Maintaining Mold-A-Rama: Chicago’s Very Own Souvenir Machine

Рет қаралды 13,725

4 жыл бұрын

If you've ever visited a museum or zoo in the Chicago area, chances are you've encountered a Mold-A-Rama machine.
For three dollars, the space-age looking machine injects melted plastic into a unique mold created by two aluminum plates. A blast of air removes excess plastic, hollowing out the model. It's cooled and hardened before the plates part, revealing the unique plastic souvenir after less than one minute.
The Field Museum is home to five Mold-A-Rama machines, most of which create different dinosaurs and Brookfield Zoo has 13 machines, which sell different animal models corresponding to the exhibit near each machine.
In 1971, Bill Jones purchased 12 Mold-A-Rama machines in the Chicago area: 10 in Brookfield Zoo and two in the Museum of Science and Industry.
His son Paul is following in his footsteps and their company, Mold-A-Rama Inc., now operates 63 machines in five U.S. states.
Video and story by Evan Garcia
#ChicagoTonightWTTW #WTTWNews

Пікірлер: 33

@joekev27 2 жыл бұрын

Man I grew up with these, it was the only thing my mom would get for me when we would go to the zoo cuz they were a quarter back in the day.

@meganashlea 6 ай бұрын

My son recently started collecting these at Universal Studios FL. Love them! Thank you for keeping them alive.

@ileanaporelmundo 8 ай бұрын

Wow, I remember this as a little girl. My mom would buy me this when we leave the zoo. I always wanted to put the quarter in and wait for the figure. Such good memories 😢

@YuraEnjoji 3 жыл бұрын

Holy crap I found about this just now... and I was there in the summer of 2014, completely missed this and came back to Japan... guess I have no choice but to visit windy city again

@hashvendetta7226 2 жыл бұрын

No better smell in the world!

@jamesb8305 3 жыл бұрын

No wonder they have such a retro look to them. I love it!

@Suddenlyits1960 2 жыл бұрын

They had such cool machines in the 1950’s and 60’s. These are wonderful to watch in action and I’m so glad he’s keeping them alive. The Miami Seaquarium had these in the 1960’s when the tv show “Flipper” was on the air. their “Mold-A-Rama” machines made little Flipper dolphin statues for souvenirs. I have one of them. They made three different flippers. I’m not sure,but I think they had a Mold-a-Rama at Pacific Ocean Park in California too,and Disneyland had them.

@mikec.3818 11 ай бұрын

My parents would take us to the Toledo Zoo in the late 60s and early 70s. I always got one on the way out (before the tunnel). The fresh smell when they were done will stay with me forever!

@RsRj-qd2cg 3 жыл бұрын

This is what we had before 3d printing.

@Riz2336 11 ай бұрын

I think it's a super cool machine, I'd throw down a few bucks to get a mold out of one

@randall1959 Жыл бұрын

I remember getting a dinosaur from a machine like this when I was a kid.

@CaptainCretaceous91 3 жыл бұрын

I really wish these were still a thing. I would love a collection of wax dinosaurs with the colors of my choosing

@ThatMackieGirl 3 жыл бұрын

Come to Chicago! New molds are coming out all the time too -- I just got a baby blue Quetzalcoatlus from the Field Museum this morning

@CaptainCretaceous91 3 жыл бұрын

@@ThatMackieGirl Maybe when everything has settled down.

@geourgegameing8677 2 жыл бұрын

they aren't wax meaning more durability

@genociderex93imperator84 2 жыл бұрын

@@ThatMackieGirl got one yesterday! I love Quetzalcoatlus!

@deniseschnurr1765 2 жыл бұрын

I'd love to see one of these!

@wilsontoddd5253 3 жыл бұрын

I. Remember. Them. From. The. 1970s. And. Now

@abbeyhall4624 2 жыл бұрын

what an amazing machine and a great story, shame we neve go these in australia, that i know of!

@kaijupredator4063 4 жыл бұрын

I got a few as a kid from Chicago attractions, but I remember them best from Truck Stops in Florida on the way from Orlando to Miami. Used to have a whole shelf of these between my sister and I as a child of the 80s.

@Ifelloutawindow Жыл бұрын

I remember there were a few in the Orlando science center. I wonder if they still have it. Mine was of an astronaut

@sigmiami 2 жыл бұрын

good memories

@smittysbeardsauce Жыл бұрын

I’m looking for StLouis zoo molds from the 80’s The black Gorilla 🦍 in particular!

@davidhibbs6989 Жыл бұрын

Went up a lot since 10 cents 😲

@marks47 4 ай бұрын

Were there competitors? I got one in the early 80's in Oklahoma City Zoo. Elephant, I think. Of course I don't know what brand the machine was, though.