What's that Smell at the Grayslake Heritage Center

Does the permanent gallery of the Grayslake Heritage Center and Museum smell? You bet it does!

There are four distinct smells emanating from four panels in the Embracing Change: the Growth of Grayslake exhibit. And they are all pleasant odors!

The scented beads manufactured by California-based Escential Resources Ltd. provide the Grayslake smells of strawberry, grass, apple cider and cherry. "Just for the Smell of it," is the company's catch-phrase.

The scented beads are in special containers embedded in the exhibit panels. They are:

1. "I remember in Grayslake: the smell of the fields. As the fields were being harvested, the scent of freshly mown hay filled the air."
2. "I remember in Grayslake: the smell of candy. Children of yesteryear took their pennies and purchased their favorite candy at the local store."
3. "I remember in Grayslake: the smell of strawberry gelatin. Grayslake residents often enjoyed the aroma of flavored gelatin coming from the factory" (Grayslake Gelatin Co.)
4. "I remember in Grayslake: the small of mulled cider. Mulled cider helped warm chilled ice skaters after a day at the lake."   

The idea of adding smells and aromas to the exhibit to enhance the experiences of museum visitors was born almost as a joke among the Grayslake Historical Society members planning the exhibit and the professional museum designers and fabricators from Taylor Studios in Rantoul, IL, recalled Charlotte Renehan, society president.

At first, all the recollections of Grayslake smells and odors were negative: the nearby garbage dump (particularly when a south wind was blowing); the sometime unpleasant odors from the gelatin factory; and the odor of fermenting pea pods and organic debris at the canning factory many years ago.

"Then the talk of the negative turned instead to a positive," Renehan said. Taylor Studios coordinated the smells with the exhibits and worked with Escential for the right chemicals, which, incidentally, are mostly organic chemicals with long, complicated formulas and equally long names.

Museum personnel change the scented beads as needed in a simple task. The scented beads are "dry, simple and no mess," the company assures.

Using smells and aromas in the Grayslake gallery is a unique concept that is being embraced by more and more museums. Escential says the use of scents allows museums "to create a fourth dimension" and "heightens the realism or fantasy of your environment. A well-placed scent can provide that final touch of realism that will make an experience a memorable one."

"Scent is the strongest sense tied to the memory," the company noted. "We can consciously smell a lilac flower in the spring and recall this olfactory memory at another time. How will your attraction be remembered?"

During the award-winning exhibition Abraham Lincoln: Self-Made in America, the Grayslake Heritage Center and Museum, 164 Hawley St., Grayslake, will be open additional hours. The Lincoln exhibit opened March 23. Special hours are Wednesdays and Thursdays from noon to 8 p.m. and Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. Regular hours are noon to 4 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and during downtown community events, including the Farmers' Market which reopens Saturday, April 6.

—Submitted by the Grayslake Historical Society