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MetKids Microscope

How Do Artworks Last for Thousands of Years?

Take a journey in The Met’s time machine and learn how some objects can last for hundreds of thousands of years!
3 min. watch

Take a journey in The Met’s time machine and learn how some objects can last for hundreds of thousands of years!

#MetKids Microscope is a show about the science behind the art (and the art behind the science!) at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Learn true stories about real discoveries from scientists at the Museum, and do some experiments on your own!

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Chief Digital Officer: Douglas Hegley
Executive Producer: Sarah Wambold
Director/Writer/Producer: Rachel Smith
Producer: Emma Vecchione
Project Manager: Maria Kozanecka
Animation Direction: Lisa LaBracio
Art Direction + Illustration: Tara Sunil Thomas
Animation + Additional Design: Sara Zarul Azham
Compositing: Lisa LaBracio
Narrators: Corin Wells, Marco Leona
Episode Consultants: Marco Leona, Anna Serotta, Joanne Pillsbury, Christine Giuntini, Isabel Stuenkel
Education Consultants: Darcy-Tell Morales, Merantine Hens
Original Music: Austin Fisher
Sound Mix: Dave Raymond
Production Design: Aurola Wedman Alfaro
Rights and Permissions: Julie Zeftel

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Nine Bifaces.
Acheulean, 700,000–200,000 BCE.
Flint, quartzite, dimensions vary.
Purchase, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger and Friends of Arms and Armor Gifts, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Bequest, and funds from various donors, 2018 (2018.51.1–.9)

Feathered Panel.
Peru. Wari, 600–900 CE.
Feathers on cotton fabric, H. 29 × W. 83 7/8 in. (73.66 × 213.04 cm).
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 (1979.206.467)

Comb (part of a set).
French. Paris, ca. 1830.
Gold, amethysts, 3 1/8 x 7 1/2 in. (7.9 x 19.1 cm).
The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931 (32.100.317)

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All Images © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

MetKids is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies

© 2023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Art Mentioned

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Album of Tournaments and Parades in Nuremberg, Pen and ink, watercolor, gold and silver washes; paper bound in gold-tooled leather, German, Nuremberg
Album of Tournaments and Parades in Nuremberg
German, Nuremberg
late 16th–mid-17th century
Female Dancer, Earthenware with slip and pigment, China
Female Dancer
China
2nd century BCE
Comb (part of a set), Gold, amethysts, French, Paris
Comb (part of a set)
French, Paris
ca. 1830
Glass garland bowl, Glass, Roman
Glass garland bowl
Roman
late 1st century BCE
Royal Seat (Lupona): Female Caryatid, Buli Master, possibly Ngongo ya Chintu (Hemba, ca. 1810-1870) Democratic Republic of Congo, Wood, metal studs, Luba or Hemba peoples
Royal Seat (Lupona): Female Caryatid
Buli Master, possibly Ngongo ya Chintu (Hemba, ca. 1810-1870)
19th century
Head of a ruler, Copper alloy
Head of a ruler
ca. 2300–2000 BCE
Hector of Troy (?) (from the Heroes Tapestries), Wool warp, wool wefts, South Netherlandish
Hector of Troy (?) (from the Heroes Tapestries)
South Netherlandish
ca. 1400–1410
Fragments with Three Cardinals (from the Heroes Tapestries), Wool warp, wool wefts, South Netherlandish
Fragments with Three Cardinals (from the Heroes Tapestries)
South Netherlandish
ca. 1400–1410
Gable–topped chest and linens, Whitewashed wood; linen
Gable–topped chest and linens
ca. 1492–1473 B.C.
Parfleche flat case, Bison rawhide, pigment, and tanned leather, Comanche, Native American
Parfleche flat case
Comanche, Native American
ca. 1850
Nine Bifaces, Flint, quartzite, Acheulean
Nine Bifaces
Acheulean
700,000–200,000 BCE
Fragrant Garden under a Hazy Moon, Nakabayashi Chikutō Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, Japan
Fragrant Garden under a Hazy Moon
Nakabayashi Chikutō
1843