• Education

Museums are still relevant

This past week many schools and colleges visited the Independence Memorial Museum to celebrate Namibia's Heritage week. For Haidi Thomas, learner from Motecs College, taking a walk through the gallery of a museum is like going through time.

“Museums have a very rich historical background and they are just great places to learn a lot about the past. I have been coming here for a long time now and I keep learning a lot about my country and my people,” says Thomas.

She says that she gets to relieve the past and get a foothold into the future through history. For Thomas the artefacts and objects displayed in the museum also helps to expand on the knowledge she gets from school because she gets to see, touch and focus on some of the topics she is taught about. “There is only so much you can learn from a text book while you are in school but when you visit the museum you get to actually see objects and amazing stories that add on to the knowledge you get from school. I know that a subject such as history is very important and visiting museums can actually help a person perform better in those subjects,” she says.

According to her many young people do not appreciate the importance of museums and thus do not find them as interesting as she does. “Museums are such good places to explore many facts and to widen your knowledge but I think that many young people do not visit them frequently unless if it a school tour.

“More of the youth should visit such places,” she says.

“The art in museums is captivating and can be intriguing depending on how you take a look at them. Museums are also just a great place to be around because of the calm and comforting feeling you can get when you are there,” she says. Thomas says in a world where everything is being affected by technology and during a time when many things are being digitised the museum is a place for those trying to get an authentic experience of the past.

“We are moving into a technological world. Many people do not want to visit museums anymore because they can visit virtual reality museums but they are not as genuine as visiting the museum on your own.

“Make time and visit museums regularly even just to sharpen your social skills,” she said. She challenged the notion that museums are boring and not relevant for the youth by saying that some museum staff make the museum an exciting place through their presentations and engagement with the people who go to the museums.



A good source of research

Another learner from Khomasdal Academic Centre, Luka Murangi says he uses the Independence Memorial Museum to collect data and to carry out research for assignments. “Everything is organised here and you can easily get help from the staff about all the queries you have,” he says.

Besides the advent of technology and more young people opting to use the internet to carry out research or search for information, he argues that museums are still pertinent in society. For him museums are amusing because they preserve history. “The opportunity given by museums is just amazing. You can go back in time and just acquire information about what used to happen back then and that to me is important because you are empowering the young and teaching them to be proud about their culture and heritage,” he says.

For Heritage week, both Murangi and Thomas spent their time at the museum learning about Namibia's heritage and what it means for them. “It was nice picking up some new knowledge about Namibia and other countries. Namibia has a rich heritage, through its history, traditions and cultures but I never knew much about them until heritage week. I never knew something such as the environment also formed part of our heritage,” Thomas says.

Murangi says Namibia Heritage Week is important because it can be used as a tool to instil patriotism amongst the youth. “Nothing makes you more proud about your country than its history. Heritage week really makes many people proud about who they are and where they come from,” he says.

Shona Ngava