Tutankhamun The Golden King and the Great Pharoahs

When I quit my last job, one disappointment for me was that I didn't make it to Melbourne one last time to visit the aforementioned exhibition.

Thankfully, however, I did make it there in the end, with an unexpected business trip to Victoria in my new role.

So, yesterday, after a lot of anticipation, I visited the Melbourne Museum, and the exhibit.

Tickets are limited to a set number each day, with entry every fifteen minutes. To be honest, I think they still sell too many tickets, and the batching of people to come in makes the crowding worse.

Moreover when you get to the end of the wait, and you think they're letting you in, that's not quite what's actually happening. You get marshalled into a room, the door is closed behind you, and you get told about the rules of exhibit and are forced to watch an introductory video.

Thankfully, that only lasts ten minutes or so, and then you get to go in.

The first few galleries focus on the time leading up to Tutankhamun, in particular the religious changes brought about by Tut's father, Akhanaten, who moved from the traditional gods, to one singular god (a move which Tutankhamun would reverse during his short reign).

Those galleries feature an interesting mix of items, including model wooden boats, models of animals and people, shabti (statuettes which would act as slaves in the afterlife) and religious iconography.

The latter half of the exhibition focuses on King Tut - with many items from his tomb - a childhood chair inlaid with the tiny pieces of ebony and ivory, a jewellery box with copper hinges (some of the earliest metal hinges found), and many other posessions.

The climax of the show of course are the more intricate posessions - the amulets with the tinest of inlays (some at a guess maybe 0.25mm accross), ceremonial weapons and tools, the lid to a canopic jar, and one of the coffinettes which contained his mummified stomach, and his golden slippers.

The one thing I did (wrongly) expect, was his iconic mask. I thought this because I thought that was what was on the posters - as it turns out, that was the coffinette mentioned earlier. I guess I'll have to visit egypt one of these days.

Having said that, there where some positive surpises too - I didn't even know that Egyptians kept dogs, let alone considered them highly, and some of the animal statues where remarkable.

Anne Frank - A history for today

The Waikato Museum isn't particularly known for drawing in big name exhibits, so I was surprised to here that an Anne Frank exhibition was on.

So, of course, I went. The exhibit comprises a series of information boards with a timeline of Anne Frank's family's life, and the war in general. Secondly, a video documentary on Anne's life, and lastly a series of video 'survivor stories'.

Sadly, there were no artifacts or the like, and certainly not the diary itself. Being free admission, I'm not going to complain, but there really wasn't anything that a History channel doco and a book couldn't have told you.

Never the less, it was a good way to kill an hour this morning.

The Qantas Heritage Collection

Hidden away above the bustle of Sydney's Terminal 3 lies a small museum, housing the Qantas heritage collection. To find it, go to gate 13 - it's just to the left.

If you transfer through Sydney domestic, defintely pop in - you're likely to have time to kill anyway, it's an airport after all. The gallery houses a large collection of Qantas and air travel memoribilia, ranging from models depicting the history of flight, through to Qantas uniforms of the past and present.

As the gallery is largely naturally lit, it is difficult to take nice photographs in there, so forgive some of the following.

The secret art of Dr. Seuss comes to Hamilton

The Waikato Museum has a neat exhibition on at the moment - The Art of Dr. Seuss.

The secret art of Dr. Seuss comes to Hamilton

Dr. Seuss has always been a childhood favourite of mine - but then how can you go wrong with rhyming prose with so much going on on so many levels. To quote Suess: "I like nonsense; it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living; it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.". The man has a point.

The exhibit goes through many of Seuss' works, ranging from artworks form his books (like sneetches), through to his artworks that weren't drawn for children, through to the unorthodox taxidermy. All up, a really neat exhibit, and one that you can easily spend an hour in - all the better because it is free.

Museum of Economic Botany

Adelaide has something that is by now truly unique. That's not something you'd often say about Adelaide, as it's often regarded as a little sister to other Australian cities.
What those cities do not have, is a Museum of Economic Botany. In fact, this is really the only one in the world that will give you a feel for what these places where like originally. This particular museum was founded in 1881, and remains VERY true to original form. The building and exhibits have been entirely restored in 2009, in conjunction with the sponsor, Santos energy.

Exterior, Museum of Economic Botany - Adelaide, March 2011

So what do you find inside such a museum? Plants - useful ones, and what they are useful for. The idea was to show what various plants could be used for, and potentially be used for in order to make the best use of available resources and reduce waste. Sounds good!

Interior, Museum of Economic Botany - Adelaide, March 2011

Interior, Museum of Economic Botany - Adelaide, March 2011

 A collection of papier mache apples from the late 1800's - these featured at the Exhibitions to show the variety of apple trees foreign suppliers could supply.

Apples, Museum of Economic Botany - Adelaide, March 2011

Reciept for models, Museum of Economic Botany - Adelaide, March 2011

 Various exhibits:

Brazil nut family, Museum of Economic Botany - Adelaide, March 2011

Museum of Economic Botany - Adelaide, March 2011

Timber samples, Museum of Economic Botany - Adelaide, March 2011

Legume family, Museum of Economic Botany - Adelaide, March 2011

If you are in South Australia or Adelaide - this place is a MUST to visit in my book - I can easily spend hours here.

What to do in Hamilton on a wet day? Waikato Museum

On a day like today, I often find myself wondering what to do - it's wet, so a walk is more or less out of the question, and there is little enjoyment to be had shopping on a wet day - it's busy and especially aggrevating when you don't need anything.

So, we went to Waikato museum. There are as always a few exhibitions on - only two of real interest to me, which are:

Never a Dull Moment focuses on Hamilton's history - and features much of the sort of history that I feature on this blog. There were even a few interesting photos that I'd never seen before, and a re-cap of much of the city's history. The history in this exhibit starts after the land-wars, and carries through just past WWII. Probably 30-90 minutes of material here.

Never A Dull Moment - Hamilton Stories (Waikato Museum)

Ngaa Pou Whenua tells the story of the four tribes that descend from the Tainui canoe - Waikato, Pare Hauraki, Raukawa and Maniapoto. While the exhibit is small, it is an interesting insight into the history of the tribes, and their modern form. Most enjoyable for me was some modern Maori art - a nice change from the ubiquitous traditional styles. The exhibit has maybe around 20 to 60 minutes worth of material.

Ngaa Pou Whenua (Waikato Museum)