2014-01-02

【Aiden in English】

        When I was little, I loved natural history museums. But never in my life had I seen something like this. The Natural History Museum in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, was like none other. 

        An artificial 4-D of a typical African ecosystem is collected from the first floor. It had the African Big Five: the lion, leopard, Cape buffalo, elephant, and rhino. The 4-D picture had them set around a small pool of water, with a desert landscape and some small patches of grass. The scene also featured giraffes munching on a tree with lush green and plentiful leaves. Warthogs scurried under the legs of the bigger animals as they searched for shade. A few leopards chased the warthogs while the rhinos were trying to escape a pride of lions. It fascinated me to see how the artists could capture it all and combine it into a 4-D picture. The details of how the wild worked were explained in one exhibition hall. I guess what people say is true. A picture is worth a thousand words, even a million.

        Next, we proceeded to the back, where we saw what this museum was famous for. It had a timeline of a fetus or an immature elephant still in the mother's belly. Giving birth to a quarter-ton baby began with a tiny ball. Then it grew larger and larger, taking shape. In a month, the fetus or baby elephant already had their mother's looks. It was white. By the time it reached 11 months, the skin had turned black. Finally, it took another 11 months for the birth to occur.

        All these illustrations are needed in America to exhibit real dead animals or specimens in a museum. But in Maputo, everything presented artificial models except fetal development. However, they both demonstrated the same things. There wasn't a significant difference. It would be fine for me as long as I got the message.

【紅霞譯】

        小的時候我喜愛自然歷史博物館，但從未想到會參觀象莫桑比克首都馬普托這樣別具風格的自然歷史博物館。

        整個一樓展出的非洲動物生態系統全部都是四維人工模型，包括非洲五霸：獅子、豹子、水牛、大象、黑犀牛，以莫桑比克草原特有的沙漠綠洲湖泊為背景來表現野生動物的自然環境，長頸鹿置身茂密的綠葉叢中享盡美味佳餚，疣豬為擺脫龐然大物的威脅而四處躲藏，幾隻豹子竭力追逐疣豬，犀牛面對一群獅子大舉進攻只好疲於奔命，藝術家們將野外捕捉的生動形象濃縮到室內精湛的四維作品之中，真是別具匠心，人們常說一幅圖畫勝過千言萬語，對此我深有同感。

        隨後我們來到展廳背面參觀該博物館最著名的展品，那就是世上罕見的幼象胚胎發育標本，涵括從胚囊到出生時250公斤個體的成長過程：頭一個月，胚胎初顯“象”態，周身呈白色；直到11個月時，膚色才逐漸變黑；再有11個月，小象行將誕生於世。

        在美國只有動物屍體做成的標本才有資格拿到博物館展出，但在馬普托卻反其道而行之，除胎兒發育為實體標本外，其它均為人造模型，當然無論動物標本還是人造模型都起到普教意義，說真格的兩者確實沒有顯著差異，只要物盡其用，什麼材料的模型對我都起到教育意義。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2013: Cruising at Sea in S America(南美海上休閒日)

Natural History Museum of Maputo in Neo-Manueline Architecture, Blending Portuguese & Mozambican Style 

(馬普托自然博物館·融合了葡萄牙和莫桑比克風格的新曼努埃爾“葡萄牙晚期哥特”式建築 01-02-2014)

Interior of Natural History Museum

(自然博物館·內景 01-02-2014)

4-D African Ecosystem @ Natural History Museum

(自然博物館·四維非洲生態系統)

Authentic Elephant Tusks @ Natural History Museum

(自然博物館·真象牙 01-02-2014)

Elephant Embryology @ Natural History Museum, Showcasing the Developmental Stages from Conception to 22 Months 

(自然博物館·從小象受孕到22個月的胚胎發育階段)

6-Mo Elephant Fetus @ Natural History Museum

(自然博物館·小象六個月胎盤)

8-Mo Elephant Fetus @ Natural History Museum

(自然博物館·小象八個月胎盤)

10-Mo Elephant Fetus @ Natural History Museum

(自然博物館·小象十個月胎盤)

Close-up Shot of a Hippopotamus Skeleton @ Natural History Museum

(自然博物館·河馬骨骼的特寫鏡頭)

Statue of Mouzinho de Albuquerque @ Fort Nossa Senhora da Conceição or Portuguese Fortress, a Defensive Structure Built by the Portuguese in the Late 18^th Century & the Museum of Military History Now 

(聖母無原罪堡 | 葡萄牙要塞·18世紀末葡萄牙人建造的防禦工事；如今為軍事歷史博物館；雕像《葡屬印度總督》01-02-2014)

Bronze Relief Depicting Battle of Macontene of 1897 or the 2^nd Battle of Macontene @ Portuguese Fortress

(葡萄牙要塞·描繪1897年馬孔滕內戰或第二次馬孔滕戰役的青銅浮雕 01-02-2014)

Antique Cannons @ Portuguese Fortress

(葡萄牙要塞·古董火炮 01-02-2014)

Courtyard of Portuguese Fortress

(葡萄牙要塞·庭院 01-02-2014)

Miniatures of Cavalry from the Occupation Campaigns @ Portuguese Fortress

(葡萄牙要塞·微型雕塑《葡萄牙殖民時期騎兵》 01-02-2014)

Central Railway Station in the Early 20^th-Century Beaux-Arts Architecture 

(馬普托火車總站·20世紀早期學院派建築)

Central Railway Station, Featuring a Grand Victorian Clock

(馬普托火車總站中央塔樓·維多利亞“勝利女王”式鐘樓 01-02-2014)

Street Vendor @ Central Railway Station

(馬普托火車總站·推銷土特產的小販 01-02-2014)

Veranda in Victorian-Style Architecture @ Central Railway Station

(馬普托火車總站·維多利亞式陽台 01-02-2014)

Steaming Train @ Central Railway Station

(馬普托火車總站·蒸汽火車 01-02-2014)

Monument to the African and European Fighters of WWI @ Workers Square 

(工人廣場·《第一次世界大戰非洲和歐洲戰士》紀念碑 01-02-2014)

Barefoot Local w/ Mozambique Tour Flag @ Workers Square 

(工人廣場·手持莫桑比克旅遊錦旗的光腳小伙 01-02-2014)

City Hall & Statue of Samora Machel Led the Country's Liberation from Portuguese Colonial Rule & Implemented Socialist Policies Aimed at Improving the Lives of Citizens @ Independence Square 

(獨立廣場上市政廳與莫桑比克開國總統雕像《薩莫拉·馬謝爾“受上帝統治·神似”》——曾領導莫桑比克擺脫葡萄牙的殖民統治並推行旨在改善公民生活的社會主義政策 01-02-2014)

City Hall in the Mid-20^th-Century Neoclassical Style

(市政廳·建於20世紀中期新古典主義風格 01-02-2014)

Cathedral of Our Lady of Conception in the Mid-20^th-Century Portuguese Style

(聖母無染原罪 | 馬普托大教堂·建於20世紀中期葡萄牙式 01-02-2014)

Statue of Samora Machel @ the Entrance of Tunduru Gardens 

(通杜魯“土著”植物園入口處·國父雕像《薩莫拉·馬謝爾》 01-02-2014)

Jardim Tunduru w/ a Neo-Manueline Arch

(通杜魯植物園·新曼努埃爾式拱門 01-02-2014)

Iron House, Designed by Gustave Eiffel, the Same Architect behind the Eiffel Tower in Paris but Never Used as the Governor's Residence Due to the Unsuitable Tropical Climate

(鐵屋——由巴黎埃菲爾鐵塔的建築師古斯塔夫·埃菲爾“皇家權杖·強壯”設計，但因不適合熱帶氣候而從未被用作總督官邸 01-02-2014)

Maputo Central Market, a Covered Market Built in 1901 Inside a Portuguese Colonial Bldg

(馬普托中央市場·建於1901年葡萄牙殖民風格的室內市場 01-02-2014)

Big Bowl Balance @ Maputo Central Market

(馬普托中央市場·菜盆稱盤 01-02-2014）

Native Girl @ Street Stall (看地攤的小女孩)

Jumma Masjid Mosque, the Oldest Mosque in Maputo

(朱瑪“星期五”清真寺·馬普托最古老的清真寺 01-02-2014)

Minaret of Jumma Masjid Mosque, Built around 1890

(建於1890年左右的朱瑪清真寺·宣禮塔)

Saint Anthony Catholic Church Resembling an Inverted Flower in Modernist Architecture Completed in 1962 

(聖安東尼“無價之寶”天主教堂·1962年完工、形似倒置花朵的現代主義建築)

Interior of Saint Anthony Church w/ the Voids Closed in by Glazed Sashes & Stained Glass Windows

(聖安東尼天主教堂·玻璃窗框和彩色玻璃窗封閉空隙 01-02-2014)

Ceiling of Saint Anthony Catholic Church w/ the Sequential Overlay of Thin Polygonal Membranes of Exposed Concrete in an Ascending Movement Culminating in the Chromatic Lighting of the Central Area

(聖安東尼天主教堂·裸露混凝土的多邊形薄膜層層疊加，形成上升運動，最終在中心區域形成彩色燈光)

Costa do Sol, a Historic Spot, Dating back to the 1930s

(太陽海岸·歷史悠久的景點，可追溯到20世紀30年代 01-02-2014)

Costa do Sol Detailing the Beach's Golden Sands, Gentle Waves, & Lively Beachfront Scene

(太陽海岸·擁有金色沙灘、輕柔的海浪和熱鬧的海濱風光)

School Kids' Field Trip (學童·課外活動)

長鬚無花果樹、檳榔果子、刺番荔枝、吊燈樹

Jackfruit (波羅蜜)

Plaque of Protected Area Downtown Maputo

(馬普托市中心保護區·牌匾)

Crosslinks(相關博文):

Mozambique(出遊莫桑比克)

Across the Indian Ocean(穿越印度洋)

Africa (漫遊非洲)

5th Grade(小學五年級)