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The Hecht Museum transformed the ‘jarring’ incident into a teachable moment for Ariel and the rest of the family.
By Shula Rosen, United with Israel
It’s every parent’s worst nightmare—at least when visiting a museum with children–yet, in the end, the Hecht Museum in Haifa transformed potential disaster into a teachable moment for a curious 4-year-old from Nahariya.
Anna and Alex Geller were taking a day to decompress from the tensions of living in a town on the border of Lebanon, and last Friday, they decided to travel to Haifa to take their three children to a museum.
Among other items on display was a 3,500-year-old Bronze Age jar once used to hold oil or wine.
The artifact, dated between 2200 and 1500 BCE, fascinated the four-year-old Ariel.
As the parents turned their backs briefly, they heard a crash.
Alex Geller recalls thinking, “Please let that not be my child.”
The vase, which had been on display at the Hecht Museum for 35 years, lay in pieces on the floor, and Ariel, their youngest, had apparently knocked it over.
Anna Geller recalls feeling embarrassed as her son Ariel said he was just looking to see what was inside the big jar.
Alex Geller, although in “complete shock,” immediately went to the security guard, claimed responsibility for the damage, said he hoped it was only a model, and offered to pay for it.
Inbal Rivlin, the Director of the Hecht Museum, says the museum’s vision is to allow visitors to explore the artifacts unimpeded by glass barriers.
Rivlin decided to transform the “jarring” incident into a teachable moment for Ariel and the rest of the family.
Alex said, “They called and said it was insured, and after they checked the cameras and saw it wasn’t vandalism, they invited us back for a make-up visit.”
The museum invited the Hecht family to return to see the restoration process.
Using 3D technology and high-resolution videos, the Hecht Museum restored the jar to its original form.
Ariel even presented the museum with a clay jar he made himself.
“That’s what’s actually interesting for my older kids, this process of how they’re restoring it, and all the technology they’re using there,” Alex Geller said.
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