For the International Museum Day: The history that come to life again
Museum director Dina Schurovskaya gives tasks to the quest.
Do you know what happens in the museums at night? Do you believe in fairy-tales and different scare stories from horror films? You have the right not to believe. But something might be happening in the rooms where there are so many antique authentic items and documents which were a priceless treasure for someone in the past and which keep the energy of ancient times today. Whose phantoms are wandering under the ceiling, whose sighs are lost in the archival shelters, whose voices are whispering softly like leaves of trees?
Smorgon local history museum workers decided to make historic moments come to life and to attract those who are fond of ancientry to the museum exhibited objects. In the first museum room the visitors were met by a historic man who didn’t look pugnacious and was even ready to take photos with selfie fans. Two erudite groups agreed to participate in the quest: they had to match the names of the rural items with their pictures, solve puzzles about famous historic people of our district, look at the photos of a century-remoteness and guess what modern place is shown there and so on.
Belarusian polka
The Mussky family, local craftsmen, gave masterclass of willow weaving skills. A great attention was attracted to the one item exhibition. Everybody was looking forward to the moment when this item hidden under a red cloth would be shown to the public. They were impressed not only by the item – a mammoth tusk – but also by the pronounced cost of this exhibit.
The travelers to the past enjoyed the dancing part of the program most of all. The members of Molodechno ethnographic band “KOLA” taught old folk dances to the guests and at the end of the party they congratulated a woman who was born on the International Museum Day and sang her a song.
Masterclass by the local craftsmen Mussky
Alla Klemenok
Photos: by author