The building itself is beautiful and unique. You definitely know it is the Pacific Asia Museum right away. The middle courtyard is gorgeous. There is a large koi pond and lots of benches for sitting and reflection as well as several statues and some beautiful trees. Ellie was intrigued by the koi pond. She had brought her own camera and took several photos of the fish. Honestly, the koi pond was probably the most interesting thing for her at the museum.
The museum is unique and has lots of interesting pieces from all the Asian cultures around the world. They are typically organized and arranged by country/culture, but there are rooms dedicated to ceramics and textiles. The descriptions for each piece and collection are well done but typically aimed at an older crowd (not the kids). However, there was a display case with several ivory pieces, including a full elephant tusk. This display lead to an interesting conversation with Ellie about ivory and where it comes from and poachers. She was pretty upset that people actually killed elephants so that they could have trinkets and decorations. This lead to talking about extinct animals and why animals become extinct and what the difference between extinct and endangered meant. It was a pretty heavy conversation for a Sunday afternoon and I wasn't mentally prepared. But it was stimulating and that is what museums are for, to learn, engage, and be stimulated.
After browsing through the galleries, which Ellie wasn't that interested in to be honest, we found an interactive exhibit about the silk road. This was the only room where there were things for Ellie to touch, explore, and play with. They had different textiles and clothes to touch and try on from various locations around the silk road. There were bowls and utensils to play with. They even had a replica "hut" that a trader would have set up. We spent quite a bit of time in here. Although she didn't understand what the silk road was, or maybe even the importance of all the pieces she was touching and playing with, she did get to try on different hats and clothes from another part of the world.
We then went to try some of the activities that were set out. For the most part they were pretty crowded and the teenagers who were manning the activities weren't really prepared for the swarm of kids and parents. Also, some of the activities weren't obvious how they tied into the exhibition or Korean culture. However, we did sit down and try our hand at origami. The teen manning this booth was stressed and not that patient, however, by watching him and the people around us, Ellie and I completed our origami pieces. We weren't told what the name of the piece was or its significance other than it was relatively easy to do. And by we, I mean I mostly did the origami and Ellie watched. She did some of the first folds, but then it got a little too small for her fingers.
After origami we headed up for a show/presentation. Supposedly they were doing several shows/presentations throughout the day focused on Korean culture. They started with modern Korean culture and were going to work back to ancient culture. Ellie and I caught only the modern themed one. It was interesting, but there was breakdancing, a beat-boxer, and Tae Kwon Do demonstrations. The Tae Kwon Do was the most interesting for Ellie. Overall, I with there had been more music or at least, un-Americanized Korean culture up on the stage. It was also a pretty long show...too long for most of the kids in the audience.
All in all it was a good experience. I think the crowds were overwhelming on the family day and the activities and shows weren't well planned, organized, or laid out. However the museum was really interesting and I wish that I didn't have a 4-year-old with me to have had more time to explore and read all the descriptions. Ellie was too young to really enjoy the museum and I do look forward to a time when we can go back when she's older and understands what she is looking at.
No comments:
Post a Comment