural History is home to 66-million year old juvenile T.rex, Jane, as well as a number of other interactive and educational exhibits. For more information, or to see a schedule of events, please visit https://www.burpee.org.
About Rick Nielsen & Cheap Trick
When Cheap Trick burst onto the national music scene in the 1970s, it broke new ground with a punkish, hard-edged brand of literate garage rock that was the perfect antidote to what ailed weary FM radio listeners worldwide. The band's uniquely midwestern sensibilities have been deftly recorded in 28 albums and laid bare in thousands upon thousands of performances worldwide. With walls of gold and platinum records to prove their enduring success, Cheap Trick and its pick-flinging, checkerboard-bedecked dynamo Rick Nielsen have never stopped touring, much to the delight of one of rock history's most loyal fan bases. Rick Nielsen, and bandmates Robin Zander and Tom Petersson were seen touring with Aerosmith in major cities across North America this summer. The band and the tour were named among "the summer's hottest," by Rolling Stone magazine.