Finally, after being in Dunedin for three and a half months, I went to the Otago Museum. Granted, it was mostly to find an object for a group project, but I took the whole afternoon to enjoy the sights. I didn't go to the live butterfly exhibit, though, because I promised a friend I would only go with her. I have to admit, this has been my favorite museum to visit, because it is set up more like a gallery than a museum.
The Oceania section.
First, I went to the most interesting exhibit: Oceania. It was remarkable to see the transitions (or lack thereof) that shapes, artifacts, clothes, and culture went through as you "traveled" from island to island. I especially enjoyed how the placement and design of tattoos changed, as well as the typical fishook shape. There were impressive, elaborate dance masks (one was in the shape of a massive fish). The complexity and time devotion to these masks made sense after I saw this wonderful quote on the wall:
"Every aspect of Polynesian life is accompanied by song or dance, and the main instrument is voice itself."
I wasn't really looking at my map in the museum, because it was well organized and each exhibit was a separate wing of the building. So, after Oceania, I just went to the main stairway, turned around the corner, and WHAM! I was face-to-face with a gigantic waka and various Maori cultural items. After going through so many exhibits featuring Maori history, I have come to this realization: Moas are seriously awesome. I wish they weren't extinct. They seem like the coolest animals ever. If you don't know what they are, take an ostrich, double the size, add feathers to the legs and neck, subtract wings, and thicken the legs. Their fossils and skeletons are all over New Zealand museums. But, the Otago museum had an impressive collection of skeletons and taxidermy in the attic: humming birds, penguins, fish, beetles, skulls, butterflies, eggs, monkeys, lemurs, wild cats, bees, squirrels, rats, kangaroos, spiders, crustaceans, seals, snakes, reptiles, and much, much, more. Plus, on they also housed the largest fossil in NZ on a lower level!
The animal attic. The entire museum was full of skeletons, actually.
To end my day, I wandered through the Otago specific history section (which, unfortunately did not peak my interest), the nautical boat model room (where there was a giant wall of knot types, 11 of which I knew how to make), and the world cultures area. This was probably my favorite exhibit. There was a wall of swords and knives from different countries, Grecian busts and vases, an Egyptian mummy and amulets, clothing artifacts (which is where I found the Chinese Dragon robe I was doing a group project on), pottery, etc. I also enjoyed the hands-on, cabinet area. Basically, you opened a bunch of drawers to learn about what was inside each one. There was also a mini human anatomy puzzle that I failed to construct. I think there were mismatch and missing pieces. The museum was a great way to remove myself from the gross, rainy spring weather outside. It's also someplace I can go back to visit and discover a whole slew of new facts and items. If I'm in need of a procrastination break from finals studying, you know where to find me!
The nature area. This is actually one of the coolest set-ups I have ever seen.
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