Student Melissa Marino reports from the recent day trip organized by Chapman Italian Club to the Pompeii Exhibition at the California Science Museum in Los Angeles.
“The exhibit was very interactive and thorough, covering all aspects of ancient life near Mt. Vesuvius. It was fascinating to me how much information anthropologists have been able to gather on a city that was destroyed nearly 2000 years ago. Walking through guided corridors, viewers are able to see intricate marble carvings of table legs, fountains, and sections of floor tiles, all recovered in virtually the same condition they were originally used. Citizens of Pompeii had bathhouses, gardens, frescos, and some even had temperature-controlled running water. Even small items, like counterweights and jewelry, were preserved due to the sudden and violent way in which the town was buried. Ancient health care, theater, sex life, homes, and status are all covered as you travel through the labyrinth of artifacts, and an interactive video demonstrates how it would have been to be in Pompeii on the day of the Mt. Vesuvius eruption. Accompanying the exhibit was an hour-long IMAX movie talking about the deadly forms of nature (including volcanoes) and the effects they have on current populations around the world. Pompeii, the Exhibit was overall extremely interesting and well worth the trip into LA.”
In the photograph students of the club and professor Francesca Paduano at the California Science Museum.
