I can't believe they didn't have it behind glass. They must have forgotten that people can be clumsy even when they're not aggressively idiotic. At least it was just an innocent child and not some grandstanding jackass looking for Internet clout.
Putting an object out where patrons can interact with it one thing... putting out jars that are surprisingly intact after 3 and a half millennia is just damned irresponsible if you ask me.
I was ready for the problem to be a rambunctious, misbehaving child - but the kid was only "curious about what was inside"? That’s just a kid being a kid. I can’t blame a 4 year old for that. I think the museum handled it well.
The museum told the BBC that "whenever possible, items are displayed without barriers or glass walls".
And "despite the rare incident" the museum said it intends to continue this tradition.
seems like this museum gets what being an educator and servant of the history is all about. what a surprisingly excellent and principled stance, when so many places go the other way.
"There are instances where display items are intentionally damaged, and such cases are treated with great severity, including involving the police," Lihi Laszlo from the museum told the BBC. "In this case, however, this was not the situation. The jar was accidentally damaged by a young child visiting the museum, and the response will be accordingly."
They really do get it. They saw it as a risk and accepted it and when the risk manifested itself, they took it in stride and even invited the family back for a guided tour.
While I appreciate that approach and think it is a great policy... For things like this I feel like the original should be displayed, but protected and a replica be available for patrons to touch and approach closely. Especially something so rare to find in such good condition. Just make it clear that the replica is a replica specifically so they can touch it and get a good look without risking damage.
Hiding things behind glass isn't the best experience, but extremely rare artifacts also need to be protected. Replicas, properly disclosed with an explanation why, are a good compromise.
Eye witness accounts say the child's mother was heard shouting "Hey!" and "Listen!" but the boy disregarded her. One witness told the press, "All I heard was 'HYAAAAH' before the crash. Kid looked like he was searching for something."
The Hecht Museum in Haifa told the BBC the crockery dated back to the Bronze Age between 2200 and 1500BC - and was a rare artefact because it was so intact.
The boy's father Alex said they will feel "relieved" to see the jar restored but added they are "sorry" because "it will no longer be the same item".
If that jar was so important, it should be behind bullet proof glass. It probably had a postit nearby that said "do not touch". I blame whoever had that jar in their care.
I'm glad they're not making a big deal about this, cause shit happens sometimes, but why did a parent allow their child to get into a situation of tipping over the jar to see what's inside in the first place?
Even with just two kids and two parents, one parent is paying or presenting a ticket, second parent notices kid 1 is leaking nose horror all over their mouth and reaches to wipe it. Kid two, now knowing they have 4 unsupervised seconds, will teleport to the other side of the room, use their Felix the Cat briefcase to make a stepladder, and is now standing on top of a brontosaurus smoking cigarettes they found.
My one year old yesterday used the time it took me to give my 4 year old a courtesy wipe in the bathroom to push a kitchen chair across the room, climb that chair, start the coffee maker, and grab a handful of candy from the candy drawer. It sounds outrageous, but we've been pressing coffee pot buttons in the morning to help make the coffee. He's seen me get him a piece of candy for desert from the candy drawer. He learned the day before he could climb up on a piano bench by pulling his belly on top. And that morning he pushed in a heavy kitchen chair that was sticking out, and it is the first time he could move it. So, of course, he synthesized those skills at the most opportune time.
He's one. My four year old gets up to some real oceans 12 shit when left to her own devices. Kids are nuts. It would be equally a normal story for a 4 year old if the kid had been found hiding INSIDE the pot, making documentary accurate dolphin noises.
When I had two kids I would think the same and that’s because my kids were well behaved and so I could just judge other parents. Then I had my third kid and shit went sideways somewhere and now I can understand these parents. Then I had my fourth kid and realize that I am now one of these parents.
I never understand people that have too many kids, it's like someone saying 'so I gambled all my money away and now I'm broke which I'm going to make your problem'
If you choose to have too many kids to keep under control then you don't get to go to places where kids need to be kept under control unless you have people there to help you.