New Thing #338: Body Worlds Exhibit

Science isn't exactly my favorite subject in the world. This is in part because some elements of science make me uncomfortable.

I'm a fainter.

I won't get into it now, but if something causes me discomfort (usually that something involves another person being in pain - like childbirth), I could black out.

So when my co-teacher proposed checking out the Body Worlds exhibit in anticipation of a possible class trip, I wasn't sure how I'd respond.

But I knew it would make a great New Thing.

So on Monday night we walked through the exhibit.

The current iteration of the exhibit is on display at Faneuil Hall. (I'm not sure what makes this version different from previous versions, but I know there was another display that came through Boston a few years ago and it got a whole lot more press and was somewhat controversial.)

On Mondays they allow educators to tour the exhibit for free, so we took advantage of that opportunity.

I learned a TON.

I don't often stop to think about all of the crazy things the body is capable of…and (perhaps obviously), it's even less often I have visuals right there to accompany what I'm learning about the body and how it works.

Concepts I hadn't really thought of before made a lot of sense when I looked at them in this display - like carpal tunnel syndrome - just seeing how it was described with the hand model that was there made it click for me.

It was also interesting to see a stomach and intestines and other internal organs all laid out in such a way that I was able to put together the way they all worked. (Not so interesting: The BMI converter that told me I was overweight. Maybe we should have visited before Thanksgiving weekend.)

I walked into the exhibit thinking it wasn't terribly appropriate for fifth graders…and while we're still not sure at this point if we'll do it as a field trip, I left that room thinking that it would be a great learning experience for them.

And I know there's a little bit of a stir about the exhibit, I think about how the people whose bodies are being used didn't necessarily give permission for this sort of thing. I don't know - maybe I should look that up.

But I do know that walking through the exhibit I wasn't thinking about controversies.

My only thought was how amazing it is that the human body works the way it does, and how I'm glad I didn't chicken out of seeing the exhibit.

New Thing #256: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Here's one of those New Things that makes the highlight reel for the year: On Thursday I went with my class to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

You might know about the Gardner as the art collection of an eccentric woman.

Maybe you know of it as the Museum of Fine Arts' often-overlooked little sister.

Most likely you've heard of it because of the 1990 art heist.

I knew of it, but had never been.

Now I can't wait to go back.

Here's the quick and dirty history: Isabella Stewart Gardner was an art collector, and she built this courtyard/outbuilding to house her collection. When she died, her will stipulated that the collection should remain as is. This is the early 1900s.

Fast forward to 1990, and a couple of thieves, disguised as police officers, duped the on-duty night guards into letting them in, tied up the guards, and proceeded to steal millions of dollars worth of art. (You may have heard this story on the "Boston" edition of Drunk History.) Some of the pieces of art were cut out of the frames because the thieves couldn't remove them from the wall. Remember the will stipulating that the collection should stay as is? Well, the frames stay on the wall empty because of that fact.

So we took a little hourlong tour on Thursday in small groups. My particular tour guide was great - she let the students talk about the art but kept us informed as we walked. She showed us some nice pieces, and told us about how Gardner would sit in the courtyard sipping champagne and eating donuts, admiring her art and courtyard.

It's a really amazing place, and the courtyard is just beautiful. It's one of those places where while I'm there the entire time I'm thinking, "I want to come back with my family." (Not unlike my thoughts when I was in Quebec.) Unfortunately, there are no photos allowed inside (and I'm a rule follower), so I can't show you what I liked so much.

There's something about the fact that everything is left as the owner intended - I like the idea that when I go back everything will be exactly where I saw it this time. That same fact makes it somewhat chilling to see the empty frames on the wall. I saw two big empty ones in the "Dutch Room." It's weird to think that thieves did their work in that exact spot.

I've said before (I think when I visited the Met) - I'm not the biggest art fan in the world. I'm not sure I know how to appreciate art the way it was intended. But I'm becoming better able to appreciate art museums.

And the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is already one of my favorites.

New Thing #187: Metropolitan Museum of Art

I've told you about Johnny Tremain. One of my other all-time favorite books that I first read when I was a child is From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L Konigsburg.

In the book, a brother and a sister run away from their home in Greenwich, Connecticut and decide to live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I don't know why it appeals to me so much - maybe because I always look at a place with an eye towards "if I became trapped here, would I be able to survive?" (Or maybe I think that because I read the book.)

Either way, I'm pretty sure it's not because I spent a lot of time at the museum as a kid...because I think Friday, when I visited with my family, was the first time I had been to the museum.

It is certainly possible I took a school field trip to the Met when I was a boy. (I hate to get up on my high horse, but it would be criminal for any New York City school to not take a trip to this museum with all this culture right at their fingertips.)

But if I went, it certainly didn't make an impression. I don't remember. (That's not saying a ton. I remember so little about my elementary school experiences that it's embarrassing. I remember a couple of class plays, I remember studying about the American Revolution in 4th grade, and I remember throwing up in the classroom in 6th grade. But those are stories for another day.)

Anyway, digressions aside, I spent a few hours at the Met Friday afternoon...and I could have spent many, many more. It's incredible. I should mention (one more digression), we went because my oldest daughter (almost 7 years old) wanted to go to a museum. It's fun not only to enjoy going to a museum these days for myself, but also to see my daughter enjoy it so much.

We spent a good deal of our time in the American Wing. I hate to be a homer, but I enjoy American art. Don't be offended - I'm no expert. I'm not even sure I know how to appreciate art. But I know what I find interesting, and I was engaged in the American Wing more than other places.

Thing is, as I mentioned before, we only scratched the surface of this museum. I believe we could go back again and again and still not finish. So maybe there's something else out there that I would love that I just didn't make it to.

The highlight of our time at the Met on Friday - by far - was 'Washington Crossing The Delaware'. I had seen that image before, but nothing prepares you for seeing it up close. First of all, it's huge. I didn't realize that. Secondly, it's breathtaking. It's really really remarkable. I didn't even realize it was at the Met - that surprise factor probably figured into the breathtaking-ness of the painting.

Besides everything there was to see, in my mind there was a lot of trying to figure out what has changed at the Met since From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was written about 50 years ago. And I spent a lot of time thinking about Claudia and Jamie and where they spent their time. I knew, for instance, that the Egyptian pyramid was one of their hiding spots, but we never made it to the area where they found the bed in which they slept. We saw the grand staircase which is featured in the book, and we saw a fountain by the cafe in the American Wing, but I'm not sure it's the fountain in which they bathed and found their "income."

I'll leave you with this: the area where the American Wing's cafe and the fountain are is beautiful. It's outside this wall that looks like it could be part of the original footprint of the museum. I'm not sure what the history of additions is. But it's an awesome sight. So I'll leave you with that picture while inviting anyone with any knowledge about the Met to tell me what you know. Because I learned a lot in my visit to the Met on Friday afternoon. But there's a whole lot more I want to learn.

New Thing #129: Working With Copper

I could probably stretch out my time in Quebec into a hundred New Things. (And come number 250 or so I might regret not having done that.)

But I think the last thing I'll write about from my time there is the fact that we visited a copper museum.

That's what you see here.

But visiting the museum by itself, while new, wasn't the highlight of that part of the trip.

That would be the fact that while we were there we all had the chance to do our own work with copper.

The name of the place was Cuivres d'art. I think, as the subtitle indicates in the above picture, that means copper art. But I want it to be, like, Museum of Copper Art.

Except, I suppose, it wasn't really a museum.

There is a display about the availability of copper in parts of Canada and the United States.

And there's a big exhibit in the back featuring incredibly detailed copper images of the life of Jesus. Religious or not - they were pretty impressive.

But the central spot is a display area, featuring copper you can buy as well as the spot where our activity was done, where we all made an image in copper.

I wanted to do something appropriate to our trip, so I decided on the maple leaf. That was a clutch decision I'm proud of, because it perfectly captured the trip, and usually I have trouble with those types of decisions.

I don't remember all of the steps exactly at this point, since I'm so far removed from it, but the first step was to trace (or create, as I did) your image onto the blank copper piece with a sharp tool, and then you had to just trace the inside of the image - kind of to give it depth.

Then you took a little rounded tool and traced around the outside portion, which made your image pop out a little more. Then there was one more step, which I don't remember. It might have been flattening somewhere else.

But it was a cool experience - definitely something I've never done before. (Though close to what I've seen some of my students do in their art class using clay, I think, as a medium.) Here's what the process looked like, kind of step-by-step:

New Thing #53: Framingham Timeline Exhibit

I'm good with American history, and I really like Boston history. My town, Framingham, dates back to 1700, so I know it has a lot of history, but I don't know as much about it.

For a long time I've thought about exploring that history, starting with some of the exhibits hosted by the Framingham History Center.

That was one of the big goals of '365 New Things In 2013' - to take some of those things I've been meaning to do and just do them.

So on Thursday, I did.

The building above is an old schoolhouse that has been converted into a research center/exhibit hall. Its hours are very spotty - you can set up individual appointments, but it is open for a few hours Wednesdays through Saturdays.

One time I walked up to it, it was all locked up, so I went home to look up more information. It's been a couple of years, and I hadn't been back.

Thursday my oldest daughter and I walked up to it....and it was locked. This time (New Things!) I rang the bell. It took a couple of minutes, and we were on our way back to the car, before the door opened.

The woman who opened the door looked surprised to see anyone. She went to check whether they were available for tours. It turned out the scheduled tour guide was not there. Would we want her to give a tour? My instinct was to say we'd come back another time. But I went against my instinct (New Things!) and took her up on her offer.

I'm glad I finally got the chance to check it out. I didn't learn anything earth-shatteringly new, but I did get an idea of how Framingham fits into the larger history of Massachusetts. (It was an overnight stop for cannons being transported between Fort Ticonderoga and Cambridge in 1776!)

Best fact I learned: Thomas Danforth, Framingham's founder, came from Framlingham, England. The 'l' was dropped, and there you have it - Framingham.

The 'Framingham Timeline' is the permanent exhibit at this location - it takes you from the earliest days of the town (actually, pre-1700 with some information about Native Americans in the area) through the 19th century (Civil War artifacts and the rise of the railroad in Framingham), and 20th century (one of Christa McAuliffe's NASA uniforms - she was raised in Framingham - the famous Framingham Heart Study, businesses like Bose and Staples).

The original public library in town is another site that hosts exhibits. Right now the big attraction is a display about the original Shopper's World - an outdoor shopping area, dating back to when those were not exactly common. I'll be checking that out too sometime before that exhibit closes out in September...maybe as soon as this week.