The Harry Potter Exhibition

This Sunday Jennifer, Maura and I went to see the Harry Potter Exhibition at the Museum of Science. Our good friend Joe McGlone joined us for the trip. The exhibition was a collection of props and costumes from the Harry Potter movies. They were extremely detailed and well crafted and many of them were quite beautiful. Most of them, however, were props from movies neither I nor Maura had seen. Despite that, both Maura and I enjoyed the exhibition, though I might have been slightly disappointed if we had paid full price for our tickets rather than getting them at the substantial discount available to Museum of Science members. I’m sure the real fans of the movies were completely enthralled and felt they got their money’s worth.

Since we arrived early and had timed tickets we had some took in some of the museum exhibits before viewing the exhibition. The Museum of Science has become one of our favorite spots to visit in Boston and we’ll be there several more times over the course of the year since we are members and our visits to the museum's galleries are paid for. We didn’t have a lot of time on this visit so we concentrated on some of our favorite spots, the mathematics gallery and the Discovery Center which features hands-on exhibits for children.

For me the most interesting thing I saw on our trip wasn’t something in the Harry Potter exhibition or even a museum exhibit. While we were in the Discovery Center we got to watch a fascinating, if gory, display of nature in action. A red-tailed hawk had taken down a squirrel in the back garden of the museum and we got to watch from the large picture windows as she ate her lunch. Though she knew she was being watched the hawk was not at all disturbed by our presence since we were safely on the other side of the windows and therefore no threat. We got a superb view as the magnificent bird devoured her unlucky victim. She took her time and I could have watched for much longer but we had to go.

The Secrets of Tomb 10A

Yesterday Maura had the day off for Veterans’ Day and by happy coincidence the Museum of Fine Arts had free admission for the day, both to the museum and to the current exhibition of Egyptian artifacts from Tomb 10A at Deir el-Bersha, excavated by a museum sponsored exhibition in 1915. Though the artifacts have been in the museum collection since 1920 many have never been exhibited before and they are quite spectacular finds. Though the tomb, which belonged to a high official named Djehutynakht and his wife, had been looted of its most valuable artifacts the robbers had no interest in the wooden coffins that once contained the mummies of the pair or in the many wooden models that substituted for the servants the two would need to provide for their needs in the afterlife. The models included scenes of domestic and agricultural chores and a fleet of boats to carry them safely on their river journeys in the afterlife. Though perhaps not as spectacular as the gold and jewels no doubt stolen by the long-ago robbers, the models are for more enlightening because they show us how the ancient people of Egypt lived. The coffins too are enlightening and beautiful. Covered with scenes and spells in painted hieroglyphics, they tell us about what the Egyptians believed and how they saw their place in this world and in the afterlife.

The exhibit was fascinating and very well put together. Since I’m an archaeologist by training I was entranced and I think Maura was too. She loves ancient Egyptian art and finds hieroglyphics fascinating. She was interested enough in the subject matter to want to read much of the explanatory text and to listen to me talk about the artifacts we saw. I’m very proud of how she takes an interest in a subject that many kids might find dry and boring—and also of how well she behaved in the museum once she began to tire.

Once we had seen the special exhibit we spent some time in the rest of the museum. Mostly I let Maura decide what we would look at. She likes Asian art, particularly Japanese Buddhist sculpture. I encouraged her to think about the pieces we saw and she encouraged me by doing what I asked of her, answering questions about the relationships between the objects we saw. It is a real joy to visit a museum with a child who enjoys learning.

Golf at the Library

Last Sunday we had a family outing to our local library to play miniature golf. The library had set up an 18-hole miniature golf course winding through the stacks, complete with greens, obstacles, and flags in the holes. The course wound from the circulation desk, through the reference area, the main stacks, the periodicals area and then down the stairs to finish in the children’s room. There were many challenging holes and a few easier ones. Maura and I both managed a hole-in-one shooting down the stairs, but it was luck for both of us. For five dollars a round we all had a great time, though we could all have done with a bit more practice. Including five dollars worth of raffle tickets the whole outing cost us $20, about what it would have cost us to go to a movie.

Unlike going to see a movie this family outing had a purpose beyond entertainment and family togetherness. The library isn’t usually open as a miniature golf course on Sunday. They tried it once as a fundraiser and by all appearances it was a big success. The links were busy when we got there and by the time we left there was a line of people waiting for their turn. I have high hopes that the library association reached its funding goals and more. In this era of tight state budgets our libraries are chronically underfunded and the money they do receive is often under threat. They can use all the extra help they can get and I urge you to support your local library. Your support may be what is needed to keep it open, relevant and free too patrons.

For me, I can think of no other public institution that directly benefits me as much as my library. I can indulge my reading habit without impoverishing myself and, even more important, keep Maura supplied with books to encourage her love of reading. Even in the age of the Internet the library remains one of the best sources of information available and a first stop for research projects when the quality of the information counts. For those who lack Internet connections at home the library offers access to the Net for free and without the need to own a computer. For me the library is also often my office, a place where I can work without the distractions of home and the place where I can connect with my town and escape the feeling of isolation that days at home can give. I cannot imagine living without the library and I hope the resources and the will can be found to keep it, and all of our local libraries, open and vital for the future.