Young Mensans at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Guy Rosenschein

Our outing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan was very different from the Republic Airport field trip. At the airport, I was able to offer technical information and a flight and I was at ease with a subject that I know pretty well. The museum, however, is another story!

The original plan of first viewing the Egyptology exhibit was put aside in order to view the work of the French and Flemish painters, Monet, Van Gogh, etc. Believe it or not, this was the choice of a Young Mensan with us that day. I must say that this was an agreeable surprise and showed the maturity and sophistication to be found within our group.

After viewing many paintings we couldn't find the Mona Lisa. Five year old Alice had told us at the beginning of the visit that we would be better off looking for the Jocund (Mona Lisa) in Paris, and of course she was right.

We continued our walk through the Greek art exhibit. Upon close examination, one of our Young Mensans noticed that some of the small statues had really funny expressions on their face. Were it not for his keen eye, the fun that the artist of thousands of years ago had placed in their work might have been lost on us.

Eventually we visited the Egyptian section. Our Young Mensans were interested in the Hieroglyphic symbols but I was of little help since the only dead language I took in high school was Latin. Champollion (who first broke the hieroglyphic code around 1800) was French but this is the only thing we have in common.

The mummies were fascinating but here again we cannot explain the process; and I mean nobody alive now can explain or reproduce the technique. The phrase, 'lying in state of the art' comes to mind.

The visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art was really interesting and educational. The fact that we lost some of the parents along the way is a tribute to the interest of each person in a different field. This is what Mensa is all about.

"Leading Mensans is like herding cats... all you need is food!!" -- from a T-shirt available at the Mensa Boutique, 1-800-MENSA4U.