blog 17 (Boruqe's jersey #!)

Blog 17:

· Describe your most meaningful learning experience in a museum or art gallery.
· What elements made it so?
· Relate this experience to Dewey’s notion of a “good” experience.


My most meaningful learning experience in a museum was when I was a little boy. My mother had taken my brother and I to Banff for a weekend, and besides visiting the hotsprings, we went to a native cultural centre. There were mannequins set up in dioramas. The figures were dressed in various clothing styles according to the creed they were depicting, and they were set up to perform various celebrations. The mannequins looked so life-like to me I thought they were about to start moving and dancing before my eyes. I have been enchanted with native arts and culture ever since.
The clothing and costumes were exciting and so foreign to me. Some of the acts depicted were shocking, particularly the sun dance of the plains people. A male dancer would revolve around a tall pole that was tied to the piercings on his body by long cords of sinew. I thought it was so cool.



I believe that Dewey would consider this a very good experience, because the content was totally new and rewarding to me, it was presented in a manner I found interesting and was easy to absorb, and it left a strong impression upon me in a cultural and artistic sense.