‘Good Old Days’ extolled in museum exhibits
An exhibition showcasing the ‘Good Old Days’ of Guyana was on Wednesday launched at the National Museum in observance of International Museums Day.
The exhibits showcasing the creativeness and innovativeness of Guyanese people throughout the years have been opened up to the public, courtesy of the Guyana National Museum, the Walter Roth Museum of Anthropology and the Museum of African Heritage.
The showcase, which will run for a month under the theme ‘Celebrating the Rich Legacy, Guyanese Culture and Identity - A Look Back at the Good Old Days,’ has based its exhibits on nine themes reflecting the evolving Guyanese society.
Administrator of the Guyana National Museum Tamika Boatswain told Stabroek News that those nine themes: Craft, Child play, Folklore, Social life, Creole Kitchen, Architectural Heritage, Language, Guyanese Heritage, and Music, all reflect on the resourcefulness and innovative creativity of the people before the technological age. She said for example children use to make wooden go carts to play with before electrical or battery powered toy cars came into being. “With technology many of these innovative aspects are going away and so this exhibition attempts to take a look back at those aspects of Guyanese culture to recognize the value of Guyanese identity,” Boatswain said.
She commented on the origins of the artifacts, telling Stabroek News that some of the exhibits that are on display have been made in house by the staff of the Guyana Museum, while others have been acquired over the years and the rest have been borrowed from the collaborating museums.
The general public can view the exhibits during the museum’s opening hours which are 9 am to 4.30 pm Monday to Friday and 9 am to 2.30 pm on Saturdays. Admission is free.