Take a journey through the Maya rainforest of meso-America and come face-to-face with precious objects and stunning artifacts at Maya: The Exhibition at California Science Center.
Maya: The Exhibition: More than 250 Objects Tell the Story of the Maya Civilization
Maya: The Exhibition opened its doors on April 2, 2023. This exhibition brings together more than 250 objects that include precious gems, ceramics, stone and shells to shed light on how the Maya were able to build their cities in the middle of the dense rainforest.
At the peak of the Maya Civilization at around 600 CE, they were once of the most advanced civilisations in the Americas. Amongst their achievements were a written language of hieroglyphs and a complex calendar system that took in the positions and movements of the sun, the moon and the stars.
The Mayan cities included temple-pyramids, palaces, plazas and even courts for playing ball games.
Hands-on Exhibits
At Maya: The Exhibition at California Science Center, visitors will be able to engage in hands-on science activities. These include learning how to decipher hieroglyphs and how to make sense of the Maya calendar.
While many exhibitions are no-touch affairs, Maya: The Exhibition has 3D printed replicas of selected artifacts. This includes a model of the two big pyramids the great Maya city of Tikal, in northern Guatemala. These allow museum visitors to get a tactile experience with the artifacts.
Star Artifacts
A star artifact that exhibition-goers can look forward to include a sculpture of a Maya warrior wearing a jaguar mask. The sculpture is over 9-feet long.
Another stunning artifact is of a mosaic mask made from jade and obsidian.
The exhibition goes beyond simply science alone but also places the Maya civilization within the context of history. It provides a window for visitors to learn about life in the rainforest, Maya agriculture and farming practices and even Maya politics. These showcase different elements of daily life in Maya society.
Today, there continue to be seven million Maya around the world with the majority of them living in Guatemala. Other Mayan communities can be found in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. Los Angeles also has a local Mayan community.
Mystery of the Maya
The Maya exhibition at California Science Center is complemented by an IMAX Movie Mystery of the Maya.
This show takes viewers on a 36-minute journey through Maya culture and history as they explore ruins in Southeast Mexico and Central America with intrepid archaeologists and explorers.
Maya: The Exhibition will be on at the California Science Center till January 15, 2024.
Tickets can be purchased here.
If you enjoyed this story, you may also enjoy reading about other Los Angeles museums.
