Museum Openings Display Antiquities, Glass and Pearls

Summer used to be the slow season for museum openings and new art exhibits, but not this year. Some places worth the trip:

* Tacoma, Wash.: On July 6 this city plans to debut an art museum, a 500-foot-long pedestrian bridge co-designed by glass artist Dale Chihuly and a public art installation.

The centerpiece of these ambitious projects is the striking $48-million Museum of Glass: International Center for Contemporary Art, featuring a 90-foot-tall, stainless-steel-wrapped cone, along the Thea Foss Waterway.

Opening exhibits include works by Czechs Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtova; Mark Tobey, Morris Graves and John Cage; and others. The museum has no permanent collection as yet, and it does not have works by native son Chihuly. Admission $8 adults. Open daily except Mondays; hours vary. (253) 296-1768, www.museumofglass.org.

Next to the museum, in its plaza, will be “Water Forest” by Howard Ben Tre, a large-scale work that uses industrial glass tubing.

The new Bridge of Glass will stretch from the museum’s rooftop across an interstate and train tracks and end in downtown. The steel-and-glass span, designed by Chihuly and Austin, Texas-based architect Arthur Andersson, will display several of the artist’s colorful creations.

* Washington, D.C.: “The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt” includes more than 100 objects, plus a full-sized reconstruction of Pharaoh Thutmose III’s burial chamber. Officials say it is the largest group of antiquities that Egypt has ever loaned for exhibition in North America. June 30 to Oct. 14. National Gallery of Art. Free. For information, call (202) 737-4215, www.nga.gov.

* Chicago: “Titanic: The New Exhibition” returns to the Museum of Science and Industry, with artifacts and room re-creations such as the grand staircase. The exhibit drew more than 850,000 in 2000. July 1 to Oct. 31. Admission $19 adults. (800) 468-6674, www.msichicago.org.

“Pearls” is about--what else?--the lustrous gems. With more than 600 objects ranging from jewelry to paintings, it is billed as the largest exhibit ever on the topic. The Field Museum is its second and final venue; it opened last year in New York. June 28 to Jan. 5. Admission $14 adults (includes museum admission). (312) 922-9410, www.fieldmuseum.org.

* New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art puts its full collection of more than 50 Gauguin artworks on display for the first time in “Gauguin in New York Collections,” running through Oct. 20. The more than 100 pieces include paintings, sculptures, ceramics and drawings by the French master. Admission $10 adults. (212) 535-7710, www.metmuseum.org.

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Southwest Eliminating Plastic Boarding Passes

After 30 years, it’s the beginning of the end for Southwest Airlines’ distinctive plastic boarding passes.

After a few test runs, the low-fare airline, which doesn’t assign seats, last week began eliminating the numbered passes that group passengers in order of boarding. Getting to the gate 60 minutes before flight time, when the passes are distributed, has been a ritual for Southwest patrons eager to get the low numbers that let them grab prime seats.

Tightened security procedures since Sept. 11, which require passengers to carry paper boarding passes with their names, have made the numbered passes redundant, said Southwest spokeswoman Angela Vargo.

Under the new system, passengers no longer have to go to the gate to get a boarding pass. They can obtain one at the ticket counter or from a skycap up to 90 minutes before departure. Besides containing personal identification, the boarding pass will assign them to one of three boarding groups, so it still pays to get to the airport early.

The airport in Dallas-Fort Worth, where Southwest has its headquarters, was among the first to end the plastic passes last week. By the end of this month, Southwest plans to have the new system in place at all 59 airports it serves, including LAX, Vargo said.

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Cancun Bar Owners Agree to Rein In Revelers

The Mexican government is enlisting hoteliers and bar owners in an effort to crack down on rowdy spring break revelers in Cancun.

Although the resort town last year publicized bans on underage drinking, open liquor containers in public places and serving intoxicated patrons, the rules have been widely ignored, Ana Mari Irabien, spokeswoman for the Cancun Convention and Visitors Bureau, said last week.

This year more than 50 discos, bars and hotels have signed an agreement to enforce the rules, including a ban on signs that promote drinking contests. “If they break the rules, their establishment will be closed,” Irabien said. She said the announcement was made this month to alert tour operators.

Cancun has traditionally been among the top spring-break destinations. After peaking at more than 100,000 revelers in 2000, the numbers dropped to fewer than 50,000 this year, Irabien said.

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More Car Renters Cruise the Internet for Deals

Car renters are flooring it to the Internet to search for deals, J.D. Power and Associates reports in its annual customer satisfaction study.

About 36% of vacationers surveyed by the company booked their car on the Internet this year, compared with 27% last year. Web use by business renters more than doubled, from 12% to 28%. A major reason for the change: Rental rates are up 13% or more in some major cities, driving bookers to the Internet to look for better prices, the company said.

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Tourist Kiosk Opens in Lower Manhattan

A satellite information kiosk for tourists opened last week in lower Manhattan. The kiosk, at the southern end of City Hall Park on Broadway at Barclay Street, has staff dispensing maps, brochures, event listings and directions. It is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. The main information center run by New York City’s convention and visitors bureau is in midtown Manhattan, at 810 7th Ave. between 52nd and 53rd streets.

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Traveler’s Notes ...

US Airways is requiring passengers with baggage to check in at least 30 minutes before flight time and to be at the gate at least 15 minutes before flight time. The previous cutoffs were 20 minutes and 10 minutes. It has also revived an earlier policy of closing aircraft doors five minutes before the scheduled departure. The airline said it was making the change to ensure timely flight arrivals. . .Tourists visiting the Canadian province of Alberta this week may encounter traffic restrictions in the area, tightened security and also protests in Calgary because of the G8 Summit of world leaders, including President Bush, taking place Wednesday and Thursday June 26-27 in Kananaskis, 70 miles from Calgary and 44 miles from Banff, the State Department says. For updates, visit www.g8summitsecurity.ca.

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Compiled by Jane Engle