Well, it has been two years now and it took Christmas to help make up for our unkept promise. Thanks to Santa Clause, Ella received a one-year membership to the Franklin Institute so now she can go whenever she wants. Luckily, she was nice enough to take me and her siblings for our first trip there and it was awesome.
Standing in the foyer of the Institute in front of a statue of Benjamin Franklin, although the camera flash makes him just a bright blur...
The first thing we did when we arrived was to get tickets to see the special exhibit called "The Terracotta Warriors." In 1974, a farmer in China was digging a well when he struck upon fragments of terracotta. Unbeknownst to him, the farmer had uncovered one of the most monumental achievements in human history. Buried beneath the surface of the land were thousands of life-sized statues, constructed over 2,000 years ago—silently and steadfastly guarding the tomb of their master: China’s first emperor. It's taken excavators 40 years to uncover the 22 square mile burial site, and they are not done. These warriors and animals date back to 210BC and there are thousands of them. The exhibit was unbelievable!!
Each figure unearthed had a job - farmer, entertainer, warrior, servant, etc - and archeologists can tell each figure's profession and purpose based on their clothes and hairstyle...
Each figure was once hand painted in bright colors, but over time the color has faded on most of the figures...
This breast plate and helmet were made out of rock and sewn together with what looks like twine...
Kendall and Hudson like piecing the warriors together in the hands-on exhibit...
Ella read every word throughout the entire exhibit. We actually had to leave her behind a bit because the other three were getting bored waiting for her...
How incredible is this? It's a chariot and horses for the emperor - all unearthed from his burial site...
A picture of the burial site where the chariot and horses were unearthed...
Can you believe there are 22 square miles of this below the surface in China? How long did this take to create? How much did it cost? It's incredible to see this picture of the burial site and to think that this is just a small portion of the whole...
At one point, each figure was in color like the one Brooklyn is touching below. You can see that some of the paint has cracked and chipped off...
Kendall next to another colorful example of how the warriors once looked...
These are smaller figurines that were found at the burial site...
As if the Terracotta Warriors wasn't enough entertainment for one day, we ventured into some of the other amazing hands-on exhibits to explore more science-related stuff. The Franklin Institute did not disappoint and we can't wait to go back...
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