Culture vulture
This week, I went to the International Museum of Muslim Cultures in Jackson. I'd been meaning to go since the museum opened, but I never "got around to it." (You know how it is.) Well, this week I made a concerted effort!
The museum currently has two exhibits on display - Islamic Moorish Spain and an exhibit featuring writings from Timbuktu. The Islamic Moorish Spain exhibit is older, and I think it's the museum's permanent collection. The Timbuktu exhibit is (I think) temporary. The Timbuktu exhibit is very well laid-out, featuring a variety of books, instruments, models of buildings, and scenes from daily life. Plus, they have an area where you can push buttons on a kiosk, hear traditional music, and then use some instruments they've placed on a table to make your own songs.
The Islamic Moorish Spain exhibit was nice, but you could tell it was an older exhibit. Plus, due to space constraints, it was kind-of squeezed into a corner of the museum, which didn't make for easy (or aesthetic) viewing. So, I think they either need a little bit more space, or they need to put the Islamic Moorish Spain exhibit into storage until the Timbuktu exhibit closes.
Oh, one other thing - before we toured the museum, they showed two short videos about what we were going to see. The videos were VERY interesting, and I learned several things I didn't know. However, the videos showed you alot of the same things that you later saw in the exhibit. So, while I really appreciated the videos, they kind-of spoiled the exhibit for you (in a way).
Anyway, we did enjoy the visit, and we'll go back when they mount another special exhibit! It's a very unique museum.
The museum currently has two exhibits on display - Islamic Moorish Spain and an exhibit featuring writings from Timbuktu. The Islamic Moorish Spain exhibit is older, and I think it's the museum's permanent collection. The Timbuktu exhibit is (I think) temporary. The Timbuktu exhibit is very well laid-out, featuring a variety of books, instruments, models of buildings, and scenes from daily life. Plus, they have an area where you can push buttons on a kiosk, hear traditional music, and then use some instruments they've placed on a table to make your own songs.
The Islamic Moorish Spain exhibit was nice, but you could tell it was an older exhibit. Plus, due to space constraints, it was kind-of squeezed into a corner of the museum, which didn't make for easy (or aesthetic) viewing. So, I think they either need a little bit more space, or they need to put the Islamic Moorish Spain exhibit into storage until the Timbuktu exhibit closes.
Oh, one other thing - before we toured the museum, they showed two short videos about what we were going to see. The videos were VERY interesting, and I learned several things I didn't know. However, the videos showed you alot of the same things that you later saw in the exhibit. So, while I really appreciated the videos, they kind-of spoiled the exhibit for you (in a way).
Anyway, we did enjoy the visit, and we'll go back when they mount another special exhibit! It's a very unique museum.
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