Snap: New mural at Discovery Museum

Artist Jody Matzer looks on as Catherine and Caroline Toole check out his work.
PHOTO BY HAWES SPENCER

In a room that used to be monochrome beige, Richmond-based illustrator Jody Matzer has unveiled a gift to the Virginia Discovery Museum in the form of a colorful undersea-scene mural. Matzer, as some might recall, is a former television game show contestant who parlayed a successful run on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? into a stint as an author.

But his long-time love has been design, and that's just fine with Museum Director Peppy Linden, marveling that the stylized ship hull built about a decade ago by Jack Kavana has now been augmented by Matzer's mural.

"Isn't it just unbelievable?" exclaims Linden. "It's fanciful, but it's also based on nature, so it's another opportunity for learning."

The mural hangs in the toddler room of the Museum, which is located on the Downtown Mall and which recently celebrated its 20 years of being on the Mall.