The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis (CMI) is known for being the world’s largest children’s museum and the epicenter of all things fun and informative for kids and those who are youthful at heart.
In the quest to educate the public in a fun way, the CMI oftentimes takes on challenging topics. The newest endeavor is the “National Geographic Sacred Journeys.”
“Families learn about their own faith, or hear about religion and faith,” said Christian Carron, director of collections at CMI. “Far too few times are they simply learning what their neighbors believe. This is an opportunity not for us to tell you what you should believe or if you should believe, but to talk about some of the major religions of the world and the sacred places of religions around the world and the journeys people take to them.”
The National Geographic Society partnered with the CMI to create Sacred Journeys and envision a display that captures the essence of traveling around the world to visit a sacred location, examine the roots of religious rituals and highlight culture entrenched in spiritual belief. Among museum exhibits, Carron said Sacred Journeys is the first of its kind.
In addition to National Geographic, a long list of local, national and international advisors helped the museum narrow down what they wanted to showcase and present the information in a way that was fun and approachable for young guests. Sacred Journeys’ lenders list was also extensive and record setting.
Upon entering the museum, guests are introduced to five fictional youths who invite visitors to follow them and learn about a sacred place. Luis visits the Hill of Tepeyac and the Roman Catholic Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Mexico; and Hana goes to the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to which all Muslims are expected to make a pilgrimage, or Hajj, once in their lifetime.
There’s also Micah who travels to the Western Wall of the Second Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, Israel; Amala takes a trip to Allahabad in India to Triveni Sangam at the convergence of three rivers sacred to Hindis at the Ganges River, the site of some of the largest gatherings of humans on earth; and An makes and excursion to Bodh Gaya, birthplace of Buddhism, and the Bodhi Tree where Gautama Buddha achieved enlightenment in Bihar, India.
“No matter what religious community you’re talking about, you can look at unique ways they do things. How do they come together as a community? How do they communicate their beliefs? What’s the symbols, artwork or music used to express belief? And, how do they act on their beliefs,” said Carron.
The exhibition features special sacred artifacts that represent various religions and places around the world. Carron points out a throne made for the Dalai Lama’s last visit to Indiana. Monks came to the museum to help set up the large throne. Monks also ritualistically created a Sand Mandala, a Tibetan Buddhist tradition involving the creation and destruction of mandalas made from colored sand.
“Usually in our tradition, these are sacred things so there’s concern, but for me, I’m an open-minded person. This exhibition benefits a lot of people, especially kids. They’re doing the right thing and the setup is amazing,” said Arjai Rinpoche, director of The Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center in Bloomington, Indiana.
While some religious traditions have ornate parts to their tradition, other faiths focus on the text. Sacred Journeys features a Bible from 1845 borrowed from Bethel A.M.E. Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, said to be the oldest Black church in Indy. The book is open to the page featuring John 3:16, the cornerstone text of many Protestant denominations.
Local architect and businessman K.P. Singh contributed personal items to the exhibit representing Sikhism (pronounced SEEK-ism). The word Sikh means learner or disciple.
“Sikhs are among the people that believe in the sanctity of all life, equality of all people, dignity of all people and they believe in service as an important part of their commitment to humanity,” said Singh. “This exhibit really teaches us about the tremendously beautiful tapestries of faith, cultures and communities that live and enshrine and embellish our world.”
Carron pointed out that in creating each presentation, he had to be mindful and respectful of how to properly display items. For example, in the Sikh portion of the exhibit, Singh helped Carron understand that scripture had to be placed higher than other relics in the case to emphasize its importance.
Other interesting finds in the Sacred Journey exhibit include the importance of Jerusalem to Christianity, Islam and Judaism; a stone from the Western/Wailing Wall, of the Second Temple in Jerusalem; and information on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the place where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and entombed.
There’s also an authentic piece of the Kiswah, or curtain, that surrounds the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia; a Hindu god Ganesh made special for the CMI; Brigham Young’s trunk used on Mormons’ pilgrimage from Illinois to Utah; documents from Martin Luther, the German priest who launched the Protestant Reformation; portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls; and a leaf of the Gutenberg Bible, the first substantial book printed in the West with movable metal type.
Sacred Journeys has an exhibit map to help navigate each section, a guide that helps get conversations going and unit of study for formal school visits.
“We realized these are important things for families to talk about inter-generationally. We hope we’ll open a dialogue with families and they’ll see something that’s familiar to them, they’ll see things they don’t know much about, but they’ll go home wanting to know more,” said Carron.
For more information, call (317) 334-4000 or visit Childrensmuseum.org.
