Mummy please tell Daddy I'm scared

Dear Parents of Terrified Child:
   What makes you think that just because something is educational means it is appropriate for all ages?  AND just because there is a cartoon version that your child loves doesn't mean they will embrace reality in the same way.
   We spent almost an hour with you this past July as my family and I toured the Mummies of the World Exhibit at MOSI in Tampa.  My family, which included our daughters aged 15 and 20, absolutely loved it.  Like you, we chose to upgrade our tickets to include this private exhibit at the bequest of our daughter and I am so glad we did.  In the short hour that it took us to walk through the hall it seemed that at every turn I was learning something new.  Before that morning I didn't know that mummies first appeared in South America before the Middle East, did you?   Who knew that the oldest mummy found to date was from Chile?  We absolutely loved the 3-D and interactive displays where we learned how today's forensic science is revealing long hidden secrets that mummies once  held.  How cool is it to know that they are able to diagnosis causes of death as well as create a nutritional study for a person's lifetime?   The best part for us, at least, was that in addition to videos, spinning globes, and wonderful docents there were over 50 REAL MUMMIES.   Not only were they real but they out for the world to see and not hidden away in a sarcophagus.  The had mummies of cats, rabbits men, women and children; some clothed some not.
     So dear parents what possessed you to bring your pre-school aged child to this exhibit??  The rules we were read before entering should have been enough of a warning:

• no cell phones allowed
• no photography
• no bathroom
• dim lighting
• and NO RE-ENTRY

     In addition to a docent informing you of these rules we watched a 5 minute video about the exhibit.  This video informed us that while this is an exhibition the ultimate goal is to respect these individuals on display and to remember that they once had families and friends. After that video was over we entered the exhibit through dark curtains and came face to face with the first mummy.  We watched as your sweet little girl ran up to the case and peered in.  "What's that Daddy?"  "That's a mummy," you replied.  "Is it Real?" "Yes that is a real mummy?"  "Is it Dead?" "Yes, it is dead."
     At that point your daughter climbed your leg into your arm then buried her head so deep into your neck an ostrich would have been proud.  I truly need to know, what possessed you to continue with the exhibit?  Did you think things were going to get better?  Maybe you thought they would be prettier as if you were viewing the riches of Tutankhamen's tomb?  I really need to know.
     Throughout the entire exhibit we could hear your daughter squealing with fear, crying and asking you to please take her home.  More than once we witnessed you telling her that she wanted to come here and see the mummies so you were staying.  I know that we were really impressed that they had an actual page from  The Book Of The Dead on display but somehow I don't think your daughter felt the same.
     While we were learning from the docent how Egyptians would paint their bodies different colors so they could find them in the afterlife we also got to hear your daughter crying to your wife "Mommy tell Daddy I'm scared".  ~On a personal note:  I absolutely love this idea of painting your body so much that I am going to include in my will/funeral directions bottles of the exact color of nail polish to be used.  In addition there will be a can of spray paint for my cousin Nancy and her husband Gordon who also totally love this idea and have permission to spray my feet. (OK maybe you had to be there but I laughed over this for about a week and again just now)
   

  

After this last outburst my family could no longer bear to hear it any more and actually hung back a bit in hopes we wouldn't encounter y'all anymore.  How you handled seeing the nude mummies or the last exhibit of an entire family I do not know.  What I do know is this:    YOU sir are the parent.  And as such you have theright to say no when a child asks to do something which is above their true understanding, know this is different for every child..  Also as the parent it is your responsibility to research an exhibit such as this if you are taking your young child.  Oh look the museum has a link for families which was easy to find and called: Information for families.  Finally your response of "I paid for these tickets we are going to see the entire show"  truly has no meaning whatsoever to your child. My advice for the future is to show your daughter pictures on the computer or in a book.  Possibly do a side by side comparison between the TV character and reality. See if videos (like the one above) are available and then give it a few days to see how or even if she truly understand what the exhibit is about.
     Somehow though I think your daughter got the last laugh as I am pretty confident she didn't sleep very well that night ~ bless her heart.

~Sincerely,
Lady Bren

I must admit my kids and I loved this show

    

I've said it before...

.... there are some people born with part of their brains missing.  However with this certain group thank heavens for people like them.

     As mentioned in a previous post I enjoy shouting at the TV when I see people choosing to do simply stupid and life threatening activities ~ like say choosing to take a ride on a shark's fin.  Tonight hubby and I watched a TV show that had me screaming at the fools one minute then being absolutely fascinated oh so grateful they are doing what they do the next.  History Channel has a new series called Shark Wranglers.  Here's their tag:
On the far side of the Atlantic Ocean, in some of the world's most treacherous waters, Chris Fischer and his crew of the shark research vessel OCEARCH are on a mission to decode the mystery of one of the planet's most notorious predators: the great white shark. Fischer and the crew risk life and limb to tag and track the great whites, revealing where they feed, breed and prowl. 
Now when they say risk life and limb they truly mean it.  What these scientists do is catch a great white shark in their "little boat" then tow it to their anchored floating ocean laboratory.  Attached to their lab is what they call the cradle, which I think looks like a giant porch, that they lower into the water.  One of the scientists gets out of the little boat and jumps onto this cradle with the job of guiding the towed shark onto it.  ***I was honestly screaming at the TV at this point because did I forget to mention that the shark is not SEDATED in anyway shape or form.  Actually it is pretty pissed considering it has just been towed how many miles and there are buoys attached to the line to prevent the shark from diving.  So yes please sign me up to jump on the cradle and guide the 300 teeth attached to this 400+ pound pissed off fish onto while I am barefoot and have no weapons whatsoever!
     Once the shark is on the cradle it is lifted out of the water  A wet towel is put over the shark's eyes to calm it down, we don't want to stress it out anymore. (yeah I had a bunch of comments here) The team has 15 minutes to run tests, install trackers and remove the hook.  That's right someone puts their hands into the shark's mouth ~ the one with 300 teeth, and removes the hook.  One of the questions hurled at the TV during this scene.... Do you let your significant others watch the show??? What about your life insurance agents??
     While you couldn't pay me any kind of money to even be the chef on this boat what these brave men are willing to do in the name of science is fascinating.  During this premiere episode they showed footage of a Japanese ship catching Great Whites, cutting off their fins (while still alive) and throwing the dismembered sharks back into the ocean.  It seems Shark Fin soup is regaining popularity and fins sell for upwards of $1,000/pound.  The mission of  Ocearch is to not only study Great Whites and use that info to stop human attacks but to hopefully prevent the extinction of this species.
    We've set the DVR to record the series so once a week I'll be screaming at the TV then praising the fools at the end.