Special Activity Celebrating May 18 International Museum Day in Hunan Provincial Museum

May 18, 2011 witnessed the 35th International Museum Day, with the theme of “Museum and Memory”. It put emphasis on the important responsibilities shouldered by the museum, including recording the history, representing the present and shaping the future since museum is an important place for the memory, inheritance and renovation of mankind civilization. Therefore, to mark the International Museum Day of this year, fifty families were specially invited to visit Hunan Provincial Museum and get involved in the activity of exploring and discovering the memory of mankind civilization.

Educator is introducing the general framework of the activity

To facilitate the carrying out of this event, educators in Hunan Provincial Museum designed two tailor-made games for those families with little children: “Memory Card of Museum” and “Treasure Hunting Map of Hunan Provincial Museum”. During the games, little children and their parents “discovered” where the objects were on display, filled the names of the objects, did jigsaws, guessed the functions of objects, made up stories related to objects and took photos with the objects they love. Both little children and their parents had a great time thanks to the beautiful exhibition, mysterious objects, and exciting treasure hunting and wonderful discoveries. They feasted their eyes on the dazzling array of activities, which became a unique and memorable experience for them in all their lives.

Little children visited the galleries by following “Treasure Hunting Map of Hunan Provincial Museum”

According to the survey conducted during the activity, most of the small children involved had already visited Hunan Provincial Museum while some even had paid several visits to the museum or had taken part in activities organized by Hunan Provincial Museum. From our point of view, museum had already become part of their memory in their childhood. They were full of interest in today’s activity and said that they learned a lot. A third grade student from primary school wrote that “I think that Hunan Provincial Museum is a place with unique cultures, such as ceramics, pillows with traditional Chinese herbs and clothes made by the ancients”.

 It was a great pleasure for us since museum could leave little children with a strong impression of history and culture. During the journey to adulthood, they might visit museums for many times. Each time, they would learn more about the memory of mankind civilization. The memory would be increased, enriched, and become the precious fortune in their lives.