Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed at the Perot Museum {+ Free Tickets Giveaway}

Elaborate royal tombs, ancient languages, human sacrifice, sports and extraordinary architecture. All define the fascinating Maya civilization that is the bedrock of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science’s traveling exhibition – Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed. The largest traveling Maya exhibition ever to tour the U.S., the 10,000 square-foot display brings together more than 200 authentic artifacts and immersive environments to explore the astonishing accomplishments of one of the most powerful indigenous Mesoamerican civilizations, which still has millions of living descendants today.

We learned how the Maya built towering temples and created an intricate calendar system while discovering what archaeologists have uncovered about the once-hidden ancient Maya and the unresolved questions about why these ancient cities declined so rapidly. Through hands-on activity stations complete with video and simulations, we deciphered hieroglyphs, learned cultural and architectural techniques, and explored an underworld cave, ancient burial site, mural room and more.

At the beginning of the exhibit is a wonderful interactive display that teaches about Maya numbers and writing (glyphs).  We even learned that a 15 year old boy studied glyphs and realized that they represented a phrase rather than just a single sound as had previously been thought.  Never underestimate the brilliance of youth.

We saw several replica large-scale carved monuments, or stelae, that were erected in the great plazas of Maya cities.

Their inscriptions have given scholars valuable insight into ancient Maya history – from royal succession to political conflicts and great battles.

The kids played archeologist and worked to recreate a broken pot that would have been found at an ancient Maya site.

The broken pieces called potsherds would have been collected at the site and brought back to the lab to be examined and put back together.  Rachel loves puzzles so she put together both available pots.  The taller one is a bit trickier.

They both had fun creating a Maya name for themselves.  Nicholas chose Fire Bat.

Rachel created the name Princess Flower.  They got to print a card to keep that included their name written in Maya glyphs.

There are more than 200 authentic artifacts including spectacular examples of Maya artistry made by masters of their craft, along with objects from everyday life. Examples include an inkpot made out of a seashell which still retains the dried pigment colors hundreds of years after active use, numerous vessels and figurines; and more.  I particularly like the turquoise earrings in this case.

The Maya made balls from a rubber tree and morning glory vine.  They were a bit heavier than balls we use today but they used them in sports and games.

We got a glimpse at a cross-section of Maya life – from divine kings who ruled powerful cities to the artisans and laborers who formed the backbone of Maya society.

The kids learned about Maya architecture and their use of corbeled vaults like this one.

Then they were given a challenge to create their own corbeled vaults.  Rachel took the easier challenge.

Nicholas went a little wild but you will notice that there is a corbeled vault in there.

We learned that the Maya buried their dead underground.  We also learned about their belief in ritual and human sacrifice as a means for them to speak to their gods.

The Maya developed an amazing calendar and this interactive station let us explore how it worked.  It was fascinating.

We studied some Maya bones and learned about what they can tell archaeologists about how the ancient Maya lived.

The ancient Maya believed in beauty.  We learned how they used a bow drill to make a hole in their teeth in order to place a jeweled inlay - just for decoration!! It makes me cringe just thinking about it!

They also had beautiful headdresses and jewelry.  The kids got to use an interactive computer to see how they would look dressed in Mayan garb.

PROGRAM EXTENSIONS. The Perot Museum will offer a myriad of Maya-related programs and events including First Thursday Late Night: Archaeology on May 4, the adults-only Social Science: Patterns on June 23, and the family-fun Discovery Days: Architecture on July 8.

HOURS. General hours of operation for the Perot Museum are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. On the first Thursday of the month, the Museum will stay open until 9 p.m. for its First Thursday Late Night public events. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the Museum stays open until 6 p.m.
Member mornings. From 9-10 a.m. every Saturday and 11 a.m.-noon every Sunday, members can enjoy exclusive access to the Perot Museum and Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed.

TICKETS. Museum general admission is $19 for adults (18-64), $12 for youth (2-17), $13 for seniors (65+) and free for children under 2. Museum general admission is free for members. Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed requires a surcharge for a total admission cost of $29 for adults (18-64), $20 for youth (2-17), $21 for seniors (65+), and free for children under 2. Member tickets are $5 for all age levels.

The Perot Museum is located at 2201 N. Field Street in Dallas, Texas. For parking information and other details, visit perotmuseum.org or call 214-428-5555.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tapestry of Grace Co-op: Castles and Knights

We've been learning castles and knights in our study of Medieval Times.  At co-op the grammar level students built a castle out of cardboard tubes and boxes.  What a great idea!  Next week they will paint them.  I can see little action figures playing all around the castles once they are done.  That will be fun! 

For literature, they read and discussed The Making of a Knight by Patrick O'Brien (affiliate link).  It is a great book to describe one boy's growth from a page into a knight.

It is a good book but Rachel got a little distracted playing with Rosie.

The dialectic students have been reading a version of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.  I love having this co-op time with friends so the kids can have real literature discussions about what they are reading.

Then they had to work together to build their own castle....out of a cake!  I provided them with a square chocolate cake that already had icing on it.  Then I gave them some Oreos, Kit Kat bars, mini Hershey bars, blue and chocolate icing, sprinkles, etc.  i enjoyed watching their team work and the castle came together.

They made a moat with the blue icing and a drawbridge out of the Kit Kat bars.  They used the mini Hershey bars for bricks on the castle and battlements on the towers.

There may have been some snacking along the way.  They added a Keep and a ship in the moat.

All done!  They had fun and I love that it was an activity and snack all in one!

Here is one final picture before all the kids, big and little, attacked the castle and ate it!

Dallas Makerspace

There is an amazing place for artists, makers and tinkerers in the Dallas area.  It's called Dallas Makerspace and you've got to check it out! 

DMS is a non-profit organization based on collaboration.  Artists, inventors, and tinkerers share a building space.  Monthly dues of $50 go towards building and utilities expenses as well as equipment and supply costs.  As a member you can go to DMS 24 hours a day and use any of the equipment, usually with no additional cost to you. Members can also teach classes here to help others learn about different hobbies and crafts. 

Here is a basic layout of the building and I'll show you some pictures of just what all you can do at DMS.

We mostly come to DMS to use their 3D printers.  Today Nicholas is making a puzzle box on the printers.  He uses a website called Thingiverse to find plans developed by other 3D printer users and uses those plans to create the items on the 3D printers at DMS.  You can bring your own filament to create your item or pay a very small price per pound to use the filament available at DMS.

Here is part of the 3D printing room.  There are several nice sized 3D printers around the room.  They work well and are very popular.  Unfortunately we often have to wait for one to come available.  And once you start your project on a 3D printer, you can't leave the building - even if the project takes 10 hours to print!

This is the electrical room.  I'm not really sure what all happens here but there is a lot of electrical stuff in here.

And lots of small electrical supplies like wires, clips, LEDs, resistors, etc.  Nicholas loves working with electrical circuits but so far we haven't done anything in this room yet.

My favorite room is the Creative Arts room.  Here is a cabinet of sewing machines and sewing supplies.

I love the leatherworking supplies.  We have a few basic leatherworking tools at home but here we can experiment with lots of other tools and supplies.

There is even a whole cabinet on fiber arts complete with spindles and looms.

.

A big wide-format printer.

Drawers full of different kinds of art paper and cutting mats.

Pens, paper cutters, stamps, sticker makers, clay tools.

So many fun art supplies!  Paint, button makers, laminator, and more!

More supplies...pastels, colored pencils, hot glue, stencils, engraving tools, wood burning tools.  It's like paradise to a craft-a-holic like myself!

See this cool picture of Marilyn Monroe?

It is made up entirely of lines drawn by a robotic pen contraption!  It's always fun to see what amazing creativity can be found here at Makerspace.

On to the workshop area.  This is aquaponics...plants growing up top, fish in a water tank down below.  Fish waste products are broken down by bacteria and transformed into nitrates that are beneficial to the plants then the water drains back down into the fish tank.

They actually have 2 levels of plants growing in this system.  I signed up for a course here that someone was teaching on how to get started in aquaponics but once I realized that we really don't have space for a set up like this I decided to back out of the class.

There is a whole corner dedicated to pottery including these 5 pottery wheels.  Someday the kids and I will take a class and make something on these cool things!

Now we get into some of the bigger tools in the workshop area.  Many of these I don't really understand but Stuart is excited about having them available to use.  This is a sandblaster.

A CNC mill.

Bridgeport manual mill

They even have an ammunition reloading station.

They have a giant laser cutter that can follow a program to cut out wood and foam board to your specifications.

A CNC plasma cutter

Welding tools and blacksmithing forges.

 CNC router

Dallas Makerspace is an amazing place where creative minds can come together to learn and create cool things!  What would you create here?

Dallas Makerspace is located at 1825 Monetary Lane #104 in Carrollton, TX right off I-35 E.  Check out their website at www.dallasmakerspace.org.  They offer monthly tours for people interested in finding out more about membership.