3 Museums In A Day!

My nephew has been with me since last Saturday. He's 8 and here minus his parents and siblings. My gal has been enjoying her time with her cousins from both sides these past 2 weeks. And my little nephew seems to be enjoying his stay that he says he doesn't mind staying on some more.

Sometimes we need an extra push like this to start visiting those places of interest around us. This has to be one of the more educational holidays for my girl. We visited 3 museums today! ...the State Museum, Paddy Museum and the little museum at the restored Kuala Kedah Fort in Kuala Kedah. Alor Setar actually has quite a few museums and cultural places to visit! 8)

The State Museum was a surprisingly nice visit this time around. I had a good time trying to spark the imagination of the kids about the past. One of the guards actually followed us around cos she found it amusing (I think) listening to my stories to the kids. LOL! She even reminded me not to forget to visit the exhibits upstairs!

It's too bad that our museums don't have staff who specializes in making those trips truly educational for visitors, like having someone bring people around and explain things to them or more activity corners for kids. Just by looking at the pictures and artifacts don't quite get the imagination of a kid moving. It's a good thing that history is something that I love and enjoy; and to be able to connect it to our present world to the kids hopefully will open up their minds a bit more....

Before we went in, I noticed a Ridsect aerosol mozzie spray sitting beside the Muzium Negeri Kedah sign. Left behind after a pak-tor session??? LOL! The museum is located beside the river, with makan stalls just a stone's throw away. Ideal place to bring your g(b)f for a date... some more out in the open. No secret-secret place for the religious officers to come storming.. LOL!

The Paddy Museum has undergone some refurbishments. I've been there a couple of times since they opened. At this museum, the presence of a knowledgeable guide is sorely missed. For kids, many of the tools they show don't make much sense. If only they put in video clips to show how they were used. And someone to tell stories to bring the artifacts and displays alive....

On our way there, we spotted these farmers planting paddy.... it's paddy planting season now! There were 7 of them and we stopped our car to watch them work. These farmers worked fast and it was fascinating watching them transplant the paddy into the field. It was quite mesmerizing to watch them stick the seedlings in a systematic rhythm as if in a dance, into the muddy bottom with water which was at knee deep. The speed and efficiency were amazing! One of our kids couldn't imagine that someone can do this the whole day!

The last museum for the day was the little museum we stumbled upon at the Kuala Kedah Fort. The kids had a nice time running (and climbing) on the fort walls which have been beautifully restored. Mind you these walls are made from a mixture of honey, egg shells, egg white, shells and what have you not... all very natural ingredients. LOL!

The lawn was beautifully manicured but unfortunately the cannons are rusting. Should do something to slow that process down. We bought some keropok lekor and chomped on them while letting the children run loose. But with so much space and their kiddy agility, it was rather tiring trying to keep up with them. They had a wild time running all over the place!

Museum visits can be fun for kids too, I realize. But it's up to us also to do a little homework to get them interested. People from ages past were actually quite smart, you know. Study the way they work, made things that worked for them like the bubu, adze, etc, etc.. and you'll realize how innovative they were too. It's good to get the kids to be aware of that. Ours is not the only generation of great advancement. Every recorded human age has witnessed its own leap forward....

So, 3 museums in a day! I amaze even myself. LOL!!!