ADAMU TAFAWA BALEWA

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION KANGERE, BAUCHI STATE

SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
COURSE COMBINATION: SOS/ENG

COURSE CODE:
SOS 214

FIELD TRIP REPORT

UNDERTAKEN AT NATIONAL MESUEM JOS, PLATEAU STATE

Prepared by:

CHONGMOB ELISHA
2/19/062

Supervisor:
Mr. Obadiah Yakubu
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 CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

A field trip is a different kind of experience than a break or picnic. The purpose of a field
trip is to help students learn and absorb new experiences in unfamiliar and casual
environments. It allows them to learn various things, and provides them with a chance to
enhance their skill set. If you want to know what field trip in education is, you should
understand the various modules that make a good field trip.

Reinforcement – Field trips lay the foundation for better learning experiences. They are
a good break for both teachers and students. Though they are essentially meant to
educate, they can also turn out to be a great bonding experience.
Engagement – With the right teachers, field trips can be turned into mobile classrooms.
In a fun environment, students are more likely to follow instructions, and collect valuable
data to help with skills and studies.
Socialization – Field trips not only allow students to interact with each other, but also
give them a chance to socialize with teachers in an open and informal environment. In
addition to this, students can also socialize with locals in the region.
Curiosity & Retention – New places and discoveries make students curious, and give
them a chance to learn in a much better way. Experiences are also engraved in memories,
and it becomes easier to retain learning and knowledge.
Exposure – This is perhaps the most important benefit of a field trip. With the right set of
places, collaboration and learning experiences, students are able to get exposure to new
environments and practices. It allows them to learn many new things within a short
period of time.
1.1 HISTORY OF JOS PLATEAU MESUEM

The museum was established in 1952 by Bernard Fagg and was originally the National
Museum. It is an important centre of research into the prehistoric culture of Nigeria, and
was recognized as one of the best in the country but fell into damage. The Pottery Hall in
the museum has an exceptional collection of finely crafted pottery from all over Nigeria.

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The museum boasts some fine specimens of Nok terracotta heads and artifacts dating
from between 500 BC to AD 200. It also incorporates the Museum of Traditional
Nigerian Architecture with life-size replicas of a variety of buildings, from the walls of
Kano and the Mosque at Zaria to a Tiv village. Articles of interest from colonial times
relating to the railway and tin mining can also be found on display. A School for Museum
Technicians is attached to the museum, established with the help of UNESCO. The Jos
Museum is also located beside the zoo.
1.2       PURPOSE OF THE FIELD TRIP

Field trips always serve as practical confirmations of the theoretical framework of

classroom lectures, and provide the student with a firsthand experience of how the
concepts and principles taught in class apply in concrete reality. This was particularly
truly of the field trip to the NATIONAL MUSEUM JOS PLATEAU STATE as a
fulfillment of the practical requirements of the course SOS 214 (Field Trip) and second,
it served for the writer, as an avenue through which one could observe for himself the
rich cultural heritage bequeathed to the contemporary Nigerian society, and thus come to
a better appreciation/understanding of the relationship between the speculative
experiences of the classroom and the practical experiences of the field as they pertain to
the knowledge of museums – their roles and functions in the preservation of culture and
history.
1.3       PREPARATIONS FOR THE FIELD TRIP
Major preparations for the field were handled by the Course Lecturers, Malam Lawan
Usman Mr. Obadiah Yakubu and Mr. Gideon, Mr. Elkana etc. who made contacts with
the museum management and got a date for the expedition. Thursday, 8 th of July, 2021
was scheduled as the date for Group two (2) field trip, and the students made a payment
of Three Thousand Naira (3500.00) only each for the token which the museum charges
for its services per individual. Arrangements were made for the school bus, its fueling
and drivers that would convey the students; these were seen too by the school.

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1.4       EVENTS/EXPERIENCE AT THE FIELD TRIP

By 9:30am on the 8th of July, 2021, students were ready and awaiting departure to the
National Museum Jos Plateau. We were conveyed to the museum in batches. Upon our
arrival, all the students assembled in front of the museum entrance. Thereafter Mr.
Obadiah Yakubu and one of the museum officers address us on the meaning and
functions of the museum, the codes of conduct guiding behavior in and around the
galleries, before we could actually be led through a tour of the facility.

The events and experiences at the field trip will be reported in two (2) sections. The first
section will focus on the theoretical lecture given upon our arrival by a museum educator
on the nature, functions and relevance of museums generally, and the National Museum
Jos Plateau in particular, while the second section will focus on the practical experience
of actually touring the museum’s galleries.

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 CHAPTER TWO

THEORETICAL LECTURES ON MUSEUMS

The museum educator, after a brief introduction of herself, she proceeded to give a brief
lecture on the meaning, types, functions and relevance of museums. A collated
summation of his lecture is as presented below:
2.0       WHAT IS A MUSEUM?
A museum is a place where objects of historical and cultural relevance are preserved for
posterity. It is an institution which serves for the preservation of the history of a people;
this history could be cultural or natural. Museums are charged with the responsibility of
collecting, storing, guarding and making accessible, objects of antiquities which are of
historical and cultural relevance, aimed at their preservation for posterity.
2.1       TYPES OF MUSEUMS
There are various types of museums serving diverse but related functions. Each museum
focuses on a peculiar area of interest, some focus on a particular geographical location in
a general way while some others focus on particular subject categories. Among the many
types of museums, Natural Museums, History Museums and Art Museums are the most
popular in Nigeria. The Yankari Games Reserve and Jos is an example of a natural
museum which serves for the preservation of animal and plant species particularly those
threatened by the possibility of extinction. In Umuahia, the Capital city of Abia State,
there is a war museum. It is a history museum as it preserves memoirs of the Biafra Civil
war – the technological ingenuities of the Biafran fighters such as
the Ogbunigwe, warships, rifles, Ojukwu bunker etc. The National Museum Jos is also
history museum but has a special function stemming from the purpose for its
establishment – to foster a sense of unity amongst Nigerians!
2.2       PURPOSE AND FUNCTIONS OF A MUSEUM:
Museums deal on antiquities and generally any object that has a scientific, artistic,
cultural or historical importance for a people. The purpose of a museum is thus to
preserve such objects of scientific, artistic, cultural and historical relevance. The museum

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makes these objects available to the public for studies, entertainment or pure leisure. 
Apart from these formal functions of the museum, it can also serve other purposes. The
National Museums Jos for example, was established to serve purposes which differ from
the traditional functions of museums. It was established mainly to foster peace, by
highlighting the similarities and relatedness in our cultural heritage and belief systems,
pointing to the fact that what unites us is more than what divides us.
The activities of the National Museum Jos is not limited only to the aforementioned
functions of museums, it serves other purposes in line with its proclivity towards
fostering the preservation of culture and of national unity. The museum, as part of its
effort in this regard, organizes cultural festivals like the New Yam festival and cultural
carnivals, where various cultural dance troupes come and display the beauty and splendor
of Nigerian rhythmic music and dance. The museum recently celebrated the international
mother tongue day, and school children were invited to give presentations, drama, songs,
recitals etc. in their native tongues. All aimed at encouraging the preservation of our
culture.
Collection or acquisition of objects of cultural and historical relevance is the task of the
curator, who heads the museum. The museum educator informed us that there are various
ways through which the museum acquires its art facts. They include:
-          Purchases
-          Restitution
-          Donation
-          Excavation
-          Seizure
A good number of the art facts are purchased by the museum curator, who buys relevant
items such as those from archaeological discoveries, and stores them in the museum.
Some are acquired through restitution. Some objects taken by the Europeans during the
Benin expedition of 1887, bronze works, especially were recent returned to the Nigeria
Government, and the art facts shared between the museums. Some items are also got
through donation. The Shehu of Borno, for example donated a saddle. Some also were

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got through excavations, wherein builders or constructors or archaeological diggers come
upon artefacts. Some were collected through seizure i.e. when they are recovered from
smugglers caught in an attempt to sell or transport the antiquities out of the country.
2.3       RULES OF CONDUCT WITHIN THE MUSEUM:
Before the tour of the galleries began, we were furnished with rules of conduct in line
with the operations and functioning of the museum. These include:
i.                    Camera devices are not allowed into the galleries and thus snapshots of the
museum items are not to be taken.
ii.                  The items are never to be touched while examining them, for obvious
reasons – hygienic demands and for the preservation of the items displayed i.e. to prevent
accidental spills, dropping or misplacement.
iii.                The use of cell phones within the galleries is prohibited. Phones and other
communication devices are kept either at the lobby or switched off. 
iv.                Art facts are not to be removed from the museum. Any act of pilfering will
be treated as a criminal offence. 

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 CHAPTER THREE
TOUR OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM, JOS
After the lecture, we were partitioned into two (4) groups. This was to ease the tour of the
facility as a large number would not effectively tour the galleries simultaneously. Each
group was assigned to a guide, a museum education officer. The group was guided by
Mrs. Larai James, as the group’s guide and instructor.
3.1       THE PREMISE OF THE NATIONAL MESUEM JOS, PLATEAU:
Beginning with the museum’s theme “Nigerian Belief Systems and Worldview”, the
educator explained that the museum collects and stores items which reflect the religious
convictions of the various ethnic groups in Nigeria. The items are so collated and
arranged to highlight an underlying sameness and relatedness in the basic worldview of
the various cultures. The art facts in the museum while showcasing the rich cultural
heritage and civilization attained by the various pre-colonial societies of Nigeria, speak
eloquently of the similarities in concepts and principles around which the societies were
arranged, and these are the basis on which Nigerians can begin to seek unity – in the
knowledge and understanding of the relatedness and complementarily of our cultures.
3.2       THE GALLERIES:
The main gallery, which was opened to the public in 1952, forms the nucleus of the
museum. It comprises of the ethnographic and archaeological sections. There are two
main archaeological displays, the first on entering the gallery is a display of the
Paleolithic period-the early stone age, the second gallery is of features and material from
the Nok culture. The ethnographic section is divided into three units; these are done for
easy references and identification purpose. Most of the objects displayed are artifacts
objects show the artistic skill of the peoples of Nigeria. The materials include; carved Ibo
and Idoma face-marks, Benin and Ife Bronze Castings, Hausa and Yoruba Musical
Instruments, Hausa and Fulani Traditional dresses and material from Jukun and Mumye
people.

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LIBRARY
The Museum library has a collection of about 10,000 books and periodicals, many related
to the particular discipline represented at the Museum. The library is preserving some of
the oldest Arabic manuscripts still in existence in Nigeria. It also houses some other
famous manuscripts like palmer’s papers of the northern Nigeria. The library is mainly
for Museum Staff but other research the fellows are generally allowed to use it with
special permission.
ADMINISTRATIVE SECTION
In the government establishment, the administrative section deals with the employment,
discipline, welfare and normal roll. But based on the categories of staff, the
administrative section of the Museum is solely responsible for the employment of junior
Staff. The section is concern with the discipline of staff both senior and junior. By and
large the section is a sensitive section because of its role.
ZOO
This is situated on the Museum land and had its entrance facing the front of the Museum.
Behind the entrance gate is a little beatifically bridge, which provides a passage for
visitors to cross the brook that adds to the curiosity in this wooded zoo. The bridge line
cages animals in padlocks. These are built among tress and rocks and the ecology of each
of these animals and birds has almost the exact environment in which it was supposed to
live. Living happily in the zoo are animals, which are rare in the wildlife,. The leopard,
monkeys, chimpanzee, tortoise, copra, peacock, lion, etc, unlike the Museum, there area
entrance fees into the zoo, which are charged at subsidized rate of Three Naira (N3.00). It
is estimated that average daily visit by people here is about hundred and fifty. (25 years
of Jos Museum 1978).
The Museum records showed that the first lion were donated by the later Alhaji Sir.
Ahmed Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, and the Museum was first among Nigerians zoos
to have lions. People also donated animals freely then. It was also managed by
interested ,people who became members of the zoological society. The greatest joy of its
existence is the surging crowd of fun seeking visitors picnicking during festivals such as
Sallah, Christmas, New Year and Easter’s holidays. This generates substantial

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revenue to the commission contrary to happenings in other Museums in Nigeria.
(Museum Newsletter 1998).

3.4       LESSONS FROM THE MUSEUM TOUR

There salient facts to which the art facts, housed in the National Museum Jos, point to.
They point to the gross misinformation and bias which has been fed many unsuspecting
scholars and the ignorant public – that Africans were barbaric, savage and primitive, prior
to the advent of the civilizing European explorers. Many Africans, including the writer,
grew up with the notion that development and civilization came to Africa through the
activities of the “white man”, that if not for the Europeans, most African societies would
have continued living the life of savagery and primitiveness that is unarguably subhuman.
It is not uncommon to hear the average Nigeria or African exclaim, “Thank God the
white men came!” It was believed (and still believed by some) that there were no
trappings of technological development or civilization in the ancient societies of Africa.
Such assumptions are false and unfounded in the light of new studies and researches on
the history and development of African societies.

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Some art facts displayed in the museum dates back to as far as the 9 th and 12th Centuries,
showing that learning and arts thrived in these pre-colonial periods. Western civilization
may have progressed faster than African civilization as regards technology and science,
but that does not remove from the fact that ancient African societies had their own
civilization which were not expansionist like that of the West. Given that ancient African
societies had their specific ways of life (culture) and they developed means of modifying
their environment to serve their need (technology), one can confidently assert that ancient
African societies were civilized. There were samples of huge ancient mortars, pestles and
other tools used for processing the Oil Palm fruits into Palm oil, displayed in the
museum. The technologies involved in the production of Palm oil may not be as
sophisticated as that involved in Olive oil production, but it is technology nonetheless,
and it was not taught us by the white men, ancient Africans developed it themselves.
Contemporary studies on African arts, for example, have brought to the fore some of the
obvious misjudgments and deconstructions of Africa especially in her arts. The West
could not understand African arts and thus misjudged them, and termed them primitive.
Duffet (1985) commenting on this warns that “ it may be that refinement, celebrations,
depth of mind, are on their side (the ancients), not ours.” He continues, “Personally, I
believe very much in values of ‘savagery’; I mean: instinct, passion, mood, violence,
madness.”His views are corroborated by Moore (1981) who asserted thus: “I was
particularly interested in the African sculptures and felt that ‘primitive’ was a misleading
description of them, suggesting crudeness and incompleteness. It was obvious to me that
these artists were not trying – and failing – to represent the human form naturalistically,
but that they had definite traditions of their own.”

THE FOLLOWING ARE THE NOTICEABLE CHALLENGES

1. Lack of maintenance culture of the hostels and chalets such as worn out taps,
doorknobs, stairs among others
2. Lack of good road
3. Inadequate fund for the maintenance

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 4. Lack of expertise in catering for the welfare of the tourists.
5. Inadequate research facilities other challenges are lack of communication network;
infrastructural needs such as roads and power supply and non-functional
recreational facilities.
6. The available manpower is inadequate

THE SOLUTIONS TO THE CHALLENGES

1. There should be maintenance department.
2. Government should provide good road and network.
3. There should be employ expertise.
4. There should be available power supply.

3.5 EVALUATION OF THE FIELD TRIP

The field trip in the estimation of the writer was a huge success. The planning,
organization and final execution of the trip went without glitches. At the museum itself,
the tour guides (museum educators) displayed high levels of professionalism and in a
manner with which they led the expedition through the galleries of the museum. They
were courteous, polite and patient in answering the questions that were posed to them.
The education officer that led the writer’s group was particularly good at her job. She was
vast in the cultural history of the Nigerian people as reflected in the arte
facts in the museum. She always pointed to the underlying similarities and relatedness
between the artefacts which are pointer to the commonalities in the diverse cultures. The
writer is of the opinion that the museum is really in keeping with the pursuit of unity for
which it was established. A visit to the museum not only exposes one to the rich cultural
heritage for which Nigerians are blessed, but serves to provide the impetus needed for
individual to give priority of place to our autochthonous traditions and cultural practices,
sifting out those that need to be revised and updated in the light of new knowledge and
discoveries.
However, there are areas in which the management of the museum could have made the
museum tour a more memorable experience. The museum had no pamphlets, leaflets or

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flyers which highlight the works and activities of the museum and the goal to which they
thrive. As the art facts were grouped to highlight the similarities in religious beliefs and
worldview, there should have been accompanying pamphlets to serve as aids to museum
visitors who made want to have written reminders and memoirs of what they experienced
at the National Museum Jos. These pamphlets, if printed, could even be made public and
thus ensure a wider audience and a faster spread of the pursuit for cultural appreciation
and a fostering of National unity via intercultural exchange and interactions.

CONCLUSION

The field trip to Plateau state was of great benefit to my Career as a Social Studies
Student because in my field trip I was able to see some animals with my physical eyes.

I learnt how vegetation and habitat affect the presence and abundance of Animals, Land
topography was another thing that I was able to study and this enlightened me more on
how it can affect human activities like farming.

We were able to finished our tour by 2:30pm

My field trip had positive impact on my life as a human and as a student in Social Studies
department.

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