MOTnews 51 (11/03/2004)

History Night

Tuesday 23 March is the date. Together with the Davidsfonds, Grimbergen, the MOT will be hosting a Film Nocturne in the Guldendal section of the Museum.

The past year, Davidsfonds volunteers worked non-stop to collect the best film footage of the Grimbergen of the past. The result of their search is a wonderful series of short films of many highlights in the town's history. The MOT will be a splendid venue to see all this beauty. On that night, the Guldendal will be filled from top to bottom with these "films of the past". You can put your own programme together by strolling from room to room.

The films start at 7 p.m. in the Museum and will continue until midnight.

The entrance is EUR 5.00, which will go towards the Davidsfonds.

GRANDMOTHER'S RECIPES

Our ancestors figured it out long ago: it is best to be economical with raw materials and energy. For example, the wood ovens for baking their bread were also used for many other purposes. We will give a few examples below, and you can read about some more at www.mot.be/bakehouses.

Pears, apples and plums were dried in the ovens while they were still warm. The hard types of pear are best for this. Seeds for the vegetable garden were placed on the oven dome. Feathers could also be dried in the cooled down oven. When soft enough, these feathers were used as filling for mattresses and pillows. Iron tools were kept dry in and on top of the oven.

And today too, you can follow their example: after baking or grilling, the heat of an electric oven can be used to dry herbs for example, or even slices of old bread. When the slices are dry, process them into breadcrumbs using your food processor or blender.

SAY WHAT?

In this MOT-news item we try to explain proverbs and sayings that have their roots in our technical history. Similar proverbs are found in different languages, but each language has it's own typical sayings. Therefore we do not translate this item in English.

KIDS news: something to tell your children this evening

Discover your genius at the technology day.

Sunday 14 March 2004 is the second Technology Day in Flanders.

More than 150 companies, research institutions, universities, colleges, scientific institutions and museums will show the public how technological developments and their applications affect every part of our lives.

As a technical museum, The MOT could not be left out.

On this "Technology Day", all attention will go towards the subject of water and the water-mills of the Museum for Old Techniques.

Visitors will be able to make their way between the two water-mills of the Museum carrying a "researcher's knapsack". This knapsack contains many "do you know" and "can you do" questions about water that visitors can solve during their walk. At the end of the course they will be qualified "water connoisseurs". Of course, the exhibitions in the Liermolen and Tommenmolen sections of the MOT can also be visited for free on this day, and the miller will give a demonstration of grain being ground in a water-mill.

You are thus most welcome in the Liermolen and Tommenmolen sections on Sunday 14 March.