 We went to The Tech to see the Gengis Khan exhibit and were not disappointed! Somehow the history classes I took barely touched upon Ghengis Khan in the 13th century so I was curious. I overheard an 8 year old girl exclaiming to her mother, "This is so exciting. Where did they go next?" Two teenage boys were fascinated with the weaponry so advanced for its time that it played a major part in the Khan's successful wars. They kept telling their mother "Come see this!"
The exhibit took us sequentially from the childhood of Gengis Khan in Mongolia, through his rise to power and conquest of all lands from the Pacific to the North Seas to his statesman period to the eventual dissolution of the empire. It artfully interspersed text, artifacts and videos. The many volunteer docents throughout the museum were friendly and helpful, sharing extra tidbits about the exhibit.
 I particularly enjoyed the model "half" ger (yurt) which was very welcoming with its round shape and colorful, decorative furniture. The warriors' armour was fascinating and included an under layer of silk because it was so effective in preventing deep penetration of arrows. Imagine that! Some wore a very fine chain mail shirt, and an outer vest of leather pieces about the size of a playing card and sewn together by leather cord. Each piece of leather had a matching size piece of metal under it. This design enabled the warriors to move quickly and easily. (We later saw a kiosk about a woman who had invented today's kevlar vest.)
One video showed modern day Mongolian riders demonstrating their skill in hitting a target while riding a horse. The secret to their accuracy was to let the arrow go when all four hooves were off the ground. The bows were so skillfully designed that these warriors could shoot twice as far (350 feet) as any contemporary civilization at that time.
 Equally interesting was the section dedicated to the statesmanship of Gengis Khan. Surely he was a fierce warrior and ran a dictatorship accompanied with the violence of an empire only a few years away from existence as warring tribes, but learning about Ghengis Khan's many governing and societal innovations caused me to understand why he was so powerful and how he held together such a vast empire. For example, he tolerated all religions and anyone could advance on merit -it was a "meritocracy," not common concepts in those days. He insisted on bringing writing to his people. A "pony express" kept communication open throughout his far-flung empire. He introduced paper money to replace cumbersome coins. There's much more, but go, please.
He was an amazing and complex man and this exhibit does well in bringing alive life as it was 800 years ago. I was delighted to see so many parents and children engaged in the exhibit. By example, we are our children's best teachers. I like imagining parents helping children relate what has gone before us to contemporary events. This is its only stop out west and it's only here through the summer. It was a great day off and my batteries were fully re-charged.
Parmalee
P.S. We did a quick tour of the "techie" exhibits, very interesting and all "hands-on" --great for kids ALL ages! Imax's Hubble was awesome. Next I want to see Arabia! |
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On July 4th: Surfrider Foundation staff and volunteers want you to join us for Beach Sweeps from 3-5pm on Del Monte Beach. We'll still be meeting by Wharf #2. Spending the day on another beach? Bring along an extra trash bag to "donate" to someone else!
