Coastermania Collection

Collection

Identifier: MS-0057

Staff Only

Collection Overview

Abstract

The Coastermania Collection consists of material relating to the "Coastermania" course taught at Bowling Green State University during the summer of 1978. Included are items from the preparation, execution, and aftermath of the course, dating from 1977-1980.

Dates

Creation: 1977-1980, bulk 1978

Extent

0.8 Cubic Feet (2 archives boxes)

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of multiple types of materials. The largest group is comprised of press kits obtained in 1978 from 13 amusement parks across the country. There are also teaching materials for the Coastermania course, corresponndence with campus officials and potential students, materials relating to the conference during which the course was held, and press clippings relating to the course.

Biographical / Historical

In 1978, faculty from the Department of Popular Culture embarked on a bold experiment, to create and execute a course relating to the history and place of the roller coaster in popular culture. The course was designed to coincide with a national conference of roller coaster enthusiasts at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, from June 30- July 2, 1978.

The course drew national attention and media coverage, both positive and negative, from local newspapers to NBC's Today Show. Faculty members Michael Marsden and Jack Nachbar were part of the teaching team for the course, and wrote a paper titled "Coastermania: An Educational Experiment" which was presented at the Convention of the Popular Culture Association in 1979. Video of the event was recorded by campus station WBGU.

Coastermania continues at Cedar Point to this day, though without the participation of BGSU or the Popular Culture Department.

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright and other restrictions may apply. Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.