Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Kids will be kids will be terrifying.
Posted by: Amelia // Category: Historic Preservation, When Babies Ramble // 2:31 pm
While there’s a whole laundry list of things I’m afraid of, there are two that really shine in the house museum context. The first, arson, will be well covered next week, so I won’t get into that here.
(Except to say “look at this!” — there. Done.)
The other is children. Sure they’re adorable and full of life, but they’re also small, sticky, and often unable to read.
What this means for us are people who are easy to lose track of, ready to touch, pet, and sit on all sorts of things that have been painstakingly preserved in order that people should never sit on them again.
To be fair, it may not entirely be the fault of the children in scenarios like these, and some blame is certainly owed to the adults who bring ‘em over. I mean, ask 11-year-olds what they think of when you say “museum” (as Lain and I did last week) and you get answers like “boring”, “quiet”, and “you can’t touch anything”.
Perhaps it’s because the Wren’s Nest, this Nation’s Most Exciting House Museum (trademark pending) blows those first two stereotypes out of the water, children and adults alike forget the third.
(You would be amazed at how many people try to use this bathroom, despite multiple signs telling them it’s really, truly, not an option.)
Now, don’t get me wrong– kids are our bread and butter, and we like them a lot. But heavens, when you see one about to leap into a 150-year old chair or pee on an antique, your opinion changes in a flash.
And that’s why I’m happy to report that there are currently 50 children running around and having a grand old time — outside.
License
This work is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
One Comment
Leave a Reply
[...] Along with Wordsmiths Books and the Wren’s Nest, we’re proud to welcome Brock Clarke who will be reading from the excellent novel An Arsonist’s Guide To Writers’ Homes in New England. The evening includes DJ Hacks on the 1’s and 2’s before the reading and live music by the Sealions afterwards. There will also be food and beverage. All for free. [...]