Photo: SHMOG

Children Shattered a Glass Castle Exhibit at a Shanghai Museum Worth $64,000

News Museums
by Eben Diskin Jul 22, 2020

Those “do not cross” ropes at museums are there for a reason. Yet, at the Shanghai Museum of Glass, unruly children apparently climbed over barriers while playing a game and accidentally shattered a glass Disney castle exhibit.

Photo: SHMOG

The castle was gifted by the Arribas Brothers, glassblowers specializing in creating Disney collectibles. The delicate piece had taken 500 hours to create, weighed 132 pounds, and consisted of over 30,000 components. The museum hopes the US-based artists will be able to repair the piece, though COVID-19 restrictions prevent them from traveling to Shanghai right now.

According to Vice, the museum wrote on Weibo, “We can only display the castle in its ‘imperfect’ state, and we’re sorry if this negatively affects your museum experience.”

Of the incident itself, the museum wrote, “The little visitors knew that their behaviour was inappropriate, and, under the encouragement of their parents, reported the incident to the museum staff. Their attitudes were friendly and sincere, and they agreed to help out with follow-up matters. This makes us touched, and we believe that the future generation will be good visitors.”

The castle is estimated to be worth around $64,000, and some Weibo users believe the children’s parents should compensate the museum for the full amount. It’s unclear, however, if any compensation will be made.

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