As someone who is
Friday, April 30, 2010
The Lure of the Museum Gift Shop
Yesterday was Ian's field trip to NYC. I chaperoned. We visited the United Nations (I highly recommend taking the tour) and the American Museum of Natural History. We lunched on a great big rock in Central Park and had dinner at Mars 2112 in Times Square. But do you know what is always the highlight of any field trip? The destination gift shops.
I believe gift shops pump candy-scented molecules into the air to entice children to enter. Once there, they are held captive by the never-ending assortment of crap myriad of goodies. Everything from mugs, marbles, and magnets, to books, bags, and baubles. At the UN gift shop, Ian settled on two items. The national flag of Tunisia which is his country for the sixth grade UN project, and a United Nations mouse pad. I had to steer him away from that must-have UN magnet.
At the Museum, Ian purchased (with his own money), a panda bear necklace. It was a sorta-manly styled necklace, but I guess the big selling point for Ian was the bear's "mood-indicator." Like the mood rings of the seventies, these necklaces change color depending on how you're feeling. I have no doubt it will be very effective. Of course he's already taken it off and I don't expect I'll ever see it on him again. (I've had Abby model it here for you.)
As someone who isnotoriously cheap very practical, I have issues with souvenirs as a whole. It pains me to watch my child spend his hard-earned money, or mine, on generally junky items that I know within days will disappear into the black hole that is his bedroom. But still, how do you say no to this essential piece of the field trip experience? My parents, who were also notoriously cheap very practical, never denied me the opportunity to bring home a trinket from my travels. In fact, I have a warm memory of being in a gift shop, trying to decide on a pair of earrings to bring home for my mom. They had the same design available in three shapes: circle, oval, and rectangle. Since I just couldn't make up my mind I did what any sensible and loving child would do. I bought all three. She still has them all, though I'm not sure I remember her ever wearing them. Ah, the memories.
Any gift shop souvenirs you've kept since your school days?
As someone who is
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4 comments:
Fifth grade field trip to Washington, DC . . . gift shop souvenir was a small deck of cards. Still have them some where. Now when I go places, I try to look for that size deck of cards.
I have a "souvenir" from school. It's a match book from the Chimo hotel in Ottawa, Canada. Although I didn't smoke, I brought it home to remind me of our senior year choir trip. Over the years I've come across it several times but never could bring myself to toss it. Whenever I look at it I think of all the fun times we had there.
My most cherished souvenir is popcorn from a 7-11 in Indiana, PA.
P.S. What are you doing posting so late on a Friday? Who's gonna read this?
I recall a peacock feather from the aviary and a painted "Oriental" umbrella, which I gave to my mother (and which I've always coveted for my own!).
I don't mind the gift shops quite as much, I'll admit. More expensive, maybe, but at least they have something to show for it! It's the face painting and arcades that I despise!
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