Get a 'Chocolate' fix at sweet Cranbrook Institute of Science exhibit 9/22/17, 8)57 AM

Local Journalism Lives Here. Just 99 for the first month.

LEARN MORE (HTTP://OFFERS.FREEP.COM/SPECIALOFFER?GPS-SOURCE=BENBSEP&UTM_MEDIUM=NANOBAR&UTM_SOURCE=BOUNCE-
EXCHANGE&UTM_CAMPAIGN=READLOCAL17)

Get a 'Chocolate' fix with sweet exhibit at Cranbrook

Institute of Science
David Lyman, Special to the Detroit Free Press Published 6:00 a.m. ET Sept. 22, 2017

If you want to mount a must-see museum exhibit, there are two essentials, says Gary Feinman.

First, you need a hook you know, something that really catches peoples attention. And second, you need a
good story. This exhibit has a good story. But it has a fabulous hook.

The exhibit hes talking about is Chocolate, which opens Saturday at the the Cranbrook Institute of Science.
Feinman co-curated the original Chocolate exhibit more than 15 years ago at the Field Museum of Natural
(Photo: John Weinstein) History in Chicago, where he is the MacArthur curator of Mesoamerican, Central American, and East Asian
anthropology.

Almost everyone loves chocolate, says Feinman, who admits to consuming his share of Hershey bars and Halloween chocolates when he was growing
up. So right away, we have peoples attention. But they dont know a lot about its history. Thats where we come in.

Its a formula that has proven astoundingly successful. The exhibit ran for more than 10 months in Chicago in 2002. It has been on the road ever since. It
has been seen by hundreds of thousands of people throughout North America, from Honolulu to Hamilton, Ont., from St. Paul to Houston. An earlier
version of the exhibit visited the Henry Ford Museum in 2008.

Cameron Wood agrees about the appeal of the exhibit. Hes a dark chocolate fan, for the record. But now, its up to him hes the anthropology
coordinator and museum educator at Cranbrook to help tell the convoluted tale that has seen chocolate grow from a relatively unknown pod growing on
trees in Central America to one of the most in-demand commodities in the world.

Chocolates history, as examined by this exhibit, is nothing short of epic. It begins with the Mayans discovery of the cacao seed more than 1,500 years
ago. The Aztecs used the seeds to create a drink. But it had almost no resemblance to the chocolate drinks we know today.

http://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/arts/2017/09/22/chocolate-exhibit-science-cranbrook-bloomfield/691930001/ Page 1 of 4
Get a 'Chocolate' fix at sweet Cranbrook Institute of Science exhibit 9/22/17, 8)57 AM

Chocolate, an exhibit created by The Field Museum, will be at the Cranbrook Institute of Science Sept. 23-Jan. 7. This is a photo of a ripe, raw cacao pod. (Photo: The
Field Museum)

It was actually a fairly bitter drink, says Feinman. In fact, the most desired part of all was the foam that bubbled up at the top of the ceramic or gourd
containers. There were a few recipes that added honey. But many more added chili peppers or other spices.

Then the Spanish arrived. The conquistadors were certain there was money to be made from cacao. They were right. When they introduced the beans to
Europe, everything changed.

Thats where sugar became part of the chocolate story, says Wood.

And milk, too. As the beans popularity moved into northern Europe, confectioners started adding milk to the drink. It was smoother and richer that way.
And far more marketable, as well. It would be the mid-19th Century before the concept of eating chocolate became popularized.

Join now for as low as

99/1st month
Subscribe Now
(http://offers.freep.com/specialoffer?
gps-
source=BEAZsep&utm_medium=agilityzone&utm_source=bounce-
exchange&utm_campaign=UWEB2017)

The exhibit delves into the serious history of chocolate, too, says Wood. It explores how chocolate became a much sought-after commodity. And how it
became tied to the slave trade.

For more than 200 years from the 16th century to the late 18th century millions of low-wage laborers and slaves enabled colonial plantations to
provide more wealthy parts of the world with their chocolate.

http://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/arts/2017/09/22/chocolate-exhibit-science-cranbrook-bloomfield/691930001/ Page 2 of 4
Get a 'Chocolate' fix at sweet Cranbrook Institute of Science exhibit 9/22/17, 8)57 AM

Happily, it is a different story today, says Wood. And thats a good thing, because the demand for chocolate is larger than ever. The U.S. chocolate
market alone is estimated to be in excess of $13 billion a year. And there is no sign of it slowing down any time soon.

Cranbrook has a full slate of activities scheduled during Chocolate, which continues through January 7.

Well have a short-term education program for field trips, says Wood. Its designed to complement and augment the exhibit. Weve ordered three cacao
trees, for instance. And well share various objects from Meso-American culture. And children will get to make their own Mayan chocolate drink. Thats
where theyll learn just how important sugar is as a part of the chocolate story.

For adult aficionados, Cranbrook if offering a Dec. 2 bus tour. First stop is Zingermans Roadhouse in Ann Arbor, where brunch will include biscuits with
bacon-chocolate gravy and other chocolate-related foods. Then its back on the bus and on to Mindo Chocolate Makers in Dexter.

Chocolate, an exhibit created by The Field Museum, will be at the Cranbrook Institute of Science Sept. 23-Jan. 7. This is a photo of the exhibit from an earlier stop on its
tour. (Photo: John Weinstein)

Specifics of the tour time, cost, etc. have not yet been announced. Wood suggests checking back with the Cranbrook website
(http://science.cranbrook.edu) regularly.

'Chocolate'
Saturday through Jan. 7

Cranbrook Institute of Science

39221 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills

248-645-3200

science.cranbrook.edu (https://science.cranbrook.edu/)

Museum admission is $13, $9.50 for children and seniors. Separate admission to Chocolate is $8, $6 for children and seniors.

Read or Share this story: http://on.freep.com/2xnh09G

http://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/arts/2017/09/22/chocolate-exhibit-science-cranbrook-bloomfield/691930001/ Page 3 of 4