"An Educational experience like no other"
We saw hearses used throughout history (including George W. Bush’s and Grace Kelly’s). We learned about the funerals of past U.S. Presidents, Popes, celebrities, and more! We also discovered the cultural heritage of funeral services around the world (ie: In India, they wear white to funerals...not black). We also discovered that one’s remains can be turned into diamonds, jewelry, a pretty paper weight, or even liquid fertilizer for a tree.
We were delighted to have Genevieve Keeney, President of the museum, come talk to us about the history of embalming. She expressed to the heroes that she knew from a young age (7) that she wanted to do something with death as a career when she grew up. She is one of the lucky ones to discover her calling in life at such a young age. She shared many pieces of advice to these heroes; one of which was, “Find your passion and then do that. If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.”
Some thoughts from our heroes are as follows:
What did you find most interesting?
- I found it interesting how coffins were made of so many different materials and how many different types of cars there were to haul the dead bodies to the gravesite.
- I found the cremation section most interesting. This is because they had ACTUAL CREMATED PEOPLE IN THE MUSEUM! That to me is really cool. To some people, it might be creepy, but to me it was awesome!
- I was most impressed by the weave casket being very cheap and plentiful.
What impressed you the most?
- The fact that every Pope had a different ring and that when they died they would destroy the ring.
- The picture of a person, made from the person's ashes.
- The embalming process.
What shocked you the most?
- How they had the only Pope ring in the world other than the current living Pope.
- Embalming. *shudder*
Anything else?
- I loved where the terms "basket case" and "saved by the bell" came from.
