Giants of the Alaskan Coast

Museum Practicum: Objective Blog: Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University 

Oktavia LaBarge, December 5, 2013

Title: Giants of the Alaskan Coast: Kodiak Brown Bear

Year: 1930

Material: Not available 

Creator: Academy of Natural Sciences

Collection: Collected on Academy expedition by Harry Whitney, Academy Trustee, Gift of Members of the Academy

This is a diorama of a Kodiak brown bear from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University in the North American Hall.  The Kodiak brown bear is a subgroup of the grizzly bear.  These bears can be found in Alaska and parts of Northern Canada.  Interestingly, they have been seen as far south as Mexico and as far west as the Sierra Mountains.  The Kodiak brown bears are the largest bears in the world.  A male Kodiak brown bear can weigh up to 1,500 pounds!  

Typically, visitors of the museum would not be able to see a Kodiak brown bear in person.  Many natural science museums create dioramas to allow visitors to see different and exotic animals first hand.  The animals in the dioramas are real animals that are stuffed and mounted in a representation of their natural habitat.  At the Academy of Natural Sciences, the painted background behind the animals in the dioramas are artistic renderings of the actual location of the animals.  In the past, many of the animals at the zoo were poorly kept, so people could come to a natural science museum and see a realistic version of different healthy animals.  

This diorama was created in 1930 in an expedition by Harry Whitney.  Considering the time period this diorama was created, the animals were probably intentionally hunted to be used at the museum.  In the past, laws were a lot more lenient when it came to hunting animals.  The museum probably wanted to create a diorama about these bears and led an expedition to do so.

When a visitor enters the North American Hall at the Academy of Natural Sciences, they are surrounded by a hallway of different dioramas.  The dioramas line the walls of the hall and animal and bird noises play softly in the background.  The animal and bird noises are part of a composition called, “Unfrozen in Time: The Collective Voices of North American Hall.” The combination of noises and different animals from similar locations in the hall creates a sense of being in the wilderness as well as a multi-sensory experience.

  In the Kodiak brown bear diorama, there are three bears, two parents and their cub.  The mother is standing on her

hind legs with the cub next to her, while the father is on the opposite side of the display.  The background landscape is meant to represent either Alaska or Northern Canada where these bears are typically found. The foreground seems to resemble a fall day in the woods.  All of trees are missing their leaves and the ground is made up of mud and pine needles. 

The accompanying label tells the visitor information about the Kodiak brown bear, such as, what they eat and where they are located.  The label also mentions that the bears do not attack humans unless they feel threatened or have been injured. I believe that many children would probably want to know if the bears attack people because of their large size, so it was a good idea to include this on the label.  The label also has a map of North America with a white outline revealing where the Kodiak bears are typically found.  This allows visual learners a better understanding of their location.  On the bottom corner of the label is a “Kids’ Quiz” with a question relating to the bears.  This allows every age group as well as different learners to have their own experience with the bears. 

If someone was interested in learning more about the Kodiak brown bear, then they might consider researching bears.  The Academy of Natural Sciences offers a teacher’s guide for pre-kindergarteners to 2nd graders, which examines the different types of bears and their abilities to adapt to different habitats.  This would be interesting way for children to learn about different types of bears.

Someone who might not be interested in this object would be someone who dislikes dioramas.  Many people believe that dioramas are outdated.  This is because they often display animals in an aggressive act, which creates false ideas about the animal.  For example, on the second floor of the Academy of Natural Sciences in the North American Hall there is a diorama of a polar bear with its claw on a seal and blood around the head of the seal.  This may lead visitors to believe that all polar bears are constantly on a bloody attack, which may not be the case. Someone else who might not be interested in the Kodiak brown bear diorama may be an animal activist. They may believe that the dioramas represent cruelty to animals and become very upset by the way the museum collected the animals for the dioramas.

To further engage viewers with the Kodiak brown bear the museum could consider hosting an event about bears.  During this event, they could create short tours about the different types of bears that they have in their diorama collection.  This would allow visitors to learn about similarities and differences about bears.  They could also have different activities about bears.  For example, they could have a coloring activity to color in a bear picture.  The museum could also host an after hours event with bedtime stories about bears.  Children could come dressed in their pajamas and the museum could read Goldilocks and The Three Bears and Winnie the Pooh in front of the different bear dioramas. After the reading, children could compare the fictional bears to the bears in the dioramas.

My bearfriend, Noah and I as goldilocks and a bear!

"I paint life, and life is not always beautiful" - Ellen Powell Tiberino

Museum Practicum: Objective Blog, The African American Museum in Philadelphia 

Oktavia LaBarge, November 20, 2013

Title: The Listeners

Year: Unknown

Material: Pen ink on paper

Creator: Ellen Powell Tiberino

Collection: Unknown

This is a work of art titled, The Listeners, created by Ellen Powell Tiberino.  This work of art is from the African American Museum in Philadelphia in a changing exhibition space, which focuses on the artwork of the Tiberino family and their friends.  The Tiberino family are a family of artists from the Philadelphia area.  Ellen Powell Tiberino attended the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts and worked to express her own self-identity, death, alienation, as well as the African American and human experience.

This work by Ellen Powell Tiberino is important to artists working in Philadelphia, as well as, African American women.  Her work addresses difficult issues that many people must face in their life.  Tiberino died in 1992 after battling cancer for fourteen years. While battling cancer, she continued to create artwork.  After her passing, the Ellen Powell

Art during her sickness

Tiberino Memorial Museum of Contemporary American Art was created in West Philadelphia. 

This object is on display in the African American Museum in, “The Unflinching Eye: Works of the Tiberino Family Circle,” exhibition.  For the family it was like a memorial for Ellen Powell Tiberino.  She had a show at the African American Museum when they first opened in 1976.  The entire Tiberino family is made up of different types of artists.  The exhibition reveals the progression of the family as artists as well as their friends and mentors.  The art exhibited in the gallery is made up of a variety of mediums and themes.  Yet, for the African American Museum, this exhibition exemplifies the African American experience in Philadelphia over the past fifty years.  It is not stated where The Listeners work is from, yet one can only assume it is from the Tiberino’s museum.  

To enter “The Unflinching Eye: Works of the Tiberino Family Circle,” visitors must ascend up four different ramps to each the gallery floor.  On the way up the ramps, the visitor is confronted with two different works by the Tiberino family

One of the works on the ramp

members. Having visitors see these two works, before entering the gallery, entices them to walk to see more. Once they have reached the top of the ramp a quote is projected on one wall, while the adjacent wall has a slide show of images from the Tiberino house. Next to the quote, is a label which describes the ideas of the space and the Tiberino space.  Although, there is no descriptive labels next to many of the objects in the gallery space, many of the works speak for themselves.

As one continues to walk inside the space, there is a doorway to the rest of the gallery.  On the wall of the doorway is the work, The Listeners.  The work reveals the artistic ideas of Ellen Powell Tiberino, with her short brush strokes and thick layers of paint.  What drew me to this image are the vibrance of colors that are used throughout the image.  There are six women depicted in the work, yet their faces almost blend into the background.  When one considers depicting skin tones in color, it is almost impossible to only use one color.  This takes this idea to the other side of the spectrum, where the faces have a spectrum of all of the colors on the rainbow.  

Although, The Listeners piece was separated by being placed outside of the gallery space, her style is evident.  As a visitor continues into the gallery space, the work of Ellen Powell Tiberino is easy to recognize due to her use of short brush, pen, and pencil strokes. It was amazing to be able to see how she was able to depict complicated features of people, such as, curly hair, with a simplified stroke. However, the work is not laid out as a timeline.  In the presentation of her work, the work that she was creating during her battle with cancer is placed in the center.  This was somewhat confusing to understanding her work as a progression over time. 

Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci

If one would like to learn more about the Ellen Powell Tiberino or the Tiberino family, they may consider visiting The Ellen Powell Tiberino Memorial Museum or visiting the exhibition at the African American Museum.  In addition, they may consider researching African American female artists.  Often, in art history, only the “geniuses” are remembered, such as Pablo Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci.  If one were to research African American female artists they would be surprised to learn about the variety of artists who are all working to address similar and different themes.  

Someone who might not be interested in The Listener would be someone who is not interested in the abstraction.  Although Ellen Powell Tiberino does an excellent job presenting realism in art, The Listener, is a more abstract image.  They would probably not understand why Tiberino incorporated such a large number of colors into the depictions of people.  In addition, someone who is not interested in learning about the African American experience through art would probably not enjoy this museum, let alone, the gallery.

To further engage visitors with this object, I would move it to a more prevalent location in the gallery.  Currently, it is placed next to a doorway and at a separate exit to the gallery, causing many visitors to walk past the work.  The African American Museum may also consider rearranging the work by Ellen Powell Tiberino in order to create a precise timeline of events. In addition, the museum could invite the Tiberino family to interpret this specific piece of work, since currently there is no description of the work.  

Amarna Period

Museum Practicum: Journal Q&A, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (The Penn Museum)

Oktavia LaBarge, November 14, 2013

Title: Relief of Princess with an Earring

Year: Dynasty 18, Reign of Akhenaten (1353-1336 BCE)

Material: Limestone

Creator: Unknown

Collection: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology: Amarna Collection

This is, “Relief of Princess with an Earring” from the Amarna period in Egypt.  The Amarna period occurred when Akhenaten became King and decided that instead of worshiping many gods, Egyptians would only worship one, Aten. During this period, the king changed his name from Amenhotep IV to Akhenaten to honor the god Aten.  Akhenaten instated many changes gradually during his reign to align himself with the god of Aten.  These changes included a change in the king’s position and in Egyptian art.  Prior to Akhenaten’s rule, there was this idea of dualism, specifically in art.  Dualism was the idea that two opposing things mutually exist.  Before the Amarna period, kings were depicted as extremely masculine, potent, the unifier, and the authority, where as, women were depicted as feminine and fertile figures. In order for Akhenaten to align himself closer to Aten who was considered both male and female, he to began to represent himself as both male and female. 

This object is extremely important to someone who is interested in Ancient Egypt.  During the Amarna period, many changes occurred that catch the attention of many peoples.  It is very interesting to consider how Akhenaten dictated so many changes to the Egyptian culture, when they had been doing things a specific way for many years prior.

The “Relief of Princess with an Earring” is on display at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology museum in the gallery, Amarna: Ancient Egypt’s Place in the Sun.  Although only a portion of the limestone relief is depicted, the overall concept of the image reveals the ideas of the Amarna period.  The relief is placed on the 

wall with a glass slab surrounding it.  On the glass slab, surrounding the relief, the rest of the image is depicted through a white outline.  Next to this relief, are other fragments from the Amarna period.  Many objects from Ancient Egypt do not remain fully intact, considering that it was many years ago and there was a continual progression of rulers rebuilding. There is no clear information on how the museum was able to acquire the object, but by being displayed next to other objects related to the Amarna period and Akhenaten it is an important object in the collection. In the “Relief of Princess with an Earring,” Akhenaten is depicted with his wife Nefertiti and his daughters.  Aten, the sun god, is represented as a disk with arms extended feeding, Akhenaten’s family the ankh.  An ankh is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyph that is meant to represent both life and eternal life. In the recreation of Akhenaten his masculine and feminine aspects are revealed.  He is represented with thick lips, feminine hips and thighs, a large stomach, and narrow shoulders. The label is place on a reader rail and states the different people that are represented in the relief and relates it to the bigger ideas of the Amarna period.  Akhenaten’s family is represented the way god’s were typically depicted, revealing the fact that they were aligning themselves with the gods. 

          To learn more about the relief, one could consider visiting the Amarna gallery at the museum.  Although there is not a lot of information on the website or online about this particular relief, one could consider researching the Amarna period or Akhenaten.  It would be interesting for someone who does not know much about the Amarna period to could take a history or art history class about Ancient Egypt.  By taking a class about Ancient Egypt in general, one would be able to have a better understanding of why the ideas of Amarna period were so different and drastic. 

Someone who might not be interested in this object may be someone who thinks that the ancient Egyptians reveal proof of aliens. Some people believe that the Amarna period supports this theory of ancient aliens due to the diversity of the images and the fact that many of the images reveal a communication between the sky and people.  They would probably believe that the “Relief of Princess with an Earring” supports their theory because the sky disk reveals a communication between the sky and the individuals depicted.  

           Another person who may not be interested in the relief, may be someone who believes that Akhenaten is depicted differently is because he believed to have Marfan’s syndrome.  They would argue that the reason that the Amarna period’s images differ is because of this syndrome.  In addition, in comparison to the other objects in the other Egyptian galleries at the Penn Museum, it would not be surprising to learn that the Amarna gallery may be overlooked.  Visitors to the museum may be more interested in the Giant Sphinx and the mummies and may not even notice the small Amarna gallery.

To further engage viewers with this object, the museum could hold gallery talks in the different Egyptian galleries.  During this gallery talk ,the museum could discuss the diversity of the images in the Amarna collection compared to the objects in the rest of Egyptian galleries.  In addition, the museum could invite an art historian who has a background in Ancient Egypt to compare and contrast images from the Amarna period to the other Egyptian periods.  Another way to engage people with the relief would be to create a timeline of Ancient Egypt through objects.  An object from each period would be chosen.  This would allow for visitors to see the changes of imagery over time. 

Amarna sculpture

Ancient Egyptian sculpture

Ordinary Objects

Museum Practium: Objective Blog, Philadelphia History Museum

Oktavia LaBarge, November 7, 2013

Title: Rocking Horse

Year:1916

Material: Wood, paint, glass (Replacement tail)

Creator: János Demiam

Collection: The Historical Society of Pennsylvania Collection, Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies Collection, 2006, Gift of Mrs. Ethel Demian, 1985

This is a rocking horse from the Philadelphia History Museum in “The Ordinary, the Extraordinary, and the Unknown: The Power of Objects,” gallery.  The museum works to display the history of Philadelphia through the experiences of people in Philadelphia and their objects in its collection.  This rocking horse was carved by a Hungarian immigrant, János Demian, a carver at the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, for his son in 1916.  The Philadelphia Toboggan Company was created in 1904, to builds cars for wooden roller coasters and carousels.

Although this object may seem trivial, it reveals part of Philadelphia’s past.  America is composed of a melting pot of immigrants from all over the world.  At one point, Philadelphia was a central immigrant port and in the early 20th century Philadelphia was the third largest port in the United States.  The rocking horse is a reminder that Philadelphia is made up of immigrants and that they played an important role in the development of the city.   

In the description of the exhibition, it states, “The Ordinary, the Extraordinary, and the Unknown, challenges viewers to look at the meaning of objects, the stories they tell, and their Philadelphia connection.”  This reveals the importance of the rocking horse, because although it may seem ordinary, a variety of interpretations can be made from it.  

In 1985, the rocking horse was given to The Historical Society of Pennsylvania Collection, Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies Collection by Ethel Demian.  The Historical Society of Pennsylvania works to preserve the history and heritage of Pennsylvania. I can only assume that Ethel Demian is a relative of János Demian, the creator of this rocking horse, since they have the same last name.  

The rocking horse is on the second floor of the Philadelphia History Museum in “The Ordinary, the Extraordinary, and the Unknown: The Power of Objects” gallery.  The object is in a glass case in the right corner of the exhibition. The gallery has multiple shelves of objects and placed below the rocking horse is a toy train and Philly the War Dog, who was a mascot of the American soldiers during World War I. The objects placed in the room reveal  the ideas and intent of the exhibition.  The museum has a diverse array of objects ranging from eye glasses to a cage which held the dead bodies of criminals.  It is interesting to consider how all of these objects relate to the history of Philadelphia.

On the reader rail that wraps around the room, are numbers that correspond with numbers placed next to the objects and that have information about the item.  In addition, the museum has iPads placed on the reader rail, where a visitor can find a specific object and learn more information about it.  The label and iPad reveal the maker, date, source, materials, dimensions, and additional relevant information.  Sadly, the information that is on the iPad about the rocking horse is the same that is stated in the label.  The label and iPad reveal that this is a story of a father’s love, who created the rocking horse as a gift for his son.

Despite my interest in the rocking horse, many visitors would probably not notice this object.  It is placed above the visitor’s eye level and is in the corner of the room.  In addition, there is no information about Janos Damien or this specific rocking horse online.  If a visitor would like to learn more about this object, they could consider researching more about rocking horses.  Rocking horses are a popular children’s toy, dating back to ancient Greece.  In addition, someone interested could consider visiting the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, which is still around today.

Someone who might not be interested in this object may be an adult who does not have children.  This person would probably overlook the rocking horse in the museum because they would not have an interest in children’s toys.  In addition, someone who had a negative experience with horses would probably dislike the rocking horse because it may bring back negative memories.

To further engage visitors with the rocking horse the museum could consider creating a scavenger hunt in the museum.  Since the organization of the museum is composed of a varieties of objects from different time periods, many objects may be overlooked due to the mass amount in a small area.  By creating a scavenger hunt, the museum could draw visitor’s attention to objects that may have been overlooked before.  In addition, the museum could consider creating a special exhibition which reveals the different toys made in Philadelphia over time.  It would be interesting to learn about different toy companies and see the evolution of toys over time. This would be beneficial to the museum to allow them to draw in families with children who like toys.

Not your average houseplant!

Museum Practicum: Objective Blog, American Swedish Historical Museum

Oktavia LaBarge, October 30, 2013

            

Title: Aralia

Year: Designed c. 1928, produced c. 2010

Material: Linen

Creator: Josef Frank

Collection: American Swedish Museum: Josef Frank: The Enduring Designs of Josef Frank: Courtesy of Svenskt Tenn, Stockholm, Sweden 

This is a piece of fabric, titled Aralia, designed by Josef Frank, a well known designer and architect.  It is in the special exhibition, Josef Frank: The Enduring Designs of Josef Frank, at the American Swedish Historical Museum.  Josef Frank is considered a pioneer in Swedish modern design and is well known for his natural patterns composed of bright and bold colors.  This is revealed in the work, Aralia, which is meant to represent a common houseplant. However,

Frank creates an interesting design with his use of bold colors.  Frank was inspired to create this design when he was commissioned to decorate a villa in the Hohe Warte in Vienna.

The label that is placed next to the Aralia fabric describes the influences on the design and how they align with his design aesthetic. It also describes the importance of Frank’s design discussing the different uses of the fabric.  The label states that in 1939, Josef Frank used the Aralia fabric for a bedroom and living room design for the Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco.  The Golden Gate Exposition was a fair and celebrated the creation of the Golden Gate bridge.  The Aralia is very important to Swedish design, so important that in 1994, the design was made into a postage stamp commemorating 150 years of Swedish design, which you can still buy today!   

Josef Frank was born in Austria in 1885.  In 1933, due to the rise of Nazism in Vienna, Frank and his wife moved to Stockholm.  Throughout his life, Frank’s designs were very popular with the Swedish.  This fabric is on display at the American Swedish Historical Museum to reveal popular modern Swedish design aesthetics.  It is a special exhibition

called, Josef Frank: The Enduring Designs of Josef Frank and is open Spring 2014. Many of the fabrics that are on display in the special exhibition are reproductions of the past made by a department store in Sweden called, Svenskt Tenn.  

The exhibit itself has a very unique and interesting design.  There are multiple fabrics that were created by Josef Frank that are all hanging from rods.  They look like unrolled fabrics from a fabric store.  This makes the textiles seem more accessible by having them displayed this way.  When you first walk into the museum and turn left, you see a large animal-shaped rug hanging on the wall of the exhibit.  The rug reveals the design ideas of Frank by having a natural object composed of bright bold colors. When you turn right you see two unrolled fabrics hanging against a white wall.  Having this juxtaposition of the bold colors and the white wall really makes the design ideas almost jump off the fabric.  Next to the Aralia fabric is a very basic chair with Frank’s design twist.  The chair is painted a bold red which nicely compliments the bold colors in the Aralia fabric.  The chair still has this naturalistic feel by the simplicity of the design and the neutral colored seat.  

As you continue into the special exhibition, the walls are all lined with the brightly color fabric.  Throughout the space, are different furniture pieces which reveal how the fabrics which Frank designed are used in furniture design.  It was interesting to see how the fabrics looked on different chairs and couches and consider the bold of statements they would make in someones house.

If someone wanted to learn more about Swedish Modernism they could consider researching information about Swedish design aesthetics. Someone might also want to visit the American Swedish Museum and learn more about the Swedish culture.  In addition, someone could consider taking a modern art history class. At the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, they offer modern art history classes online.  This person could also consider reading the book, Josef Frank: LIfe and Work, by Christopher Long to learn more about the work of Frank.

Someone who might not be interested in Franks designs or the Aralia textile would be someone with a more classical design aesthetic.  This could be someone who does not like using bright and bold colors in interior design.  They may think that the modernist design is tacky and overwhelming.  I believe that many artists who worked before the modernist movement in the early 19th century would probably really dislike this design aesthetic.  They would probably consider the designs of Frank very childlike and unrealistic.  

To further engage viewers with the Aralia fabric and the other textiles by Josef Frank, the museum could consider creating a coloring book composed of the different naturalist designs.  This would allow visitors to color in the fabrics with their own color choices and compare their designs to the designs of Frank. It would be very interesting to see how visitors interpret the motifs of Josef Frank’s design. 

"It always teatime"

Museum Practicum: Objective Blog, Please Touch Museum

Oktavia LaBarge, October 24, 2013

Title: Teapot with Lid

Year: c. 1990-2000

Material: Porcelain

Creator: Unknown

Collection: Please Touch Museum, Wonderland, Royal Collection, Gift of Robyn Green

The object that I have chosen is a Teapot with a Lid from the Please Touch Museum as part of their Wonderland collection. The Please Touch Museum was create in 1976 as a children’s museum dedicated for children seven and under.  Unlike other children’s museum, the Please Touch Museum is a collecting museum and has over 25,000 objects.  The objects that are in the collection are mainly toys that were made after 1945 and are meant to represent the history of children’s toys and encourage the ideas of play, which is an integral part of the museum. This is a porcelain Teapot from the Royal Collection with pictures of Alice in Wonderland at the tea party with the Rabbit and the Mad Hatter.  On the lid it says, “Its always teatime.”

The Teapot is important to the Wonderland exhibit because it adds to the overall theme of Alice in Wonderland.  Alice in Wonderland was first written in 1865 by Carroll Lewis, which originally was a story that Lewis would tell his

Alice Lindell
Lewis Carroll's niece

niece, Alice.  This story is an amazing children’s book, which many children have grown up with their parents reading it to them or watching the movie. It is on display to emphasize the ideas of the exhibition.  This object in particular is on display as part of the tea party.  The Teapot was part of the Royal Collection and was donated by Robyn Green.

To enter the Wonderland exhibition, the visitor first falls, down the rabbit hole, or walks down a ramp to the basement floor.  The walls which lead down the ramp are painted to resemble dirt.  Once the visitor reaches the bottom of the rabbit hole, they are confronted with two different mazes, one made out of grass and the other made with walls.  To find the Teapot, one must enter the grass maze and follow it to the tree where they will find the Mad Hatter and the Rabbit at a tea party.  In the center of the table is an illuminated box which holds a variety of different Alice in Wonderland objects that all relate to tea parties.  On the top of the table are a variety of different colored plastic tea sets where children are invited to dress up as one of the characters and join the Rabbit and Mad Hatter at the table. 

Inside of the illuminated box, in the center of the tea party, with the teapot with lid

are two plates, a Humpty Dumpty Bank, and a Mad Hatter mug.  Next to each object is a label which describes what it is, where it is from, and what it is made of.  This helps visitors who are actually interested in the different objects to help understand what they are looking at.

If a visitor would like to learn more about the Teapot they could consider reading one of the Alice in Wonderland books or watching one of the movies.  The original Alice in Wonderland movie was made in 1951 but has been recently been recreated in 2010.  Someone who was interested in the creation of the book could consider researching Alice Liddell who the story was written about or researching Charles Dodgson, who is better-known as Lewis Carroll, the author of the book.  In addition, someone who is interested in Teapots may consider

researching the history of Teapots and tea or visiting the J’s Tea-rific Teapot Musuem

Overall, the objects that are in the Wonderland exhibit, seem to be more of a backdrop to the actual play aspects of the museum.  Many children who visit the museum may not even notice that there are objects in the collection because they are distracted by all of the other objects that they can play with. Other people who might not be interested in the Teapot would be people who are not interested in the Alice in Wonderland. These visitors who are not interested in the object, may not know the story of Alice in Wonderland and may not know understand why the tea party is an essential part of the book. These visitors may be confused about the Teapot and believe that it is only an object that has the story depicted on it, while not realizing that it is part of the narrative.

To engage visitors with the Teapot, the Please Touch Museum could considering holding an Alice in Wonderland tea party event.  During this event, the museum could use replicas of the teapot and cups to allow visitors to use and have the actual objects in the collections out to allow visitors to see teapots, tea plates, and tea cups that relate to Alice in Wonderland.  During the tea party, people could be invited to dress up as different Alice in Wonderland characters to enhance the experience.  The museum could also hold a movie night, where they show parts of the movie from 1951 and parts from the 2010 movie.  This would create a comparison between the two movies and the advancements in technology.