Nancy V. Sont – Clips & Samples

Hands on Learning in San Antonio’s Witte Museum

Publication:  Texas Magazine

Date Published: 8/27/2002

Photographs: Yes

Content

Hands on Learning in San Antonio’s Witte Museum

By Nancy V. Sont

It doesn’t look like the ones on television. Dark brown straps of
handmade linen material cris-cross the entire Greco-Roman mummy in the
‘Mummies: Unwrapping the past’ exhibit in San Antonio’s Witte museum
No need to wonder what’s under the mummy’s wrapping, the CAT-scan area
gives a clear view. The process of mummification is clearly explained.
The latest non-invasive technology, including X-rays, CAT-scans and
needle biopsies, have been used to inspect it without disturbing the
mummy itself. The results are on display. Also on exhibit are a
mummified hand, a wall of reproductions of a Fayyum mummy portraits and
a re-creation of a pre-dynastic burial. Fayyum is a region in Egypt
where flat wooden portraits of the person were placed over the face of
the mummy. The portrait for the mummy was lost or stolen in antiquity.

Predating the mummies are dinosaurs, casts of which are on display in
the ‘Vanished Texans’ exhibit. Displays include skulls of Anatosaurus
and Tyrannosaurus Rex, a life size Triceratops and the femurs of a
duck-billed dinosaur and an Alamosaurus. Children are allowed to climb
on the replica of a dinosaur’s footprint found that was near Glen Rose,
Texas.

Also a great excitement for children, the Witte Explorer 1 takes seven
passengers on a virtual adventure through time.

“You’re in a seat with a seatbelt, the screen is in front of you and the
images are on the screen. The explorer is moving as well so you feel
like you’re diving under the sea. It’s more than just watching the
video. It’s like a flight simulator but it does more things than just
flying,” says Elisa Phelps, Director of Collections and the museum’s
Anthropology curator.

The Time Gate sends riders back in time to ancient Egyptian pyramids.
The Slot Car Boogie is a race car. The computer chip tours the interior
of a computer. The virtual time machine takes them back to dinosaur
time, lands on the moon, crosses the ocean, races down a glacier, and
travels by roller coaster under the sea. Little kids just adore it.
The segments are just a few minutes each.

Most bird watchers recognize birds by their appearance. However, many
birds cannot be seen deep within foliage. Spending some time at the
‘Sounds of South Texas’ diorama is a good way to learn to recognize
native regional species by their songs. A light shines on each bird
while it sings, followed by a narrator’s description in either English
or Spanish.

For anyone curious about nature, the ‘Texas Wild: Ecology Illustrated’
exhibit is a must! A trench walkway bisects the thorny brush typical of
South Texas, except the animals are taxidermy specimens. The habitat
shows a javelina and a jaguar lurking in the brush. Nearby is an
armadillo curled up is his underground bedroom, shown by a cross section
view of the ground. A rattlesnake also sleeps beneath a roadrunner, the
tunnel extending from his chamber. The display examines the food chain
and the animals’ interdependence. Watch the time; it’s easy to spend
too long visit looking at crab tunnels and other secret habitats.

In the Animals Alive area, live Texas prairie dogs, snakes, tarantulas,
fish, an active bee colony and Texas Tortoises are each living in their
own habitats.

Ever wondered which people were living in Southwest Texas along with
those animals 4,000 years ago? Brush tee-pees rise behind a native
aiming a spear, in the communal campsite diorama ‘Ancient Texans: Rock
Art and Lifeways Along the Lower Pecos’ It is small but incredibly
detailed. A group of natives congregate amid the desert brush that dots
their yard. Some are relaxing, others prepare food and children play.
Cave paintings depict a segment of an isolated prehistoric Indian
Hunter-gatherer so