"How Do You See the World?" Experience & Mapparium

Last Saturday, I visited a unique museum in Boston, Massachusetts. This experience can be described with a number of different names related to the the church of Christian Science. These descriptions can be confusing if you are looking on the web to visit, so I'm going to explain the layout before jumping into the experience.

The entire facility is called the Christian Science Plaza, which serves as the center of Christian Science. Within the Christian Science Plaza are the Mary Baker Eddy Library, the Mother Church, and the Christian Scientist Publishing House. The Mary Baker Eddy Library is named for the founder or "discoverer" of Christian Science. She lived in New Hampshire and Massachusetts from 1821 to 1910. A brief biography of her life can be found on the Christian Science website and on the Library website. Many books have been written about her by both Christian Scientists and historians.

        

The Mother Church hosts services on Sundays and Wednesdays like mainstream Christian churches. The space also has The Mother Church Reading Room, a combination of bookstore and meditative place open to the public. These are common features of Christian Science worship centers found throughout the world.

For me, the most important section was the Christian Scientist Publishing House, the home of the Christian Scientist Publishing Society, whose best known publication is the Christian Science Monitor, along with multiple magazines, hymnals, books, and online events. This area also houses the "How Do You See the World?" Experience, where the Mapparium is located along with other exhibits.

 

The Mapparium is a three-story-tall stained glass inverted globe built in 1935 and never updated. Its first public use was on May 31 of that year, or exactly 87 years from the publication of this blog post. As of 2003, the structure is trademarked, so no video or photography of the structure is permitted during tours.

  

The shape and material of the structure create unusual acoustics, amplifying the sounds made by tour guide and visitors. The tour itself is a brief lights-and-sound show using LED bulbs hidden behind the glass. While I enjoyed the experience of being inside the globe and admired the phenomenal production quality, I found the tour light on material, more suitable for school groups and families than someone interested in learning about its construction, restoration, and modern implications of the outdated globe. Another factor to keep in mind is that the flashing lights and loud audio may be unsuitable for someone with a sensory processing disorder or epilepsy.

For me, the highlights of the experience were the galleries surrounding the Mapparium. The high tech exhibits juxtaposed the elegant architecture of the building in a way that added to the design. At the end of the Mapparium tour was "Our World: Mapping Progress", a room with monolithic touchscreens sharing popular articles from the Christian Science Monitor. The combination of pictures and audio bring stories from around the world to life. A large map on the wall highlights stories of progress for human rights.

In the entry way, near the desk where visitors purchase tickets for the Mapparium tour, are two massive touchscreens. One plays a continuous video explaining the history of Christian Science, while the other allows visitors to search the archives of the Christian Science monitor. The technology is user friendly, so young children and grandparents alike can enjoy watching and searching.

              

On the opposite side of the lobby is "Christian Science and Mary Baker Eddy", an exhibit including a brief documentary on the life of Mary Baker Eddy, a wall depicting covers of Christian Science publications, an interactive digital book, and a seating area equipped with tablets for reading Christian Science publications.

   

The digital book was my favorite part of the exhibit. It used a projector and light sensors to cast images onto the fabric pages of a book. The process was intuitive, as the book prompted when to touch the page and when to turn the page. I would love to see more of this remarkable technology in the future.

 

 

 

In my experience, every aspect of the Christian Science Plaza was top quality, including the "How Do You See the World?" exhibit, outdoor plaza, and reading room. Even the women's bathroom was spectacular, as its cleanliness and fun design make it among the best in Boston.

The staff and docents were highly knowledgeable and attentive to guests. Visitors more interested in the Mapparium than the religious aspects of the exhibits should be aware that many employees are Christian Scientists who freely speak about their faith.

   

The cost to tour the Mapparium is $6 for adults and free for children under 18, making it an excellent trip for families and school groups. The Mary Baker Eddy Library is part of the New England Museum Association (NEMA) I'm a NEMA member, so I visited for free. (See this list for all of the free and discounted museum options available with a NEMA membership.) Park in the garage below Northeastern and present your ticket to the front desk to receive a rate of $17 for the full day.

Abby Epplett's Rating System:

Experience: 8/10

Accessibility: 7/10