Of Mommies and Mummies

Jeremy had to get some work done this weekend, so he dropped Sam and me at the Museum of Civilization on his way to INAC. I'd wondered if Sam would lose interest before our day was done. He'd seen the Children's Museum a few times before, but he's never been let loose in the other areas. Four hours later he had to be pulled out of the Journey through Canada's Past in order to be ready for pick-up. I shouldn't have been surprised to find that he loved it all.

We started with the IMAX film, "Deep Sea," which was absolutely astonishing (and narrated by Pirate Captain Jack). We huddled in our reclined seats, head to head, whispering about the jellyfish, octupuses, crabs, sharks, anenomes, and sea turtles. Sam started out declaring "I wish nothing had to eat anything else in the sea," but became so caught up in a starfish's hapless quest for food that he revised that position, "It's sad that things get eaten, but it's sadder to be hungry!" Ahhh, the circle of life. That's a tough one.

We spent the next hour in the Children' Museum, hitting all the interactive highlights: loading cargo onto a ship, performing shadow puppetry, building a brick wall, shopping for baguettes, spelling our names in heiroglyphics, making "photos" of ourselves at the ocean. We took a break from the hectic faux marketplace to enjoy a picnic (a March picnic!), taking advantage of a sheltered spot on the stairway to soak up some sunshine and chat about what to see and do next.

After lunch, we headed for the mummies exhibit, which was tucked away in the lower level. Sam ran ahead to ask for directions of a boutique operator: "Is this the way to the Tombs of Maternity?" He suppressed a smile in answering, "Yes, the Tombs of Eternity" are right around the corner. We zipped through some of the early rooms, featuring bits of pieces of the tomb's architecture and artifacts. Sam was there for the dead people. We slowed to take in the display of jewellry, clothing and the like, but the show stopper was the room containing the sarcophagi and the mummies themselves. Sam was fascinated. He did the Disney double-check ("They're not going to walk or move or anything, right?") before moving in close to have a look. When we stepped back into the hallway, he looked about and said "I don't think this is part of the exhibit..." When I explained that we'd done the whole thing, he turned on his heel, declaring "Well, I'm not done." So we went back in through the out door to watch the educational film about archeology and re-examine the highlights.

Then it was on to the Great Hall and the First Nations exhibits. Sam was in his glory. "Will..you..take..a..look..at..this," he breathed, when we came across a room of carved masks. A good deal of the exhibit is presented in child-friendly dioramas, so it felt like being on a west coast reserve, which made Sam want to step into the action. He set off a number of motion sensors, but no one came running. We worked our way up to the top floor and wandered through hundreds of years of Canadian history, several actors stopping Sam to ask if he'd like to join the lumberjacks for dinner or if he owned the fancy house in Toronto. He played along gamely, then (once out of earshot) confirmed "They're just kidding, right?"

And just like that, four hours had evaporated and it was time to go. Passing a kiosk on the way out, Sam spotted jelly totems and floated his usual "but we're not allowed to have those. We're not here for treats. They probably cost too much dollars" thing he does as a way of sort of asking for something while acknowledging that he's well aware of the argument against sticks of stale sugar. I surprised him by giving him a $10 bill. He asked me to keep my distance, so he could line up and pay himself. He handed in the money and walked away, all proud of himself. I forgot to tell him about the change...

I'm liking this museum thing. It's fun to watch Sam's interests and vocabularly expand, his sense of history become a little more detailed (his look of surprise at the fact that Egyptians packed tombs with food and drink so that the mummies had something to munch on during the journey to the afterlife was priceless). And I enjoy being in the moment with him in a way I'm not when we're home together. Jeremy just walked by to ask what a membership costs. This might be the Museum Pass summer.