Ethnic minorities make up about 15% of Vietnam's population, and the Museum of Ethnology, devoted to providing insight into the lives and customs of 54 distinct group, is one of the nation's finest museums. I visited the museum on my own a week ago, and today I returned for a very special tour with Mark Rappoport. Mark is a pretty extraordinary guy. He's a physician who first visited Vietnam in 1969 as a medical student. He moved back here five years ago and is a very serious collector of artifacts from minority villages. He gave part of our group a two-hour tour, packed with knowledge and insight. Mark runs a gallery and has mounted exhibits for museums throughout the world.
I stayed at the museum after Mark's tour to look more closely at exhibits I hadn't seen on my first visit -- well -designed dioramas of scenes from daily life of minority groups from various parts of the country, accompanied by videos that make accessible rituals, ceremonies, and ordinary activities like market day. The museum also was hosting a water puppet festival, so I watched a performance in the outdoor theater, and, with the help of a pleasant young museum educator, tried manipulating a water puppet myself. Lots of fun!
I was interested to see that, on the top floor of the museum up a steep flight of stairs, IBM has funded a "TryScience" center for kids.
