At Mummy Camp at the Vanderbilt Museum we saw a lot of cool stuff. The museum that we went to was the marine museum. Unfortunately everything was dead but there were some cool things to see like an eel, a manta ray and a shark.
We also went to the Vanderbilt Mansion and we saw the whale shark hanging from the ceiling and in the same room there was a barracuda, a porcupine, shark, blowfish and horseshoe crabs. The next room was the Stohl Wing and it had a wart hog, tiger, lion, polar bear, leopard and ostrich.
At lunch everyday we watched Harry Potter.
We made a lot of projects. We made pots, birdhouses, butterfly kites, mummy masks, fake sandals and hieroglyphic bookmarks. My favorite one was the hieroglyphic bookmarks because the hieroglyphic writing was our names!
On the last day of camp we went to the Dinosaur exhibit to see the T-rex model and the fossils. Then we went to the Planetarium to see the show Trip to The Planets. The only part I didn’t like that much was the thunderstorm. My favorite part was when the machine made it look like we were moving in the stars. My favorite part of the camp was the planetarium because I like seeing planets and stars. This camp is awesome!!!!!
Mummy Fun Fact:
Heart scale myth (Egyptian Myth)
When you pass away Egyptians measure your heart on a scale. If your heart was lighter than a feather that meant you were a good listener and you were a nice person and you would go to the afterlife. If your heart was heavier then a feather you were a mean and bad person and you would not go to the afterlife and a monster eats your heart. Remember this is only a myth.
And now a word from Mom:
Brady attended Mummy Week and Creature Week at Wizard Academy at the Vanderbilt Museum. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, here is a little bit about the museum :
“The 43-acre museum complex counts among its collections not only the Gold Coast-era mansion [1910-1936], a marine museum, natural history habitats, curator’s cottage, seaplane hangar, boathouse and numerous other estate features [gardens, fountains, balustrades and pools], but also marine and natural history specimens, house furnishings and fine arts, photographs and archives, and an extensive collection of ethnographic objects that make up the former William K. Vanderbilt II estate. A portion of today’s museum – the Hall of Fish – was actually opened to the public during Vanderbilt’s lifetime. Then, as now, the museum seeks to preserve and interpret artifacts that represent his life, collecting interests and intellectual legacy.”
For additional info please see: http://vanderbiltmuseum.org/index.html
During the summer their education department hosted the Wizard Academy (located in the former Garage). In August this was comprised of several themes spread over 4 weeks in AM and PM classes. You could sign up for either the AM or PM or stay for both. Originally Brady signed up just for Mummies in the morning, but decided to stay for Creatures in the afternoon. One of the greates things about Wizard Academy is the access to the Museum and it’s exhibits. William K. Vanderbilt II had an extensive collection that has remained intact, many of his contemporaries’ collections have been broken up over time. The different exhibits are housed in different buildings on the Vanderbilt estate. Brady went to the Marine Museum and the Mansion to see different parts of the collection. On the last day they went to see one of the shows at the Planetarium and also the Dinosaur exhibit.
As part of the program the kids completed many projects about Ancient Egypt, Mummies and sea creatures. The hieroglyophic bookmarks were made on real papyrus, they made mummy masks and other burial artifacts. They also chose a marine animal from the museum to do a watercolor of. The kids really enjoyed making all of the projects and did a presentation at the end explaining the purpose of each item. It was really interesting and a great experience.
The World According to Brady 