On September 6, 2016 Geppi’s Entertainment Museum (GEM) in Baltimore, MD celebrates its 10th anniversary. Dedicated to presenting and preserving pop culture history, GEM exhibits thousands of comics and collectibles. Over its first decade, the pop culture museum has hosted comic art exhibits, collections, Zombie Gras, superhero events for kids, murder mysteries, Free Comic Book Day parties, weddings, and more.

Scoop spoke to GEM President Melissa Bowersox about creating and cultivating the museum, her experiences as the president of the museum, hosting gallery showings and other events, and what’s to come in GEM’s future.

Scoop: First off, how would you describe the museum for someone who has never been there?
MB: It’s an overwhelming trip into pop culture history. The most common phrase we hear is “Oh, I had that!” and the most common expression we see is a smiling, stunned disbelief.

Scoop: Tell me about the process from initial concept to setting up the museum.
MB: The concept came from Steve Geppi’s desire to share his collection with Baltimore. If you meet Steve, very quickly you will learn how much he loves Baltimore. He wears it on his sleeve and it peppers almost every conversation, so it wasn’t surprising that he wanted to share it with the city he loves and the world at large. There were thousands of details after that, but everything sprang from that.

Scoop: What were your goals for the museum when it opened in 2006? Have you achieved those goals?
MB: We set out to showcase the history of popular culture and show that it was truly the history of American culture as a whole. We wanted to reinvigorate that childhood sense of wonder in our visitors. If you’ve read the reviews, we’ve largely succeeded, though there is always more to do.

Scoop: Both in this interview and elsewhere, you and other GEM staff members have talked about the reactions people have after visiting GEM. Are there stories that stand out as the most memorable?
MB: Not just one, but instead there are many. When I mentioned earlier that the most common phrase we hear is “Oh, I had that,” it really spans many, many decades. We’ve had people in their 80s say it, and folks much younger than that, too.

Scoop: How has working behind the scenes in the entertainment industry changed or broadened your perspective on the industry?
MB: Because we’re a society comprised of so many different kinds of people and I knew that going in, I can’t say I have been surprised by it, but the experience has definitely reaffirmed my belief that happiness is something our world sorely needs and that creating or fostering happiness is something worth doing. Every single job in the world is a job somedays, but at GEM we’re blessed to be able to instill a lot of happiness and conjure up a lot of positive memories. That’s very rewarding and not something to take for granted.

Scoop: The museum has had gallery showings for a variety of artists as well as collections exhibited over the years. Which ones have been your favorites?
MB: We have added so many art shows in the past two years that it’s really been amazing. The focuses on Steve Epting, Will Eisner, and Amanda Conner were all stunning. Our current Alice in Wonderland exhibit is so charming. We just launched a small exhibit of Greg and Tim Hildebrandt. And many of the small ones have been great, too. Of course I’m not going to pick just one of them. They best part is we’ve had all of them and more!

Scoop: Over the years GEM has hosted several types of events, such as Zombie Gras, Pirates and Princesses, Green Eggs and GEM and murder mysteries. Did you always want to have events like that at GEM or did that evolve along the way?
MB: Before we ever opened, that was the plan. And we’ll have more to come.

Scoop: Are there new kinds of events in the pipeline? If so, can you tell us about them?
MB: Actually, not yet. But we’ll have news soon!

Scoop: Earlier this year GEM had a museum exhibit at Awesome Con. Will the museum continue doing traveling exhibits like that? If so, where?
MB: That is something I can say we definitely will be doing. More traveling exhibits are on the way.

Scoop: What are your goals for the future of GEM?
MB: More traveling exhibits, keep up the great parade of comic and other original art, keep up the events, and add even more cool stuff to the pop culture artifacts we presently have on display. Let more people know how close by we truly are. Share Steve’s collection with as many people as we can.