A Trip Back in Time to the 1893 World's Fair | Thriftanista in the City

11.24.2013

A Trip Back in Time to the 1893 World's Fair


Have you ever wanted to go back in time? I admit it. I do. Every time I visit an estate sale, I'm curious about the many treasures that each house holds and how the owner came to curate some a great collection of odds and ends. Since Chicago is such a melting pot there are always unique pieces from other countries and cultures too. 

1893 world's fair

Recently, my time travel dreams came true when I visited the Opening the Vaults exhibit at The Field Museum. The exhibit takes you to the 1893 World's Fair -- one of the greatest events in the history of Chicago and the U.S. The Museum was founded to commemorate the Fair and the museum's original collections was formed by objects displayed at the Fair.



The Opening the Vaults exhibit is a collection of rarely or never before seen artifacts from the Fair. Some of my favorites include:

the Peruvian mummies and the 3D printed replicas of figurines found inside one of the mummy bundles. Thanks to today's technology we can see what's inside the mummy wrappings.

mummies at the field museum

African Art that was originally displayed in the anthropology building of the Fair instead of in the Fine Arts building because it was considered primitive. Today's museum correctly display the beadwork and celebrates the creativity of the culture.

opening the vaults

One of the most interesting facts I learned was that there were Labrador Inuits on display at the Fair performing "native" routines in traditional fur garments in hot Chicago weather. They were promised a better life but they received poor treatment so they filed suit and left the village and set up their own paid exhibit outside of the fairgrounds.

The exhibit has beautiful large scale murals and projections that take you onto the Fair grounds as if you were actually there along with accompanying music that may have been heard.



I also really enjoyed using the The Field Museum app as I navigated the museum. With the app, you can arrange your visit according to tours and read additional stories about the artifacts.


field museum app

The past is truly fascinating and it was great to see how far we've come in terms of celebrating other cultures and also how advancements in technology allow us to solve mysteries of the past. As there is so much to see at The Field Museum (over 25 million objects), I will definitely go back and enjoy more.

Have you checked out the Opening the Vault exhibit at The Field Museum?

opening the vaults at the field museum


I was selected for this opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, however all content and opinions expressed here are my own.

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2 comments

Ashleigh said...

I have not but I'd love to! Chicago is about 4 hours away so it would be a fun day trip!
-ash
www.thestylizedwannabe.com

Favethingsetc said...

I really want to see this one!

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