Getting to see these ten 2000 year old terracotta warriors on display was an amazing homeschool adventure. With traffic and such it took us about 4 hours to get to the Franklin Institute, but it was definitely worth the trip. They are going to be on display in the US in only two locations.
When we arrived their were only a few people in the exhibit.
The kids were able to do some hands on activities:
I spent a lot of time looking at the display showing the building process. Knowing a little about pottery making gave me a better sense of the work that went into making these. I kept thinking things like, "2000 warriors of this size would take an incredible amount of clay!"
Some parts, like arms and legs, were mass produced with molds. Details to make each one look unique were added by craftsmen later in the assembly process. According to the description cards they have unearthed 2000 warriors so far and are not done! After 40 years of careful digging they have yet to reach the emperor's tomb. They estimate that about 700,000 workers/slaves must have been employed in the creation of this tomb.
This hands on station was showing the kids how much faster and more consistent molds make the process.
Each warrior had a plaque telling when it was excavated, how many of that type of guy they have found, and other details.
Their were special effects in a couple of places that scared miss L. This hallway was supposed to give us a sense of what walking through the tunnels of 2000 warriors would have been like.
Projections showed how they would have looked when they still had their lacquer or glaze.
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