Awang Hepeni (fifth left) flags off the participants while Rhemy (third left) sounds the horn for the start of the ‘Treasure Hunt’.
KUCHING: Seventy-nine trainees from Teachers’ Education Institute Batu Lintang attended ‘Night at the Museum’ and ‘Treasure Hunt’jointly organised by Sarawak Museum Department and the institute Friday and yesterday.
The participants were divided into two teams, with one spending a night at the Natural History Museum and the other at Textile Museum.
“The activities will strengthen the museum’s role as an informal education institution. Museum is a responsible institution in developing an informed young generation of its history and culture,” said head of Sarawak Museum Department’s public relations unit Rhemy Romeo Jamal yesterday.
For the ‘Treasure Hunt’ the participants were required to look for clues at four checkpoints – the Natural History Museum, Chinese History Museum, Textile Museum, and Islamic Museum.
Rhemy added the activities would encourage the new generation to visit museums more frequently, bring greater foot traffic to such places and assist the department in improving their services in the long run.
He said the ‘Night at the Museum’ was becoming more popular not only in Malaysia but also overseas after the screening of the ‘Night at the Museum’ movie in 2006.
Meanwhile, Teachers’ Education Institute Batu Lintang deputy director Awang Hepeni Awang Onget said the events were originally scheduled to be held last September but was postponed due to the haze blanketing the region.
He hoped the trainees (participants) would be able to utilise the skills and experience gained to become competent educators.