any ancient history exhibits in DC/NYC?

[JABarney]

We have been studying ancient history this year and of course we have had many requests to go see the pyramids, Machu Pichu, the Roman ruins, the Great Wall of China etc. That of course would take up my education budget for the next ten years, so we have decided to search for exhibits around the US instead. We will be traveling this spring to DC and NYC and would love to know your favorite ancient history exhibts! Any exhibits in New England would be great too!
Thanks

[JABarney]

ideas?

[calandalsmom]

Soon the National Geographic museum will host 15 of the terracotta soliders. I think it begins this fall and runs til next March.

[Mommyfaithe]

OH YES!!! The NY Museum of Natural History is a BLAST!! Be ready to spend the whole day there. You may also want to check out the Metropolitan Museum as well as if you are in Albany as well, you can go to the NY Museum...which has displays of ancient Native Americans, and even a Mastadon.

There is so much to see in NYC, I wouldn't limit myself to just Ancient History...I would go to the Met whether there were ancient displays or not. i would go to the Bronx Zoo and to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. I would go see the ships in the NYC harbor and walk on the Intrepid on the West Side Highway. I would eat in China Town and shop on the lower east side...wanna feel like you are in an ancient market place...with bargainning and outdoor booths galore??

I would take them to see where the World Trade Center fell...where the stock market crashed and where the British invaded. There is SO much to do in NY, especially from an educational perspective.

Enjoy!
Faithe

[Mommyfaithe]

Oh, if your children are into the Ocean...the Aquarium in Coney Island, NY is awesome...and so is the one in Mystic Beach MA.
~~Faithe

[Jenny in Florida]

The best exhibits we've seen tend to be travelling things, and I'm not aware of anything in those areas right now.

Oh! I'm an idiot!

In NYC, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a wonderful Egyptian wing, including a mastabe and tomb. Very, very cool. Go see it!

They also have a Greek and Roman collection, but we haven't done that. I'm sure it's wonderful.

We're studying the ancients this year, too. We've been travelling up and down the east coast hitting exhibits. We've seen Day in Pompeii in Charlotte (NC), King Tut in Atlanta and The First Emperor: China's Terra Cotta Army in Atlanta, as well as doing a day in the Egyptian wing at the Met.

That China exhibit is wonderful, by the way. I've done some poking around online but can't find out where it's going after Altanta.

Oh, and here's a link to an article about the various museums in DC, at least a couple of which seem to have some ancient stuff to see: http://www.crshotels.com/view_article.asp?ArticleId=75

[Alessandra]

I think you'd get the most from your time and money by going to one or two places -- the Metropolitan Museum of Art has collections in all your areas. The Egyptian collection is especially magnificent, as the Met did a lot of collecting there in the early 1900's. You can walk into a pyramid entrance and also visit the Temple of Dendur. The Mesopotamian collection is smaller, but still quite good (Philadelphia & Chicago actually have more wide-ranging Mesopotamian collections). The Met also has good pre-Columbian art (lots of gold!) & good Asian collections. The Greek and Roman galleries have been redone recently -- the displays are magnificent, and the Met has always had a good classical collection.

The Met has an excellent website -- you can find info for kids or check out the collections in detail. I always show my dc pix of a few things we are going to see and, if I have time, I make a concentration type card game with some major (or just physically large) pieces.

A little off the beaten track is the Brooklyn Museum of Art, which also has one of the best Egyptian collection in the U.S. They also have excellent Middle Eastern, Asian & American collections. A lot of people skip this, because it is in Brooklyn, but it is well worth a visit.

The Asia Society and the Hispanic Society also have nice collections/exhibitions, but, since you are just visiting, I probably skip these for now. The Museum of Natural History has Mexico, Central America & South America exhibitions, but although they are great exhibitions, they are not the highlight of the museum -- your kids might beg you to go the the planetarium & so on.

Just two more tips about the Met -- (1) your Met ticket will also get you admission to the Cloisters; (2) consider buying lunch from the sidewalk vendors -- food at the Met is really expensive.

ETA -- You could check out the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Sackler & Peabody museums (Harvard) in Boston, the University of Pennsylvania Museum in Philadelphia (Mesopotamia), the Sackler & Freer (Smithsonian) in Washington, the Oriental Institute in Chicago. The Museum of the American Indian in Washington has some Central & South America collections.

[calandalsmom]

The best exhibits we've seen tend to be travelling things, and I'm not aware of anything in those areas right now.

Oh! I'm an idiot!

In NYC, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a wonderful Egyptian wing, including a mastabe and tomb. Very, very cool. Go see it!

They also have a Greek and Roman collection, but we haven't done that. I'm sure it's wonderful.

We're studying the ancients this year, too. We've been travelling up and down the east coast hitting exhibits. We've seen Day in Pompeii in Charlotte (NC), King Tut in Atlanta and The First Emperor: China's Terra Cotta Army in Atlanta, as well as doing a day in the Egyptian wing at the Met.

That China exhibit is wonderful, by the way. I've done some poking around online but can't find out where it's going after Altanta.

Oh, and here's a link to an article about the various museums in DC, at least a couple of which seem to have some ancient stuff to see: http://www.crshotels.com/view_article.asp?ArticleId=75

For some reason ATL gave the exhibit a different name than Houston, CA and DC use/ used. I had a heck of a time finding it online. I finally was able to locate its next destination by tracing back to a Nat'l Geo press release.


http://press.nationalgeographic.com/pressroom/index.jsp?pageID=pressReleases_detail&siteID=1&cid=1187709111803

[Capt_Uhura]

Thank you for your informative post. Can you tell me where in Philadelphia to see the Mesopotamia collections?

Thanks,
Capt_Uhura

[Alessandra]

Capt_Uhura
Here is a link to the Univ of Pa Museum.
http://www.museum.upenn.edu/
The Univ of Pa has an excellent Near Eastern archaeology dept & has done a lot of collecting in the area.

[Jenny in Florida]

the Brooklyn Museum of Art, which also has one of the best Egyptian collection in the U.S. They also have excellent Middle Eastern, Asian & American collections. A lot of people skip this, because it is in Brooklyn, but it is well worth a visit.

Oh, yes! I'd forgotten about this one, but I took my daughter there years ago and was very impressed.

[plimsoll]

Also, be aware that the "suggested donation" at the Met and the Museum of Natural History is just that -- if you are on a budget and cannot afford the full suggested donation, you can donate less and still get admission to these museums.

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

Favorite Museums-If I had to pick one I might go with the Met. What can top a full indoor temple? (If you are curious either go on line or remember the scene from When Harry Met Sally-Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal talking in funny voices while walking by the temple.)

American Museum of Natural History
Met
Cloisters
Smithsonian-for the Ancient World I would focus on Natural History, Freer/Sackler, and if you covered New World-National Museum of the American Indian
National Gallery

You could also just enjoy the mall/central federal area of DC and discuss how and why Greek architecture inspired so many of our government buildings

Be sure to check out the web sites of all your final destinations. Most of these museums have books designed to introduce kids to their collections and sometimes activities to complete as you tour. For example-the Met has Inside the Met and AMNH has Exploring the AMHN. They also have lots of resources on line to help teachers prepare for field trips. If you don't plan on buying at least bring some note paper and visit the museum shops and jot down titles. They are are great source of inspiration.

Have a great vacation!

[Christine]

We have been studying ancient history this year and of course we have had many requests to go see the pyramids, Machu Pichu, the Roman ruins, the Great Wall of China etc. That of course would take up my education budget for the next ten years, so we have decided to search for exhibits around the US instead. We will be traveling this spring to DC and NYC and would love to know your favorite ancient history exhibts! Any exhibits in New England would be great too!
Thanks

If you wanted to take a "virtual field trip", I could help you out.

Ancient sites around the Mediterranean (http://corefoundations.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/visual-aids-for-following-journal-entries/) (Watch the links, as I have them labeled for specific locales.)

[JABarney]

We have just gotten back from our trip and I have to say that the Metropolitan Museum of Art was the highlight for our studies in ancient history. They had an excellent ancient Egyptian wing with the Temple of Dendar, statues of Hatshepsut, and many more exciting things to see from all three kingdoms too numerous to list! They also had an amazing Greek and Roman wing complete with an Eutruscan chariot! Adults were 20.00 and children under 12 are free.
I can highly reccomend this!
Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.