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Earlier this year a rare copy of the nearly 800-year-old Magna Carta left Great Britain for the first time. Then, the artifact central to establishing human liberty – and the fabric of the United States – arrived at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, where it will remain on display through mid-August.
The Magna Carta 1217, on loan from Hereford Cathedral, is one of only four surviving copies of the document issued by King Henry III. Framers of the U.S. Constitution drew from the Magna Carta, now recognized as a landmark on the road to universal freedom from unlawful imprisonment.
The museum’s centerpiece has required delicate treatment en route to and while at its American destination. Light must be dimmed to keep the concentration of ultraviolet rays as close to zero as possible, and too much humidity could cause the yellowed parchment to wither. Caretakers only handle the piece while wearing gloves and with great caution.
In accordance with the Houston museum’s kid- and participation-friendly mission, the focal point receives a sort of majestic display and is used as an avenue to patron interaction and learning.
“I think for our audience, we always want to make the little kids enjoy it because if they enjoy it, and they remember it, they’re going to be learning something without realizing it,” said Amanda Norris, the museum’s director of youth education sales.
Visitors can read about holders of the English throne from 1028 through 1307, a wall display that offers context to the Magna Carta. They can play with chainmail. A knight’s attire is displayed, as are weaponry and era-appropriate artifacts. The Bill of Rights is displayed so that viewers can trace its elements back to the 13th century document.
“We owe a lot of the backbone of our government to this document, so it’s really important for us, which is great for school kids, because we need them to understand it didn’t just happen overnight,” Norris said. “We didn’t just make these things up. We were actually looking to other people to guide us in the right direction.”
Henry III issued the Magna Carta amid a civil war the behavior of his father, King John, incited. Henry III’s document came two years after the Catholic Church repealed a version decreed by John in 1215, according to the Cathedral.
Both documents were concessions of the royal power to the Crown’s rebellious barons, who, weary of heavy taxation and ill treatment, began seizing parts of the country, demanding the king confirm their sovereignty in a Charter.
Magna Carta 1217 ordered in Latin that no man could be imprisoned, stripped of his possessions or deprived his standing without “lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land,” according to the Cathedral’s relay of the document.
“When King John signed the document in 1215, no monarch had ever before ceded absolute power to the rule of law. The Magna Carta is the first legal document to protect the rights of citizens and limit the power of the monarchy — the end of the tyranny of Kings etched on to a piece of sheepskin,” wrote Andrew Millar, British Consul General in Houston, for the museum of natural science’s blog.
In Houston, the Magna Carta 1217 is joined in exhibit by the original writ giving notice of the impending Magna Carta 1215 issued by John. A worldwide celebration of the document is scheduled for next year, the 800th anniversary of the initial charter.
The 105-year-old Houston Museum of Natural Science’s allure extends beyond the special Magna Carta showing, as the 2 million visitors it receives annually can attest.
Battleship Texas, a veteran of both World Wars and part of the fleet in Normandy on D-Day, is the focal point of an exhibit that runs through Nov. 16. “Nature Unleashed,” which examines violent weather patterns – hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, tornados, earthquakes and tsunamis – and the science behind them, runs through Sept. 14.
Also on special exhibit at HMNS are 150 Bulgari pieces. Exhibited work represents all 130 years of the Italian luxury jeweler’s history, covering eras of Greco-Roman classicism, the Italian Renaissance and crafts of 19th-century Roman goldsmiths. The exhibit also features sketches from the jeweler’s archives.
“As you walk through the exhibit, it’s almost like you are walking through time,” Norris said, pointing out that the company began as silversmiths, a sharp contrast to the modern, gaudy pieces Bulgari now crafts.
“What makes this pair so well with our museum is we have one of the best gem and mineral halls in the world,” Norris said. “What they’re seeing are these gems and minerals in their natural form, then you go to Bulgari and you get to see them used in an artistic form. We actually have art students who are excited about seeing that. … It’s different cuts of the stone, why they do what they do, and you can see that in the story of the pieces that are on display.”
Admission to the special HMNS exhibits is $25 for adults or $20 for children or seniors.
The museum’s permanent exhibits, grown through a massive capital expansion project in 2012, could stand proud on their own. A giant-screen theater, planetarium, butterfly center, as well as gem and mineral, energy, and chemistry wings
A paleontology hall is filled with 60 mounts. More than 30 are dinosaurs, including three T-rex mounts and mummified Triceratops with preserved skin. It also includes a 12-foot wide, reconstructed jaw of a Megalodon, the largest shark that ever lived, and the nesting site for ancient pterosaurs whose 30-foot wingspans are larger than that of some modern jet fighter planes.
Then, there’s an exhibition of ancient human existence.
HMNS last year opened its 10,000-square-foot Hall of Ancient Egypt. More than 500 artifacts are divided into five parts by theme (rather than chronology): the environment and daily life; politics, religion, mummification and discovering ancient Egypt.
“We knew the kids wanted an immersive experience, so we’ve actually recreated rooms from the religious temple at Karnak, and they’re torch lit,” said Rich Hutting, a senior discovery guide at the museum. “Kids want to be slightly frightened, but then they totally love it.”
Oh yeah, the mummies are real.
“One of them, you can still see his red hair,” Norris said.
The museum is open from 9 am. to 6 p.m. each day during the summer, with admission free on Thursday evenings. Admission to most permanent exhibits is $20 for adults and $15 for children between the ages of 3 and 11. For more information and exhibit-specific prices, visit hmns.org or call 713-639-4629.
Given that the 800-year-old Magna Carta is outside of Great Britain for the first time, it requires delicate treatment. It is in Houston through mid-August.
