The Museum of Lost Wonder

The Museum of Lost Wonder
Jeff Hoke
Weiser Books
ISBN: 1-57863-364-8
Non-Fiction, Mythology, History, Spirituality
Reviewed by Dr. Tami Brady

What do you think of when you hear the word museum? Do you see glass encased exhibits with little tags of text beside various artifacts? Can you hear someone complaining about the loud whispers that can be heard? Can you feel the boredom setting in?
The Museum of Lost Wonder is an example of a completely different kind of museum. The pages of this book lead the reader on a journey of exploration and freedom of thought. Instead of stuffy scientific displays, this museum encourages the visitor to wonder and ask all of those questions that they always wanted to ask but thought they’d sound foolish or be glared at for even coming up with the idea.
This book is divided into eight alchemy themed exhibit halls: Calinatio (technology), Solutio (aquaria), Coagulatio (zoological), Sublimatio (observatory), Mortificatio (history), Separatio (science and faith), Conjunctio (arts), and Circulatio (the entrance and exit). Within each of these sections readers explore scientific, mythological, spiritual, and fantastic renditions that explain our world. Many of the exercises encourage visitors to use their creativity to come up with alternative explanations, to explore their own questions, to try various experiments, and to construct models of the various exhibit halls.