Museum education

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History has arranged its largest exhibition on ancient Egyptian mummies and artifacts in the history, “Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt”. The expanded exhibition include an additional eight cases focusing on the science behind studying mummies. In exhibition, a combination of rare artifacts and cutting-edge research tools illuminate how Smithsonian scientists have pieced together the lives of ancient Egyptians through their burial practices and rituals…

Vincent Van Gogh and Edvard Much paintings stand the test of time. Foraging new ideologies for our society and culture. Flowing and spiraling through the abysses of Van Gogh's and Munch's minds throws their emotional thoughts into the forms of paintings. Van Gogh is a Post-Impressionist artist meaning “he was drawn to bright colors and visible, distinctive brushstrokes” (Adams 789), with this in mind, the oil painting Starry Night was born. Stemming from this period was the emotional development…

occupation and dispute the British Museum Trustees’ legal title to the sculptures. Some Greek officials believe that Lord Elgin bribed Turkish officials to obtain the marbles. The British have a different view; they believe that Lord Elgin obtained the Elgin Marbles legally through the Ottoman empire before Greece won its independence. Another belief of the British is that if the Elgin Marbles are returned it would set a disturbing precedent for major museums. In today’s society many British…

Languages are going extinct. According to the Huffington Post language is dying out faster than any other language. At a rate of one tongue every two weeks. That is faster than animal species are dying out (Underwood). People might say that is good that the smaller languages are dying out because no really spoke them anyway. The thing is that, it is really not good. Language gives us insight into the minds of the people who spoke it and tells us more about the past. As language gets more unified…

Identity has and will always be an integral part of personal acceptance and societal expectations. The values that one holds dear are of the utmost importance in determining one’s identity as both an individual and member of society. Through believing in the same values, a strong, unified society can be created, however, believing in different values within one society can cause weakness and internal conflicts. Both of the civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Mesopotamia are considered to…

that some national museums are now expanding this statement to include art as well. Countries are clamoring for the return of priceless pieces of art that they claim were unjustly seized from their homelands while the museums that these items now occupy shout back that their ownership is inarguably legal and honest. The beloved Elgin Marbles of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece have become the epitome of both judicial and moral grey area in the arena of repatriation. The British Museum, where…

The Female Form in Cycladic Sculpture The Cyclades are a group of about thirty small islands located in the southwestern part of the Aegean sea. To the west and north of the island lies mainland Greece and to the east is Turkey. The Cycladic culture which flourished in the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age is best known for its precise and schematic figurines carved from the islands’ marble. The ancient Greeks noticed that they formed a circle around the sacred island of Delos, which contains…

Representation in Museums In 1910, the art of the Native American culture began to be displayed in art museums. The first was an art museum in Brooklyn, which presented Native American culture’s works as serious art. The curator, Stuart Culin, selected one tribe to represent the entire region of North America. Objects exhibited in the museum were organized based on their function. Very descriptive labels, photographs, small-scale models, and others means were used to attempt to portray the…

“The Scream” The painting entitled “The Scream” was painted by the artist, Edvard Munch. The original piece was painted on a cardboard surface using pastels in 1893. The painting is abstract and uses vibrant colors to portray a man screaming while standing on a wooden structure with two mysterious figures following him. While observing the artwork, I noticed that the man is staring behind him and might even think that he is being followed, which could be the potential reason for the scream…

In my opinion, I think the artifacts, located in the Hall of Ancient Egypt should be return to its origin. This is not only considering as a personal view, but it is also an international debate. Even if these artifacts were stolen, which we do not know, they still need to be present in their country not in other places like America. They are part of the Egyptian’s background, including the people, culture, religion and so on. Imagine if someone comes to America and digging up George Washington,…