Evelyn C. McDonald
Arts & Culture Reporter
June 9, 2015 1:00 a.m.
This column is for those of you who may be entertaining a grandchild over the summer. My grandson recently stayed with me for a few days. He’s 11 and not too much of a challenge as long as the battery on his iPad holds out. I like to find different things for us to do and I hit on a great one in Jacksonville.
But let me set the stage properly. Two friends at Wake Forrest had to present a paper for one of their classes. They acquired the head from a mannequin and a wig. They managed to wire it so the jaws would move when a relay was tapped. They persuaded a female friend to record their paper. Fast forward to the classroom where the mannequin head read their paper and an idea for a business was born. And yes, the mannequin was named Sally.
Sally Corporation designs and builds animatronics for dark rides. When you go into a ride at an amusement park, the T-Rex who pops out at you may have come from Sally Corporation. From an entertaining grandchildren perspective, the Sally Corporation is great. They offer tours of their facilities on Tuesdays and Thursdays (Check to see if this is still occurring). Tours last about an hour and are free.
The tour starts in a small theater with cutouts of Scooby Doo characters and a woman playing the piano. She turns out to be animatronic. After a bit of history on the company, you move to the concept area where the animatronics are designed. Next is the room where face masks are created. Then you don protective goggles and go onto the factory floor.
On the factory floor, you see animatronics in various states of assembly. An old man in Chinese robes, a T-Rex roaring from a large crate, as well as nearly completed works. We saw a troupe of penguins dressed in blue outfits and cavorting on an ice stage. This display was being built for an overseas client so they were singing in Chinese. That’s the great thing about touring the company. There are different designs in different stages of development so it’s a place where you can expect to see something new when you return.
Yes, it’s in Jacksonville and I realize many of you believe there are trolls under the Shave Bridge but it’s an easy access off I-95 on Forsyth Street and it has a huge parking lot. And the tour has my grandson’s seal of approval. Check out www.sallycorp.com for information.
Evelyn McDonald moved to Fernandina Beach from the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. in 2006. She is a chair of Arts & Culture Nassau, a city commission charged with support of the arts in Nassau County. She serves on FSCJ’s Curriculum Committee for the Center for Lifelong Learning. She is also the chair of the Dean’s Council for the Carpenter Library at the UNF. Ms. McDonald has MS in Technology Management from the University of Maryland’s University College and a BA in Spanish from the University of Michigan.
Great idea! Thank you for posting.