Name: A Marvel in Motion - Opening Celebration
Start: 2026-04-11T10:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-04-11T17:00:00-05:00
Location: 5700 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, MO, United States, Missouri 63112

A Marvel in Motion - Opening Celebration

Celebrate the opening of A Marvel in Motion and explore the history of the Ferris wheel, the most iconic attraction at the 1904 World’s Fair. Throughout the day, visit the exhibit, enjoy live ragtime piano performances, and check out resource and artifact tables hosted by the World’s Fair Society.
Schedule:
10am–2pm | Resource Tables
2:00–3:30pm | Program
At 2pm, head the Lee Auditorium for a series of short presentations and a panel discussion featuring Public Historian Amanda Clark, World Expo historian Charles Pappas, and Heinz History Center Curator of History Leslie A. Pryzbylek. They will illuminate the history of George Ferris, creator of the Ferris wheel; the larger story of world expo “spectaculars”: and why the 1904 World’s Fair Ferris wheel continues to loom large in our collective memory.
Charles Pappas: Covering the exhibition industry as Exhibitor magazine’s senior writer since 2002, Charles Pappas is one of the preeminent authorities on the World Expo. He was a consultant to Expo 2020 Dubai, Minneapolis’s bid for Expo 2027, and that city’s upcoming 2031 International Horticultural Expo. He was also ranked #12 of the 50 top attractions at Expo 2020 in Dubai (Yes, seriously). Pappa’s books Nobody Sits Like the French; Flying Cars, Zombie Dogs, and Robot Overlords; and Expo 2020 Dubai: The Definitive Edition probe how world exhibitions have shaped history and transformed everyday lives.
Leslie A. Pryzbylek explores connections between regional history and identity as Senior Curator at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she has served since 2013. A curator of more than 40 exhibitions, she researchers popular culture, technological history, Pittsburgh’s home front during World War II, and foodways of the 19th and 20th centuries. An accomplished speaker and author, Pryzbylek enjoys illuminating forgotten chapters of local history and encouraging communities to think more deeply about their pasts. She is currently working on a new exhibition exploring the history of Western Pennsylvania’s impact on the amusement park industry.