Wednesday, February 27, 2008

The importance of exposing your children to skeletons



There are far too few opportunities to expose your children to skeletons in the U.S. I can honestly say that in all the years we lived in Utah and Hawaii none of our children had much of a chance to see human skeletons. It seems to me that this is odd and is a major omission, one aspect of child rearing which most parents have neglected--much to the detriment of their offspring, I might add. Sunday at the Wien museum (which is free on Sunday so it seemed not only an appropriate activity for the sabbath, but a cheap one) there were all kinds of skeletons. I wish you could have seen Emily's face as we looked at the bones of someone that had lived about 4000 years ago, curled up as if they were taking a nap. Her countenance was an intriguing mixture of pure horror and fascination. I'd never even seen that expression on her face before so it reveled an aspect of my daughter I'd never before beheld. Who would have thought a dead body could disclose an Emily I'd never before met!


But the Wien museum is so much more than dead bodies! There were also people yelling at you in every single room you entered telling you in loud German that you cannot use a flash. Realizing you are a foreign devil of uncouth manners, and seeing the digital camera in my hand, they really, really want you to get the message (In every culture speaking loudly allows you to be understood). I asked a few questions in broken German but it did not go so well. I was trying to ask during which time period the model city (photographed below (without a flash)) was supposed to represent:


she carefully pointed out the sign on the model city which gave a date of about 1820. But I could read that the model had been made in 1820, but is that when was being depicted too? I'll never know, my German was too poor to make that kind of distinction so I praised her showing me the sign. She was pleased.


Now look at this painting from Klimt:


In this picture it looks rather ordinary, but in the museum hanging from the wall in all its detail it takes your breath away. I never understood why some art I'd seen in art books was great art, it looked so ordinary, but I think something gets lost in the photography and miniaturization. Full size, with all of the detail these were stunning. Plus its legal nudity (see the little person she is holding?) if its Art its OK. Right?


How do you teach your children without skeletons and nude art I'll never understand. I suggest you have a Family Home Evening on such.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Indeed, what more is there to child rearing? I feel a Haiku coming on:

Skeltons in art
turn exquisite nudity
to darkness - no flash.

Anonymous said...

Still so fun to read your blog!! keep it up. I love to see all the cool places you are going and all you are seeing. Love you all!!

Anonymous said...

Hey! How come no one else responded here to Steve's post about the skeleton museum? Did I make others feel uncomfortable by having nudity in my Haiku? Come on commenters ... pony up on the comment board. Let's have a Haiku contest. I hear Grandma Peck is the bomb!

Klint said...

Steve,
You spelled my name wrong and I didn't paint that. Someones been misleading you. As for the skeltons Thatcher would be in Heaven. What can I say the boy love skeletons. I'm glad Emily can join in his fascination.

Anonymous said...

Can't miss a Haiku opportunity. I didn't know I was the bomb. - Wow!

Skeletons everywhere....

Shaking, crackling, creeping bones

Belong in the ground!

The Pecks said...

Mom what a great Haiku! Keep it up.