Museum Review: Learning About Ancient Objects
Kalamazoo Valley Museum Report
Alex Bicknell – History 2900: The Historian’s Craft
Exhibit Review: Learning About Ancient Objects (Within the Mummy Exhibit)
The Ancient Objects exhibit had a very standard set up. There was three large pieces, each centrally placed, surrounded by twenty two smaller objects. In this exhibit our eyes move from the centerpiece, the large necklace, to the larger figures to the left and right of the necklace, to the smaller figures from left to right, top to bottom. In the center are the necklaces labeled “protectors of evil.” I was very disappointed to find that was really all the text that was associated with these artifacts.
Together the exhibit is supposed to represent Egyptian religious ideas. The exhibit
would be more meaningful with a more aesthetically pleasing set up and interesting background. Having a plain sand colored background, while representative of the Egyptian deserts, does not draw a passerby’s eye. Having brown objects on a brown background is not visually exciting and would cause an interesting exhibit to get looked over. It is obviously intended for children or people with little to no prior knowledge of Egyptian history. The exhibit is easy to but lacks accessibility for disabilities or non-English speakers.
The exhibit wants us to believe that Egyptian religion was very different than our own constructs of religion. It makes Egyptian religion feel more along the lines of magic, than what we would think of as “religion.” The word choice in the descriptions emphasize words like “powers” and “resurrection.” Those words have different connotations than words we would find in modern religion like “healing” and “rose.” The important job of museums directed towards children is to make the relationship between the past and now clear, not treating ancient cultures as silly or inferior.
Ten minutes after leaving I remember what each artifact looked like and somewhat their significance. Five days after visiting the museum I remember the center necklace and vaguely its importance. The thing I remember most about the exhibit are the displeasing feelings it gave. I did not like the way that the material was presented and did not believe its significance was accurately represented.
Alex Bicknell – History 2900: The Historian’s Craft
Exhibit Review: Learning About Ancient Objects (Within the Mummy Exhibit)
The Ancient Objects exhibit had a very standard set up. There was three large pieces, each centrally placed, surrounded by twenty two smaller objects. In this exhibit our eyes move from the centerpiece, the large necklace, to the larger figures to the left and right of the necklace, to the smaller figures from left to right, top to bottom. In the center are the necklaces labeled “protectors of evil.” I was very disappointed to find that was really all the text that was associated with these artifacts.
Together the exhibit is supposed to represent Egyptian religious ideas. The exhibit
would be more meaningful with a more aesthetically pleasing set up and interesting background. Having a plain sand colored background, while representative of the Egyptian deserts, does not draw a passerby’s eye. Having brown objects on a brown background is not visually exciting and would cause an interesting exhibit to get looked over. It is obviously intended for children or people with little to no prior knowledge of Egyptian history. The exhibit is easy to but lacks accessibility for disabilities or non-English speakers.
The exhibit wants us to believe that Egyptian religion was very different than our own constructs of religion. It makes Egyptian religion feel more along the lines of magic, than what we would think of as “religion.” The word choice in the descriptions emphasize words like “powers” and “resurrection.” Those words have different connotations than words we would find in modern religion like “healing” and “rose.” The important job of museums directed towards children is to make the relationship between the past and now clear, not treating ancient cultures as silly or inferior.
Ten minutes after leaving I remember what each artifact looked like and somewhat their significance. Five days after visiting the museum I remember the center necklace and vaguely its importance. The thing I remember most about the exhibit are the displeasing feelings it gave. I did not like the way that the material was presented and did not believe its significance was accurately represented.