Four Inane Questions with Museum at Prairiefire’s Terri Thompson
Courtesy Terri Thompson
From nursing to advertising to non-profits, Terri Thompson is quite the renaissance woman. With a career path trajectory resembling a stealthy game of pinball, Thompson has done it all. Since 2017, Thompson has put her marketing and promotional skills to good use as the executive director at the Museum at Prairiefire in Overland Park.
The museum’s Mission Program and KC Urban Advantage help provide access to essential STEAM education to Kansas City’s most underserved youth to break cyclical poverty by sparking future STEM careers.
“I have the best job on the planet,” she says. “I get to make decisions that can change the trajectory of a child’s life, empowering them to create a better future for themselves.”
We met the museum maven between events to pepper her with our assortment of asinine questions. Needless to say, she was a trooper.
The Pitch: Admit it, what’s the untidiest room in your house right now?
Terri Thompson: OMGness, my master—wait, primary bathroom. Let’s just say the design style is straight-up Playboy Mansion circa 1980, complete with shiny white tiles from one end to the other. (It’s a slip-and-fall accident waiting to happen.) And that includes the two steps leading up into the grotto-esque triangle-shaped shower for two tiled inside to the top of the weird cave-like peak with shiny white tiles.
To top off this look, it’s horrifically completed with all gold fixtures and massive mirrors. Now here’s the weird part—the house wasn’t built until 1994.
What Super Bowl snack can you absolutely, positively not live without?
Super Bowl snacks—like every meal for me—must contain meat. I want all the dips: Buffalo chicken dip, Rotel (the kind with Velveeta and ground beef), shrimp-stuffed artichoke dip, smoked salmon dip, etc.
But the one snack I cannot live without while watching the Super Bowl is wings. I love a good smoked chicken wing—all flats, crispy skin, double-dipped in an action-packed dry rub that makes my taste buds dance and my lips sting a little bit. Yep, that’s the one.
What animal print is the best animal print to wear, in your expert opinion?
No. Zip. Zero animal prints.
I am a tall woman; I have broad shoulders, and I love my 4-inch heels. So, I don’t need another thing drawing attention to me when I walk into a room.
Besides, the most popular animal print women wear these days is cougar print. And because I’m 13 years older than my husband, I would never wear cougar-print anything. [laughs]
What food could you eat every day for the rest of your life?
Cheese. Cheese is a superhero of food. It can be savory or sweet, creamy or stringy, pungent or mellow. It can elevate a dish or add earthiness or do both at the same time.
You can bake it, fry it, microwave it, or eat it cold. It’s good with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and every snack in between—and it’s low-carb.
Bonus 5th Question: With the Oscars coming up, who are you thanking when you win your first Academy Award?
There would be only one to thank, and it includes us all—God, Allah, The Universe (or whatever you choose to call it). Because that’s where all of the good energy that has flowed toward me in my entire life comes from. That’s really what it’s all about—give love and be kind.
