On May 22nd everyone in the program went to the Edo Museum. I was blown away by what I experienced and what I learned. Throughout my life, most of the museums I went to weren’t as interactive as this museum. A lot of the time it would have a showcase piece with a couple of words next to it explaining what it is and how it’s important. I had an interest in this museum beforehand as I heard how popular the Edo period was in Japan. I was not expecting an almost real-life interactive area. It was amazing and my jaw dropped when I entered the room. I went downstairs immediately and was looking around and I felt I learned so much more by looking and seeing physically how the Edo period looked like compared to reading about it before entering the room. Seeing each individual home really brought into scope how the people lived during the Edo period. The museum taught me how the Edo period was created after the Sengoku period and that during this time economic growth, social order, overall piece, and enjoyment of art were a big thing. It was one of the most peaceful times in Japan. I was walking into the different homes and each of them had their own specialty. One of them was a market for vegetables while there was another one that had pottery. At the end of the museum, there was a river-like place that had real water and there was a boat in that river. The museum was trying to mimic the Edo period and what it was like. They did an amazing job as just a visual representation alone made me more alert and taught me more about the time period. Others in the program were also surprised by how interactive the museum was. We were able to interact with some machines and we were allowed to go inside the house and look around as well. Some of us sat on the pillow that was at the center of some of the homes. The museum was also playing music that was commonly played during the Edo period so it really did feel like we were in that period just looking around and having fun. Out of all the museums I’ve gone to the Edo period museum was one of my favorites as it was truly unique and the interactive aspect was something that was completely unexpected but it was one of the best surprises. 