A Day at the Museum

December 20, 2009

The day we were initially scheduled to leave Accra we decided that we needed a little adventure. So we loaded up into a taxi and headed up the road to the National Museum. It was interesting to learn some more about this beautiful country, but all four kids for the most part were less than impressed so less learning took place than I would have liked. Overall, the museum was good for a two hour diversion from the hotel.

The first part of the museum that we explored was the statue garden inside the front gate:

A statue of Kwame Nkrumah, the first president/prime minister of Ghana and the man who declared Ghanaian independence from Britain in 1957. This statue is a replica of the one that stood in front of the seat of government and was destroyed during the coup in 1966.

The children were fascinated by this statue of fishermen and their canoe.

The dichotomy of Ghana -- the beauty of the land and the local arts, and then the lack of stewardship of that beauty. The splendor of the statue garden, and yet there was trash all over the ground. I could not take in one without being fully aware of the other.

How small HC looks in comparison to this soldier

I think they wanted to go for a ride

Beautiful smiles

Seriously, how can my heart not melt???

The Snedden family

Inside the National Museum:

Amazing hand-carved stools. Each symbol represents a parable or truth of the Akan culture. The stools are dragged outside at night for story telling, how the history and culture is passed from one generation to the next still today.

The variety of drums used here. The children love their djembe, and I'm still trying to find a way to get more types of drums home.

A representation of a village hut

E and L's first walk up stairs. They weren't quite sure what to make of it -- especially since they could see the floor they were walking away from.

Checking out the view from above

We had fun on our adventure to the museum. I'm glad that I went and that I took the kids with me. The pictures and things I learned will help me help them learn their story from here better.