Category: Museum
Aloha Friday: Talking To Your Kids About Hate
I’ve had to deal with hatred and bigotry two times in my life. The first time was in high school when a friend of a friend began telling me about how he idolized Hitler and wished he had finished what he started. To say that I was upset is an understatement. I’m not violent by nature, but I honestly wanted to punch this person in the nose.
The other time was in college. Someone (notorious for doing this sort of thing across the country) took out an ad in our college paper claiming that the Holocaust never happened. I joined my college branch of Hillel to protest this and to compose a counter-ad.
Thankfully, my kids have been mostly shielded from bigotry so far. So when we went to the New York State Museum’s civil war exhibit, they passed by a display of a Klu Klux Klan uniform and didn’t notice it at all. When I pointed it out, they had no clue what it was or what kind of person would wear it.
I had a small discussion with my kids about how some people hate other people based on who they are or what color their skin is. To be honest, I don’t think they really understood. I’m pretty thankful that they’ve been shielded from this ugly side of reality, but I still worry about them being targets of hate.
My Aloha Friday question for today is: How do you talk to your children about hate/bigotry?
P.S. If you haven’t already, try out my Twitter applications: FollowerHQ and Rout.
Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
Aloha #172
Fishy Museum Activities
One of the things I like about going to the New York State Museum is that they always seem to have crafts or other activities for kids. When the boys and I went last week, there were two fish related crafts to complete.
The first part involved fish painting. Each of the boys was given a rubbery fish to paint. They chose their colors and carefully painted their fishes until there was nowhere left to paint.
Once the fish was painted, they were given a piece of construction paper. By placing the construction paper over the fish and pressing down…
… they made a fish painting on the paper!
JSL’s fish was small enough that he was able to make two on the same piece of paper.
With the fish painting done, it was off to the fish washing station to help the fish get all clean and dry for the next kids to arrive.
Later in the day, when we went back to collect our paintings (which had to be left to dry), the kids got to participate in another fish activity. This time, they were given (one at a time), a fishing rod and taught how to cast out the line. Instead of a hook, a block on the end would catch hold of some rubbery "fish" which could be reeled in. A helper would then assist with the net to put the "catch of the day" in.
JSL wound up needing a bit of help with this, but both boys really enjoyed fishing in the museum.
Have you ever done any fun activities in your local museum?
Aloha Friday: Wishing You Were Here
Last Sunday, the boys and I spent a day in the New York State Museum. During the beginning of the trip, we excitedly looked at the moon rock on display.
I told the boys all I knew about the rock and its trip from the Moon to Earth. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what facts and information that Phil Plait, aka BadAstronomer, could provide.
Later on, we saw one of the museum’s long standing exhibits: A series of taxidermied wild animals representing local animals.
Again, I found myself wondering what someone on Twitter might say. Only this time, it was TheBloggess. If you follow her (and you should), you know that she has an interesting collection of taxidermied animals. She also tends to have hilarious conversations with her husband, Victor.
Seeing this moose, I could only imagine The Bloggess telling Victor how they *needed* to get a moose like that and Victor’s exasperated sighs as he completely missed the point of how a house moose would dramatically improve their lives.
Despite Phil and The Bloggess (and Victor) not being there, the boys and I had a wonderful time at the museum. It did get me wondering, though, what it would be like to spend a day with some of the people I follow on Twitter.
My Aloha Friday question for today is: If you could spend one day with someone you follow on Social Media, who would it be and what would you do?
P.S. If you haven’t already, try out my Twitter applications: FollowerHQ and Rout.
Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
Aloha #171
