Okinawa Prefectural Museum

Labor Day weekend was filled with lots of fun - Okinapa, birthday parties, and lots of relaxation!  On Sunday afternoon we needed to get the kids out of the house because we've been in the house a lot because of the heat and humidity.  We were tired of the usual options of indoor playgrounds and beaches, and I ran across an article on the museum online.  We were skeptical, but it was an indoor air conditioned place, so we decided to give it a try.  I am so glad we did - what a gem of a find!

The Museum has two sides - the history side and the art side.  We opted just for the history side and it was really interesting, with enough hands-on stuff to entertain the kids!  First there was the "hands on" room that was made for little hands and learning.


They had the shanshin which is an Okinawan instrument, that kids could play.  The staff working there taught the kids how to strum it.  They also had drums, which both the kids loved to beat on!

There was this box of herbs with really strong smells.  Olivia had a ball smelling them and then twisting the caps on and off, then finding a hole to put them in in the wooden carrier!

Both the kids loved this very cool exhibit where you open the drawer faces and find people inside.  It is supposed to show the evolution of man but the kids just thought it was fun to play "seek and find."

Wyatt had a great time placing the magnets on the computer. They had a chip inside them so that the computer then was able to tell which magnet it was and tell you about that particular sea animal or shell.

 

The actual museum had a lot of cool stuff too!  The floor walking into the museum had this very cool glass floor that the kids just loved.  They couldn't believe they were actually supposed to walk on it!


Wyatt loved this replica of the pirate ship.  I wish we could have read the Kanji (Japanese).  Although there is a lot of English translation here, the majority of the information is written in Kanji.  There were also real fishing boats, a replica of a traditional Okinawan home (with explanations of the various parts of the home), and many historical displays of the Ryukyu Kingdom and Okinawan history.  All in all, another great adventure!