Was this part of an ill-conceived Touch Anything You Want Day? A routine hazing of museum interns? We have no idea. What we do know is that it’s 1941, the children are in the museum’s former Medieval Gallery with the Explorers Club museum youth group, and those pikes look awfully sharp.
But let’s assume the armor and weapons are fake, even though they resemble those on long-term loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the third floor corridor of the MIA. In any case, it was a long time ago (well past the statute of limitations), and in the MIA archives there’s another image that shows a bit more of the scene. The boys are performing for dozens of other kids gathered in the gallery. Totally sanctioned. Probably.
Watch for more Once at MIA flashbacks every Monday at MIA Stories.