Room 27
Mexico
Key information
Free wifi available – use a smartphone or tablet
Suitable for all ages
Room 27
Mexico
Investigate Mexico using these fun family missions.
For thousands of years the people of Central America have made representations of fantastic creatures which are part of their worldview. They created sculptures to represent animals they encountered locally, such as rabbits or monkeys, as well as animals from religious beliefs like fire serpents.
Find out about these animals and more as you look for objects and use your phone or tablet for the pose and perform missions.
Find
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![Coiled granite snake]()
Easy mission – Find the carved sculpture of a coiled rattlesnake with its fangs and forked tongue in the middle of the room.
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![Detail showing mouth and teeth of turquoise mosaic mask]()
Medium mission – Find the owner of this toothy smile.
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![Detail of pottery dish showing deer glyph]()
Difficult mission – Find the piece of pottery with this wide-eyed animal.
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![Lintel showing king and wife pulling rope through her tongue]()
Expert mission – Find this section of an object showing Mayan hieroglyphs and a ritual.
Perform
Find the fire serpent, Xiuhcoatl, pictured here. Once you've found it, look for the song written beneath. Record a video of your family performing the song. Take turns to read each of the lines and give your best dramatic performances of a fiery snake.
The Aztec people used the spoken word to pass traditions and stories from one generation to another with songs and poetry being important to them. This song was written by an Aztec ruler in Nahuatl, an indigenous language that continues to be spoken today in Central America.
Discuss
Discuss
For the Aztecs, the snake represented a powerful animal able to move between the ground, water, tree canopy and sky above.
Think about all the animals and wildlife that you encounter where you live, choose one together - what makes that animal important to you and your family?
Here's a pottery vase in the form of a dog – what would you create to represent your chosen animal?
Look
Can you find the Turquoise mosaic double-headed serpent? Once you've discovered it, find out the following:
- How many teeth does the serpent have? Start counting now!
- Part of the decoration on the serpent represents feathers. Can you spot them?
Pose
Coiled rattlesnake figure
Yaxchilan lintels
Monkey vessel
Ocelot vessel
