The Secret Gift in Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses

MoPOP wouldn’t be half the museum it is without our passionate volunteers. MoPOP volunteer and Nirvana superfan, Jenn, volunteers at the museum nearly every Monday and Thursday to lead in-depth tours of Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses. Today, she’s sharing one small anecdote from her incredible tour.

Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses is filled with all sorts of amazing artifacts from the band’s 30+ year history, but there's an underlying layer not everyone is aware of. It's not what's in the cases, but the cases themselves. If you look a little closer, you'll see what I mean.

Nirvana bassist, Krist Novoselic' is the Grangemaster for the Grays River Grange—an agricultural organization dedicated to maintaining and supporting local landmarks, located in the southwest part of Washington state.

In 2008, a century old elm tree, planted by the founder of the grange, fell over on the property during a windstorm. It seemed such a shame to let the wood rot and go to waste, so why not give it a meaningful second life? And that's exactly what happened.

Krist Novoselic' worked with MoPOP to help the museum acquire and repurpose the wood, and it was an endeavor that paid off well. The display cases in the Nirvana gallery are proudly made with the wood from that historic elm tree, thus adding an extra level of northwest heritage to the gallery all while being a little more eco-friendly. Next time you're in the gallery, take a close look at this amazing woodwork!

Check out Jenn’s tours most Monday and Thursday mornings at 10:15am and 11:15am.