Museum Treasures

This picture of Ainu tools was taken at a museum in the city of Tomakomai in Hokkaido prefecture. The Ainus relationship to other Japanese is similar to that between traditional Native Americans who remain on the reservation and the rest of America. Ainus used this implement to convert tree bark into strips which are thin enough to weave into the beautiful clothing seen in the "Native Threads" frame.

Equally fascinating was the twenty-ton duplicate of Space Station Mir. The guide explained that Russia built two space stations which were exactly alike in order to minimize the time lost in correcting any design problems. That is, if there was a malfunction or problem with the first station while in space, the second station could be used to make or guide the necessary adjustments as quickly as possible. Interesting. We wondered how often this has been done with other major space projects. Touring this scientific wonder was a unique hands-on learning experience. How fortunate for Hokkaido students that Tomakomai was chosen as the display site.