The Travel Channel: Mysteries at the Museum, Vol. 3

Linda Banche here. The Travel Channel has Volume 3 of Mysteries at the Museum ready for Tuesday, November 16, at 9PM E/P. This episode travels to both coasts, from museums in San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Pacific, to Harvard and Ellis Island on the Atlantic. A quick peek below and more information on the showpage.

Mysteries at the Museum: Volume 3

San Francisco Fire Museum: An out-of-control inferno that erupted in the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake caused more damage than the earthquake did during that historical day. In the San Francisco Fire Museum, an 1897 LaFrance steam engine remains one of the few surviving relics. How was this recalled after one of the worst natural disasters in American history?

Los Angeles Police Museum: At the Los Angeles Police Museum, a deadly weapon guards the truth behind one of the most infamous kidnappings of modern times. This World War II era semi-automatic rifle unleashed a devastating 1200 rounds-per minute and was used by the kidnap victim who turned into a domestic terrorist. Who was Patty Herst, and what crucial role did this weapon play in the evolution of an extraordinary criminal?

The Scripps Institution of Oceanography: A most curious specimen lives at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego. This organism starts life smaller than a grain of rice, but quickly grows into a 6-foot sea monster that’s rumored to pull fisherman out of their boats. Can you image what this super-predator is?

Bradbury Museum of Science: In the 1940s, The Klaus Fuchs, an ordinary ID badge, gave a brilliant physicist access to the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the nation’s most top secret program. This physicist’s acts would forever change our world. What was this top secret program and how did this physicist betray the United States?

Ellis Island Immigration Museum: All new arrivals at Ellis Island were given a literacy test. In theory the test should have prevented thousands of poor, illiterate immigrants from gaining entry into the U.S., but what many immigrants lacked in literacy, they made up for in cunning and guile. How could they possibly have beat the test that was designed to keep them out of America?

Harvard Museum of Natural History: To acquire a unique specimen from Harvard University’s zoological collection, a Boston physician borrowed an enormous sum of money from a wealthy colleague in 1846. When the prized possession finally arrived, the colleague went missing and was eventually discovered in the physician’s basement. What could have caused the doctor to engage in in a murder that sent the tabloids into a whirlwind?

Enjoy!