If you haven't read The Chronicles of Narnia books, then leave me a comment and I will eagerly loan them to you. They are well worth the investment of your time. Jeremy, Mallory and I have read them and we each thoroughly enjoyed them. Considering the age differences between us, I'd say that's impressive. There was a time (about a year ago) when you could find each one of us cuddled up in different corners of the house memerized by one of the books. Jeremy and I first read them when we were kids, but that was a very long time while ago and the stories were forgotten. I also think the allegory was lost on us in exchange for the sheer excitement of a secret world. Reading the series as an adult is an awesome (and I do mean awe inspiring) experience even if the language is simple enough for a child. I went from laughing out loud at Uncle Andrew during The Magician's Nephew to teary eyed during the Creation scenes. It takes a lot from a book to evoke both emotions. Even if you've already seen the movies, go back and read the books, especially if you are a Christian.
We also love the movies that were recently made from the books. Mallory has watched The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe countless times, but draws the line at Prince Caspian. It was just too violent and scary for her.
Over the Christmas holidays we found out that a Narnia exhibit featuring props from both movies was close by, so we immediately made plans to visit. The exhibit was at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Sugarland, so there was a slight scientific approach to the whole thing. We knew that going in, so we weren't shocked by the "global warming" videos or the "reality of talking animals" sequence.
Here's Mallory making her own ice imprint...thankfully, the carbon footprint lesson was lost on her.
We skimmed over the dinosaurs and ancient rocks, but were stunned by the glow in the dark rocks that were found in Arkansas.
Finally, we saw the gates and the real excitement began:
Right inside the gates was a tribute to C.S. Lewis. It had an actual letter that he hand wrote and lots of items from the time that he developed the series. It was facinating to me but completely bored Mallory.
She dreamily gazed out the fake window, looking for a game of cricket no doubt.
A large wardrobe stood off to one side that supposedly belonged to the author. It was fairly plain compared to the one used in the movie. However, a sign claiming that it was the very wardrobe that served as C.S. Lewis' inspiration upped its cool factor. At the back of the room was a set of doors that looked very much like wardrobe doors. Guess what happened when you opened them?
FUR COATS!!!
My brother actually did some examining and discovered they were only half-coats. I decided not to tell Mal, though, since she was obviously enthralled with the place. Immediately after we passed through the coats snow started to fall all around us. Then, our eyes fell on the lamppost, and just for a second, we were all kids again wishing it were real.
Parked right next to the lamppost was the White Witch's sled. It was gorgeous, but smaller than any of us had imagined. We were all sorely disappointment that we weren't allowed to sit on it. Maybe it was just as well, since it didn't come with any Turkish Delight. At this point I practically ran into a sign that said NO PHOTOGRAPHY ALLOWED. I was tempted to pretend I couldn't read, but didn't think C.S. Lewis would approve.
Here's a picture from the movie of the sled:
Here's a link to the museum's site just in case you live around Houston:
Narnia exhibit
Oh, and the museum does sell Turkish Delight if you've always wondered what it tastes like.
