muses at the museum of anthropology

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Back when we first arrived in Vancouver, we befriended a fellow Australian who was studying for the semester at UBC. We made numerous plans to check out the Museum of Anthropology on his campus but they never came to fruition for some reason or another. Six months after he left the country, we finally made it out to the MOA to check out this much talked-about museum. Of course we went on tightarse Tuesday (after 5pm you only pay $7, museum closes at 9pm so there's enough for you to check out the major exhibits) and brought Litty along with us.

The museum building was quite impressive in itself. It was designed in the 1970's by Canadian architect Arthur Erickson and makes use of local Douglas Fir timber in its long-spanning post and beam structure. The 30-foot plus high glass curtain wall almost drowns the feature totem poles in sunlight; the steel columns and wood beams recognising and reflecting the stoic and colossal forms of the poles.

There were artifacts too many to count, and the museum's curator has organised the displays in a very interactive fashion. You pull out drawers to reveal hidden delicate wood carvings and bone instruments, feel the wooden texture of a 600 year old canoe, and use your knuckles to play out tunes on suspended wooden drums. The museum is not very large - there are only 4 permanent galleries and 2 for temporary exhibitions - but one can spend hours upon hours discovering the thousands of items on display. It does get a little tedious and repetitive after awhile, but what museum doesn't?

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