Tēnā koutou katoa, I’m Margie Beautrais. I’ve been the Educator here at Whanganui Regional Museum for ten years. It’s a privilege to be able to work in such an inspiring learning space, and to have the joy of helping to connect thousands of children and young people with our community heritage through Museum exhibitions and the collections, and with the natural world and built environment around us.
For me, the very best part of the job is seeing and hearing youngsters make those connections. Many children come in the front door and say “Whoooww! “ Others plead with the adults in charge to let them stay longer, or to bring them back again. Occasionally they ask what it takes to do my job, so they can grow up to do the same thing. There are some very memorable comments made by children who visit. Things that adults take for granted may be very unfamiliar to children who have grown up in a world surrounded by screens and electronic devises.
We’ve heard some surprising reactions to the typewriters we put out for anyone and everyone to use. One youngster wanted to know how to “send” her mes
sage, and another asked which button to press for “print”. A very astute six-year old, after peering behind one typewriter, noted that it was “like a computer, only it doesn’t have a mother-board”.
The most common question from children is, “Is it real?” In just three words, children express one of the Museum’s most important roles: to provide access to real things, with their real histories and links to real people. There is nothing that can quite take the place of looking up at the enormous sunfish and finding out that despite the obvious paint-job, it is the original fish, found on a beach over a hundred years ago.
The opportunity to get up close to real artefacts is something that is unique about being in a Museum. Here, we have the opportunity to hold ancient stone-axes made and used thousands of years ago by early humans; get close to an extinct bird; feel the amazing weight of a moa leg-bone; see a manuscript written hundreds of years ago; and work with countless other surprising treasures connected with Whanganui history and people.
In Whanganui, we are very lucky to have such an incredibly diverse and interesting Museum collection. I’m glad to be one of the people who can help youngsters make connections with the amazing shared heritage that we care for here.
Margie Beautrais
Educator
