Here is recount from one of the Piha students documenting the day.

Momentous Museum

As the cold reaped in the air, at 9 on a Thursday, scurrying feet made their way to the buses, and off to the museum. Before we had set off, our teacher, Madame, had told the class to remember one important thing throughout the excursion— that we would be writing a recount on an event regarding the museum journey. This trip would be an important one to document. 

After a restless while of sitting on the bus playing “ Sweet or Sour,” a towering building awaited us, and so we went on in. Essential to our adventure, we were given a quick and brief briefing. Eventually Madame asked my group, ‘Where to next?’, and ideas filled my mind, however, only one popped out of my mouth;  'Could we go to the Applied Arts?’ And as per my assumption, we made our way there first thing. Out of all of the exhibitions in the immense museum, I’ve only ever loved the atmosphere of arts, ceramics, and potteries. I find it so fascinating that most of the artefacts are thousands of years old, yet still in fabulous condition.

As we ascended the grey-marbled steps making our way up, I could spot the Applied Arts exhibition. In Applied Arts, there weren’t many works of art. However, that didn’t matter as the art was so delicate and detailed. Everything sealed away in glass cabinets, all we could do was look and admire each piece of art. From jugs, vases, and pots, there was a wide variety of pieces. As I stared down everything, I couldn’t help but notice the history behind it all; Ancient India, China, Japan, Egypt, Pakistan, Thailand, and more. Art existed as it does today, and I hope that it continues to be a part of the future.

Before making our way back to the meeting point, we made our way through the ‘Imaginarium’ and ‘Weird and Wonderful’ section of the museum. I must say, everywhere you walked, colours and patterns followed you. Observably, I saw various insects and shells in clear plastic cases scattered amongst different drawers. Next to the drawers were some microscopes— fun to look through —that you could use at the time. Out of the entire exhibition, I found myself spending the most time at a bottled collection of sands from locations all around the world. I think I spent the most time here because I love beaches, and partly because I was so interested in the artwork positioned next to the collection; full of rich and vibrant greens, pinks, and reds. I thought it was crazy that someone had to accumulate all of these sands.

Unfortunately, but finally, we had to make our way down the marble steps, amongst the tall columns, and back to our meeting point. At the end of the day, I think that this trip was particularly important to document. Soon, we sat down in silence, and waited for our next adventure.

By Saffron Braden Room 15