Belize's Mayan antiquities are on the move again - this time from Boston on the east coast of the United States all the way to San Diego, on the west coast. As we've been reporting, 250 of Belize's most prized Mayan artifacts form the centerpiece of the largest ever exhibit of Mayan antiquities. IT's put together by the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the show is called "Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed."
It's now moving unto its fourth US City and right now in Boston the artifacts are being packed up for the 3 day haul across the US in nine - eighteen wheeler trucks. But they're not being packed into condensed milk boxes - these artifacts are riding first class, under strict packing and environmental controls. 7News travelled to Boston Massachusetts over the weekend to see how it's all taken down. We'll have the full feature in tomorrow night's news, but here's just a preview of the weeks of work spent de-installing the show in Boston and getting it ready for San Diego. NICH's collection manager Yusleidi Chan told us why it is pressure:..
Jules Vasquez
"Do you feel a pressure when you're saying 'I am in charge of, I am managing a large percentage of Belize's history of antiquity."
Yusleidi Chan, Collections Manager - NICH
"Of course because if anything goes wrong who they'll look at? Me! And I have to explain what went wrong so it's a big pressure on me."
Jules Vasquez
"And so that's why when I see you here you take your work very seriously."
Yusleidi Chan, Collections Manager - NICH
"Of course!"
Jules Vasquez
"I see you working like a surgeon, or like a doctor, like you're dealing with human beings, like living beings."
Yusleidi Chan, Collections Manager - NICH
"Yes they are! These are us, they represent us, our cultural heritage, so of course we should treat them as babies, cause without them, that's not us, that's not our identity as Belizeans."
Chan is getting ready to take over as custodian of the travelling pieces - and you can tune in tomorrow night on 7News to hear our full story on the strange science of de-installing a 17 thousand square foot show and packing it into trucks.
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