Pirates, the Kracken and Superheroes invade the Museums

Well, it's that time of year for Jack-o-lanterns, candy and fun costumes. On Friday night, October 28th, the Museum of Natural History (MNH), Old Capitol and Paleontology Repository hosted one of their largest events of the year, Creepy Campus Crawl. The Old Capitol and Paleontology Repository themed their event as Pirates of the Caribbean and sea creatures whereas MNH hosted an event called, "Rusty the Sloth: The First Avenger" and produced a lot of superhero themed games. This was my first time attending the event and I brought along a few people: My husband, Randy, my friends, Randi and John and John's kids, Johnny (4) and Allen (7 months). We all knew we had to fully partake and all dressed up in our own costumes to get the full effect. Although Allen was still too young to actually enjoy the events, he seemed to be pretty content riding around and people watching while Johnny partook in everything he could!

The Kracken at Old Capitol

We began in Old Capitol where a giant kracken was controlling the front steps. As we entered, I recognized many of the museum administrators all dressed up in their pirate themed costumed, which made the effect much stronger. In the museum, they had rooms with Calypso telling fortunes who informed Johnny, dressed as Mario from Super Mario Bros, that he was going to become a video game creator someday. He seemed to enjoy that future! Also, a puppet show was taking place in the Senate Room, a short scene walking the plank in another room and storytime in yet another room. There were quite a few different areas for the kids to enjoy. All of the workers seemed to be enjoying themselves playing their parts and handing out candy to the kids. The older kids seemed to be more drawn to the puppet show and other mini shows than my little friend Johnny was. However, he seemed more at home at his mere 4 years old at creating a pirate hat and getting a cool pirate tattoo. So, I would say the event was well suited to entertain children of different ages.

Calypso will tell you your future!

Next, we ventured over to MNH, which sadly always has a sort of directional issue due to the strange layout of the building. Since I spend most of my time in Macbride Hall, I knew exactly where to go, but I can see how confusing it can be for other visitors. There were signs posted, which were very helpful, that said what events were taking place upstairs in other exhibits. Everyone seemed to be finding their way through everything pretty well with only a few that seemed a little lost. In MNH, we changed gears to superheroes. (This was a little more fitting for my WonderWoman costume!) Throughout MNH, there were lots of activities that ranged from drawing mutant animals with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, making slime, making spiders with Spiderman, and many more tables. For Johnny, he seemed to most enjoy Haunted Mammal Hall. The lights were dim and several mystery boxes were spread throughout the exhibit. He would put his hand in a box and feel an item like petrified wood and homemade plastic and try to figure out what it was. A very well placed informative note was placed on top of the box. Johnny seemed to like the mystery and learning what these new things were. He was also very pleased with all the candy provided at each station! Johnny went through the Kryptonite Cave (created with cardboard boxes) and used a flashlight to find his way. He seemed to really enjoy the crawling around and adventuring through that area. We then finished our MNH visit in Bird Hall. There, a Captain Planet quiz helped the kids learn their power and received a power ring. There was also a very simple bird matching game that Johnny really enjoyed . Overall, the kids seemed to be really enjoying all of the festivities in MNH and again, many ages were drawn to different aspects. This whole event is nice for that because anyone could bring their children of various ages and see them enjoy different areas.

Rusty!

 We ended our evening in the Paleontology Repository's set-up in the Geology building. The Paleontology Repository on campus is one of my favorite places. I visited it in my Intro to Museum Studies course and was hooked. This is where thousands of specimens are housed from various organisms and locations in a room the size of a couple classrooms, so clearly, the events were in the halls and classrooms of the geology building. The theme was sea creatures and they had various rooms throughout the halls. There was another crawl through cave here which was designed like the Kracken. Johnny liked this one so much he went through twice! The Geology exhibits throughout the building also seemed to catch his eye and we'd stop and spend some time talking about the cases between rooms. There was a "fun room" set up with face painting and a few other activities. This room was PACKED! We were roaming these halls near the end of the evening so we passed on that room so we could see the rest. Clearly, however, this was one popular place. We saw several kids showing off their face paint proudly. One of the last rooms was a fossil room, where we helped Johnny uncover a fossil in the sand and looked at various bones of different animals. It was a very educational, yet fun set-up. In the final room we entered, there were a couple real snakes for the kids to look at and more specimens on display. Overall, I would say that the activities hosted by the repository were very well organized and educational at every turn. We all really enjoyed this building, as did the several visitors around us of varying ages.

Digging up fossils

 Overall, the event was very entertaining! I was happy I was able to get my favorite little boy to attend with me because the event is completely focused on the kids, of course. I enjoyed watching his reactions at every turn and seeing all the kids in their costumes react differently to different sections of each museum. This event was entirely free and the kids were provided with candy bags and ended up with lots of candy and take home items from the event's stations. I've been told thousands come through this event every year and there is an obvious reason for it: it's just a blast! Not only is this a great way to experience the museum in a new way, but you can also learn of all the great events that also happen at the museums. I encourage you all to take the kids to Creepy Campus Crawl next year and make sure you check out the museum's ongoing events on the website! I know I've already planned to bring more of my friend's kids with me next year!

My husband and I at CCC! Happy Halloween!

Throwing an Atlatl and Eating Pizza

I would like to start by apologizing for the major delay since my last post. October has proven to be very busy for both me and the museum world! Without further adieu, let's dive right back in!

On Friday, October 14, I had the pleasure of attending "Night at the Museum: Archaeology" (NATM). Night at the Museum is an event that the education department runs in the Museum of Natural History (MNH) on a monthly basis. They choose one theme and base an entire evening festivities upon that. I was able to arrive early to partake in the the team's practice of the games they'd play with the kids. They were able to obtain a few atlatls to show the kids and explain to them their purpose. For those of you who may be unfamiliar, the atlatl was a weapon throwing technology used by Native Americans to hunt. By using the atlatl, they would create more force and precision with their spears. You can read more here at Atlatl Technology. The NATM staff was practicing how to throw them in order to be able to properly demonstrate for the children. However, the atlatls are so interesting that seemingly the whole student staff stopped by to toss one or two and learn more. In my world, this would be seen as a sort of experimental archaeology which the kids would be able to learn how something was done by trying it, not just by reading about it. The act seems like play, but is truly a great learning experience. The very idea alone of throwing a spear intrigued all of us, no matter what age we were. My throws went about six feet out, which helped me learn how hard the technology may been to master, especially when dinner was the result!

Atlatl Practice

After some practice, it was time to go meet with parents and children as they arrived. Everyone had their duties varying from checking children off as they arrived, giving name tags or handing out informational packets to take home. The packets were filled with fun information, coloring pages and educational information about the museum and archaeology as a whole. As the kids began to arrive, I quickly noticed a trend. The parents seem both a little relieved and a little nervous to be leaving their kids for a few hours. Every parent needs a little time to themselves sometimes, so why not let them come learn and have fun with museum staff'? The staff worked so well with the kids, letting them have fun, but making sure they weren't hurting themselves or others in any way. The kids were taken through the museum to explore as we waited for everyone else to arrive. As nearly every parent left, they uttered those famous words, "Be good!". Yet once Mom or Dad was out of sight, many of the kids let loose and wanted to walk all through the museum. They were learning with every step they took and didn't even seem to realize it.

The kids asking questions about the tree.

As we moved outside, there were three game stations to rotate between. They were games like: atlatl throwing, using a bull roarer and a stick game also played by the Native Americans. Clearly, the kids were most excited about the atlatls and I was lucky enough to spend the whole time at this station. The kids were told to stay in the tree's mulch ring and informed of how dangerous this activity could be if they weren't careful. With close supervision, they were very well behaved and knew to play one at a time only. One child would go learn and throw the spears with one worker while the others stayed with two of us. While standing next to one of the largest tree in Iowa City, they would turn their wonderment on it instead. They asked many questions and found ways to entertain themselves safely with us. As the rotations continued, the kids were clearly getting more and more excited. They were rowdier as time continued, so the time for pizza had arrived! Fortunately, we didn't need to catch our dinner anymore!

The museum staff orders a few pizzas and feeds the kids dinner, which is very convenient considering the event is from 6pm-9pm. The kids sit down with their pizza in the auditorium and watch an educational show. This time, they watched a Magic School Bus episode and seemed to really enjoy watching it on the very large screen.

At this time, I had to leave unfortunately, but after dinner, the kids continued on to get their miner helmets, which come free with their Night at the Museum fee and attendance. They choose their favorite color ahead of time and their name is placed on it for them. This time, they then all went up to Bird Hall and Mammal Hall to explore parts of the museum that many museum goers miss on the third floor. There, the lights are turned off and many staffers spread out to help keep a close eye on them as they explore the halls with their miner helmets and flashlights. Ashlee Gloede, the coordinator of the NATM event, commented that the kids love this portion of the night. I would assume that they become little explorers themselves and feel as though they are discovering new specimens in their cases.

Overall, this event is not only very popular, but very educational. This can be one of the instances where these kids come in to have fun and leave knowing new words like atlatl and new information about Native Americans. The next NATM event will take place on November 18 and is themed Dinosaurs. You must pre-register your children for this event. The fee is $25, which includes a free miner helmet, a night of educational fun and dinner! Please contact Ashlee Gloede at 319-335-0606 or via email at uimnh@uiowa.edu