麻豆影院

But maybe you'd like to buy some art?

CU 麻豆影院 is, officially, a smokefree campus, and has been for years: No smoking permitted, indoors or out.

So, the appearance this year of a cigarette vending machine in the north entry of the CU Museum of Natural History has prompted some delighted double-takes.

A mid-century model last on duty in a New York jewelry store, the dispenser today serves a salutary role: It鈥檚 an Art-o-mat. Instead of Marlboros or Camels or Virginia Slims, it offers original artworks at $5 per.

鈥淲e wanted to provide something new and different in the museum that would bridge the gap between art and science,鈥� said Samantha Eads, the museum鈥檚 visitor services manager, who pursued an Art-o-mat after first seeing one in Indianapolis in 2015.

The hope, she said, is for visitors to leave with a happy token of their experience that inspires a return.

Eads stocks the Art-o-mat with oil paintings, watercolors, jewelry, sculpture and fabrics with animal, plant and other natural history themes or forms. A North Carolina-based artists鈥� coop, Artists in Cellophane, provides the art. The Art-omats come from an affiliated nonprofit.

鈥淲e鈥檙e always looking for new ways to pique students鈥� interest in natural history,鈥� she said.

There are about 100 Arto-mats around the country, according to artomat.org, many in museums and arts centers, but also in libraries, hotels, restaurants and stores. They鈥檝e been spotted in Whole Foods.聽

CU鈥檚 mirrored model, a smooth, metallic specimen, rust-colored and replete with pull-knobs, previously served up art in Manhattan. After a touchup, it was shipped to 麻豆影院.

鈥淭here are many styles of Art-omats, as there were many styles of cigarette dispensers,鈥� said Eads. 鈥淭he feel of this one just seemed to fit with the rest of the museum.鈥�

Sales help support students in the museum鈥檚 Museum and Field Study program, and the artwork is easy to carry away 鈥� each measures 54mm by 82mm by 21mm, about the size of a pack of cigarettes.

Photos by Glenn Asakawa