Griffith Taylor, Penguins And Eggs

A day working in the Macleay Museum, combining all of the above.

Somehow, after working on school holiday programme days, I always end up taking home a lot of things I made. Crafty things, that make you think of primary school and pinning things on to the fridge with pride. These days, mine get filed away and lost in general paperwork. Perhaps I should decorate my bedroom walls with them instead.

So we discussed Griffith Taylor, an interesting fellow who took part in Scott's expedition into Antarctica. A man with ideas early for his times. It's amazing that they actually have things that he took with him in the museum, including a sledge that they carried their gear on.

For the kids, we did some activities: played a game, did a puzzle, made a passport, did some penguin races and made paper snowflakes.

What are penguin races, I hear you ask? Well you know how male emperor penguins spend midwinter protecting their egg, while their mates are off feeding: the egg tucked under its belly, on top of its feet, huddling out of the wold Antarctic winds? Well, a penguin race involves an egg (a ping-pong ball) being placed on your feet/ankle area and you waddling from the start to the finish line. It's not that easy. But lots of fun! Sometimes I really love my job.

I also love natural history museums and there are a lot of really interesting things in the Macleay. Go and check it out sometime, if you can manage the 2-3 flights of stairs to get up there; I know some people can't and arrive at the top huffing and puffing. I think it's worth the effort.