At National Comedy Center in Jamestown, you're in on the joke with hands-on, personalized exhibits

JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — When you hear the word "museum," what comes to mind? Grade-school field trips to see dusty dioramas? Nonworking "interactive" displays? One fun exhibit that's too crowded to see?

The National Comedy Center, 203 W. Second St., has none of those things. This shrine to the art of comedy is designed to make everyone laugh at every exhibit.

At the National Comedy Center it's all about the jokes

As you tour the Center, overhead you will catch tidbits of comedic bits from the past 100 years of recorded comedic history, such as Vaudeville, Lenny Bruce, the Muppets, Benny Hill, Rodney Dangerfield, and late-night hosts such as Johnny Carson and Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah. Jokes and bits are everywhere, on screens, playing overhead, printed on plaques. You can put yourself into a favorite sketch, such as "Schweddy Balls," from Saturday Night Live. When you're at the Wall of Continuum, each artist you link to has a brief clip you might remember. At the Prop table, the rubber chicken makes an appearance in the "3 Stooges." In one exhibit, you can can watch a clip of the diner scene from "Harry Met Sally."

You can hear The Smothers Brothers talk about how you can tell who's running the country by what people are wearing: If the people have less on, they're Less-ons. If they're running the country, they're More-ons. You can watch Harold Ramis, writer and actor in "Ghostbusters," use a "positron" to trap a ghost, only to be slimed. Joan Rivers will tell you that you don't need calculus to measure a room. She said once you're married, you can figure it out because it's 7 inches longer than the vacuum cord.

Seriously: Before you see even the first artifact, you tell the brains of the operation what kind of humor makes you laugh and the exhibits deliver content based on your "sense of humor profile." That profile is clarified and updated based on your interaction with each one.

When you leave, you can have your profile sent to you, along with any creations you might have made along the way.

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Once you create your profile (be careful, a camera will place your smiling face up on a big screen the whole lobby can see, which tickles some people's funny bone), the first exhibit hall is on your left. It's kind of dark, so you can see the computer screens showing off memorabilia, like George Carlin's handwritten joke notes. Lights highlight cases holding artifacts such as Charlie Chaplin's cane, Jerry Seinfeld's puffy shirt, Lucille Ball's polka dot dress, a Carol Burnett costume including the sweater, the wig, the skirt and the broom she wore on each of her shows, and more.

"We worked with a team of the best museum design firms anywhere in the world, including researchers, documentarians, comedic artists, media producers and more to assemble a dream team of creative minds," in creating the museum, said Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center.

The organization raised $50 million five years ago to build the museum, she said, including 19 sources of both public and private funding.

The center has racked up accolades from USA Today, Time, People and several travel publications. It has five stars from TripAdvisor, and was named the best new attraction in 2019 by USA Today.

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Gunderson said that was no accident.

"It was a daunting task," she said about planning the center. "What was scary was trying to create a museum experience worthy of the art form it celebrates. Comedy has deserved this for a long time. And we really wanted to do it justice."

She was previously executive director of Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum (better known as the Lucy-Desi museum), dedicated solely to the life and career of Lucille Ball, who grew up in Jamestown. (Lucy Ricardo is also from Jamestown on the legendary "I Love Lucy'' show.) That museum still exists and has had a facelift as well. But Ball had stipulated that she wanted Jamestown to become a place that celebrates all kinds of comedy, not just her career.

"This is the vision of Lucille Ball," Gunderson said. "When we were talking to her about the Lucy-Desi museum, she said, 'Don’t just relish in the Lucy legacy and study me. Make Jamestown the destination for the celebration of all comedy.' The vision lies with her."

Jamestown's comedic playground

All the best the two museums have to offer will shine during the upcoming Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, Aug. 3 to 7. The festival will include a show by comedian Margaret Cho on Aug. 4, Jeff Foxworthy on Aug. 5, and "Saturday Night Live'' alums David Spade, Rob Schneider and Kevin Nealon on Aug. 6.

All of the exhibits, except for the artifacts — which are encased here and there throughout the museum — are interactive. One called "the Prop table" invites you to grab a traditional plastic version of a comedic trope such as a rubber chicken, set of dentures, whoopie cushion, pie or squirting flower. You can pick it up and place it on a tabletop computer screen. As you move the piece on the surface of the table, it brings up footage of comedic bits that include the prop.

An exhibit devoted to late-night comedy explores how it shapes political discourse, culture and opinion. Another explores cartooning and written comedy in a library-like setting that allows you to try to read funny books, or recreate popular cartoons. Your attempts are saved to your profile and will be sent to you, provided you offered your email at the beginning of the tour.

"This is one of the most interactive and immersive museum experiences in the world," Gunderson said. "You get a personalized experience in comedy — like any good comedian, the museum can 'read the room' and respond to your sense of humor."

For example, you can try to recreate a classic cartoon, make a meme, compete against a friend in trying to make him or her laugh (You even get points for smiles.).

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Personalizing your visit

The museum is set up so you can use your wristband to adjust the height of the exhibits for children or adults with disabilities. Also, it offers a special brochure for adults visiting with children to steer them to the exhibits they'd most enjoy, such as cartoons, and opportunities to be on camera, make funny sounds and faces, create a meme, attempt to make another person laugh, or place yourself into a classic comedic scene of your choosing.

Oh, and be careful which bench you sit on. There may be one or two that announce your arrival when you sit down.

Adults (or older children visiting with adults who vouch for them) also can visit the Blue Room, accessible by elevator. It's called that because "Blue" is comic jargon for off-color humor, such as George Carlin's classic list of "The Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television," or anything by Eddie Murphy.

You'll see signs three times before arriving there, warning you that it is full of mature-themed humor — and not just swear words.

"We didn't want to censor the art form we were celebrating," explained Megan Arnone Eckwahl, manager of marketing and communications, while hitting the elevator button to take down guests to the Blue Room.

They didn't. Throughout the Blue Room, single-word plaques hang or are on display. Every dirty word you can think of has a plaque. Artists known for their bawdy humor are celebrated here and it's just plain hard not to laugh at the in-your-face nature of the display, with a soundtrack of some of the most famous expletive-filled bits playing overhead.

There are dozens of other exhibits, one devoted to sketching and improv, another just for "Saturday Night Live,'' and the art of the roast. A new exhibit is coming about Carl Reiner, another on Johnny Carson, and much more.

"Nothing here is done halfway," Eckwahl said.

On your way out, you'll pass a stage with a few tables and a screen. A guest there might be trying their hand at Comedy Karaoke. A script is in front of them as they try to deliver it with all the humor they can muster.

This exhibit includes a small bar where you can get Southern Tier Brewing Co. beer in case you need a little liquid courage to get up there and perform — or just sit down with a beverage and have a laugh.

Contact Jennie Geisler at jgeisler@timesnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @ETNgeisler.

If You Go

• What: Lucille Ball Comedy Festival

• When: Aug. 3-7

• Where: At both the Luci-Desi Museum, 2 W. Third St., Jamestown, New York; and the National Comedy Center, 203 W. Second St., Jamestown, New York

• Tickets: $12.50 to $25.50.

• For more information: Visit bit.ly/lucyfest, or call 716-484-2222.

• What: National Comedy Center

• When: Thursdays through Tuesdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

• Where: 203 W. Second St., Jamestown, New York

• Admission: $13 to $28.50; advance ticket purchase recommended.

• For more information: Visit comedycenter.org or call 716-484-2222.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: National Comedy Center in Jamestown explores art of making people laugh