By Raymond Tyler
Last week, Shalini Basu invited me to an open house at the Gandhi Eternal Peace Center and Museum.
I have to admit I have not read much on the life of Mahatma Karamchand Gandhi in a long time. I have been inspired greatly by Gandhi, the man that fought for peace and used nonviolence in a way that inspired Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.
Shalini Basu’s invitation made me excited to learn more about Gandhi. The fact that the Gandhi Peace Center is located at The Walk in Atlantic City makes me overjoyed.
The Gandhi Peace Center and Museum more than lives up to its name. Almost every exhibit is interactive and just begging to be touched and experienced.
So here are five (of many) reasons to visit the Gandhi Peace Center and Museum. I am sure you will find more than five of your own.
5. A Museum Near You
The Gandhi Peace Center’s Atlantic City location makes it the perfect place for a fun and educational outing. I would suggest the Gandhi Peace Center for a school trip, a day camp outing, or after church activity, or even a place to take the young people you may babysit.
I may be wrong, but I didn’t see any signs that said “Please Don’t Touch.” Many of the exhibits work because they need people to spin them, play them, touch them, feel them, and hear them. The Gandhi Peace Center does not keep many of its exhibits behind protective glass.
4. The Timeline Slide
There is a wall that features a monitor that you slide with your hands. The monitor shows pictures and gives information about Gandhi from his birth until his death, and all the great things he accomplished during his lifetime, fighting for peace
3. It’s Open Seven Days a Week With Free Admission
For the record, I love the word “free” when I am doing a contest. I hate the word “free” in terms of museums. Lights, rent, and other things have to be paid for.
Admission to the Gandhi Museum is “complimentary,” but I encourage you to leave a reasonable donation. The public has access to the Gandhi Museum seven days a week from noon to 6 p.m. So with money not demanded and access available before work, after work or your day off, your excuse is there is no excuse.
2. Peace is Not Passive
The Gandhi Peace Center is a great place to learn about “peace” as an active tool and more than just a philosophy. I was encouraged to study Gandhi as I came into adulthood because, as a child, I believed peace was about carrying flowers and being a target for bullies.
Martin Luther King Jr. is also a prominent figure and source of learning at the Gandhi Peace Center. Gandhi and the people he inspired are not remembered for knocking people out, blowing them up or otherwise claiming victory by force. Gandhi is remembered as one whose “force” was nonviolence and helping his brothers and sisters.
One of the most amazing exhibits is an interactive map that shows the mang the places Gandhi visited and where there are other schools, buildings, and museums erected in his honor and are still teaching “peace and goodwill.”
1. You Can Make Two Trips in One
I stated earlier that Martin Luther King is featured as part of the Gandhi Museum. I suggest that if you live in AC or are just visiting, that you take the time to also walk over to the African American Heritage Museum.
Please note that the African American Heritage Museum is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, and Wednesday through Saturday. It’s closed Monday and Tuesday. Both museums offer free access and wonderful exhibits that bring history and culture to life.
The Eternal Gandhi Peace Center is located at 109 Arkansas Ave. in Atlantic City. It’s open from noon to 6 p.m. daily. Learn more at https://gandhiinatlanticcity.org/ or look for them on Facebook.
