Amaka and the Conservator

A gentle story about learning to care for the past — Amaka learns how to clean and preserve an object properly, and in the process discovers simple chemistry, ethical care, and why museums and families work together to keep memory alive.

By Edwin Ogie Library — age-friendly, classroom-ready, and respectful of cultural heritage.

Helpful searches you can open in a new tab:

Conservation best practices What is a conservator? Preserving ivory & wood

Opening — a curious question

Amaka found the small box behind her grandmother’s wardrobe. It was a shallow wooden box, its paint flaking like old tree bark. Inside, wrapped in faded cloth, lay an object that made her hold her breath: a small carved figure of a head — warm to the touch and tiny enough to sit in the palm of her hand. The carved face looked calm, the hairline precise, the eyes careful. "Where did you get this?" she asked her grandmother.

Her grandmother's eyes softened. "It belonged to your great-grandmother," she said. "It was kept for ceremonies long ago. We don't use it anymore, but it remembers." Amaka loved remembering things. She wanted to keep the figure clean and bright the way it looked in books. But she also wanted to do it right. She had heard of conservators—people who cared for old things in museums—and she wondered if she could learn from one.

That evening, Amaka's teacher, Mrs. Okoro, mentioned a museum in the city that welcomed school visits. Amaka wrote a note to the museum and, to her surprise, they replied: "Bring your object and a grown-up. Our conservator, Mr. Chukwu, will show you how to look after it." Amaka could not sleep for excitement. She imagined gloves, glass cases, and quiet rooms full of soft brushes.

Meet the object — stories in a small face

The next day Amaka and her grandmother took the little figure to the museum. The conservator greeted them in a room that smelled faintly of lemon soap and paper. He placed the object on a soft pad and looked carefully through a magnifying glass. "This is a lovely piece," he said. "Can I ask where it was kept?"

Amaka explained the box and the cloth and the times her grandmother remembered it being used during moonlit ceremonies. The conservator listened and wrote notes. He explained that the first step in caring for any object is to listen to its story: who made it (if known), where it has lived, how people used it, and what it was wrapped in. That history helps a conservator understand which materials they are working with and what those materials need.

He showed Amaka how to look for clues: the colour of the wood grain, small cracks near the base, traces of soil in a joint, and evidence of old glue where something had once been reattached. He explained that each of these clues tells a little of the object’s life—weathering, people’s hands, past repairs—and that a good conservator tries to be gentle and honest about what they find.

The conservator — patient, curious, and careful

Mr. Chukwu had worked with objects for many years. He liked to begin with three words: "Observe. Record. Respect." He showed Amaka a notebook filled with drawings, tiny colour samples, and written notes. "First we observe," he said, "then we record exactly what we see so that anyone later can understand what we did and why."

He explained his tools: soft brushes like the whiskers of a calm animal; cotton swabs in different sizes; distilled water (water without salts); small spatulas; pH test strips (little papers that change colour to show acidity); and microscopes to look at paint layers. He stressed safety: "A conservator is part scientist and part gardener — we care for things, and we never rush. Too much haste and the object loses something it cannot give back."

Amaka's favourite tool was a set of tiny brushes. She practiced sweeping dust from a corner of the pad while Mr. Chukwu explained why dust can be both harmless and dangerous. "A lot depends on where the dust comes from," he said. "Dust with salt or smoke harms metal and textile; dust made from soil may hold tiny roots or acids." The conservator smiled: "There is a chemistry to care — a quiet chemistry that tells us what to do."

Simple chemistry — the quiet rules that matter

Mr. Chukwu explained chemistry without big words. "Objects are made of materials," he said. "Wood, metal, textile, ivory, paint. Each material likes a certain kind of home. Some like it dry; others like stable humidity. Some hate salt; some simply fade in bright light." He drew three simple rules on a piece of paper:

1. Keep it clean in the right way. Dry dusting with a soft brush is good; harsh scrubbing is bad.
2. Keep it in the right climate. Avoid places that are too humid (wet) or too dry; extreme changes harm materials.
3. Keep it away from harmful substances. Salt, smoke, acidic paper, and strong sunlight can all damage objects.

He showed Amaka a simple experiment with pH strips (nothing dangerous): he touched a small amount of distilled water to a strip and showed how it stayed neutral (green on many strips). Then he touched a tiny dab of lemon juice (acid) and the strip changed colour. "Acids can eat away at metal and make wood weak over time," he said. "But we use these tests to learn, not to play. Conservation is careful testing, not guessing."

He explained corrosion in plain language: "Metal gets unhappy when moisture and salts meet it. The metal reacts, changes into powders or crusts, and your object loses its original look. With organic materials like wood or ivory, too much humidity can invite mould—tiny living things that make holes and rot."

Amaka asked: "So water is bad?" The conservator smiled. "Water is a friend if you distill it and use it carefully in controlled ways. Tap water can have minerals and salts that leave marks. Chemicals like household bleach are almost always wrong for valuable objects — they are strong and they can change the object forever. That's why we test first."

The process — gentle steps to clean and preserve

Mr. Chukwu showed Amaka the order of work he uses for small objects like hers. He said it was important to think before touching. The order he used is simple to remember and practical:

1. Document first. Photograph from many angles, draw a small sketch, and note any marks or damages.
2. Test the surface. Find a tiny hidden area and test gently with a dry brush and, if needed, a slightly moistened swab of distilled water. Look for changes.
3. Dry-clean if possible. Remove loose dust with a soft brush or low-suction micro-vacuum (with a screen to protect the object).
4. Wet-clean carefully and only if safe. Use distilled water with a tiny amount of neutral soap if the material can tolerate it. Rinse with distilled water and dry quickly and carefully.
5. Stabilize fragile parts. For cracks or loose fragments, use reversible conservation adhesives — glues that can be undone by future conservators if needed.
6. Store in proper conditions. A padded box, low-light area, and stable humidity are key. Use acid-free tissue and labels.

Amaka watched as he photographed the little figure on a neutral background, then recorded measurements: height, width, weight (very small). He used a small cotton swab dampened with distilled water on a hidden inner curve and showed Amaka: "See? Nothing comes off." That told him that the surface was stable. In another case, a dark powder had come away: "That would have told me to stop. Powder like that means the surface might be fragile."

When it was safe to proceed, Mr. Chukwu used a soft sable brush to lift dust from crevices. He explained the importance of working from the top down and from the cleanest area to the dirtier area so that you don't recontaminate what you've just cleaned. "It is like cleaning a face," he said. "You wash gently and with respect."

He emphasized documentation again: "Every action we take is written down so that someone later—another conservator or the family—can understand what was done and why. Conservation is a conversation across time."

Ethics & permissions — who decides?

Keeping old things safe is not only a technical job; it is an ethical one. Mr. Chukwu explained that before any treatment, a conservator must have permission from the object's owner or rightful community. "You must always ask," he said. "Objects are part of people’s culture and memory. Some repairs may change how an object looks, and only owners should decide what is acceptable."

He gave Amaka three practical rules about permission and ethics:

1. Always ask the person who owns the object (or their family) before doing anything.
2. If the object belongs to a community (for example, a ceremonial item), involve community elders and custodians in decisions.
3. Prefer reversible treatments — things you can undo later — because future conservators or families may choose different directions.

He told a quiet story about a time a conservator glued something with the wrong adhesive and years later that glue made the object hard to repair. "That is why conservators prefer reversible materials," he said. "We want to be careful guests in the object’s life, not permanent remodelers."

Amaka understood. It felt like being polite with memory: you enter someone’s house, you speak softly, and you ask before moving things.

Activities for kids — safe, curious, and scientific

Here are classroom-friendly activities inspired by Amaka’s visit. They teach observation, safe testing, and respect for objects. Important safety note: do not clean family heirlooms or museum objects with household chemicals without permission. Use replicas or inexpensive items for practice.

Activity 1 — Observation & Documentation

1. Bring an everyday object (a wooden spoon, small toy, or a ceramic cup) or a craft replica for each group.
2. Ask students to look closely and write five things they notice (color, marks, texture, smell). No touching for the first 2 minutes.
3. Use a phone or camera (with permission) to photograph the object from three angles. Label the photos with the object's name and one guess about its age.
4. Discuss: what clues tell you about how it was used?

Activity 2 — Safe Cleaning Practice (use replicas)

1. Use wooden or ceramic replicas covered lightly with a thin layer of flour mixed with cocoa (to simulate dirt). Never use real family objects.
2. Provide soft brushes, cotton swabs, and small cups of distilled water and plain, neutral soap diluted in water. Explain why distilled water is safer.
3. Practice dry-brushing first. Then test a tiny hidden area with a damp swab. If the dirt lifts cleanly and the replica is fine, continue. Rinse with a clean damp swab and dry with a soft cloth.
4. Record what worked and what didn't in a simple worksheet.

Activity 3 — Simple pH Test (science corner)

1. Using pH strips (available cheaply), let students test water, lemon juice, and a weak soap solution. Record colours and match to a chart (acid, neutral, alkaline).
2. Discuss: which liquids might be dangerous for certain materials (e.g., acid for metal) and why conservators test before they clean.

Activity 4 — Make a Care Plan

1. Choose a classroom "artifact" (poster, handmade clay pot). Ask students to write a simple care plan: where to store it, how often to dust it, who will be responsible, and what to do if it gets damaged.
2. Present plans and vote on the most practical, then try it for a month.

These activities teach safe curiosity: observation, gentle handling, and the humility to ask for help from experts and family elders.

Resources & teacher notes

Key points for teachers to remember when using this story in class:

• Emphasize permission and cultural respect. Never instruct children to clean real heirlooms without an adult and without permission.
• Use replicas for any wet cleaning or chemical demonstrations. Keep pH tests supervised and limited to safe household liquids.
• Invite a local conservator, artisan, or elder if possible — real voices add authenticity and respect.

Suggested further reading and starting places for grown-ups preparing lessons (open in new tabs):

• Search: museum conservation guidelines
• Search: pH strips classroom activities
• Search: storing wooden crafts safely

If you want, I can convert this story into a printable lesson pack (PDF) including: worksheet templates for observation, a care-plan template, a safety checklist for classroom demos, and a one-page teacher quick guide. Reply "Lesson pack" and I will prepare it.

Closing — Amaka's promise

When Amaka returned home she wrapped the small figure again in soft cloth and placed it in a shallow box padded with acid-free tissue paper (a gift the museum provided). She made a simple label: name (if known), where it was found, who owns it, and one line: "Do not clean without asking a conservator." She put the box on a shelf that is cool and away from the window.

Amaka kept a small notebook of her own. On the first page she wrote: "Observe. Record. Respect." She drew a tiny brush and a tiny pad and under it wrote a promise to ask before she touched. She also promised to share what she had learned with her cousins and friends — how caring for the past is like caring for people: listen, ask, and be gentle.

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© Edwin Ogie Library — "Amaka and the Conservator" is educational fiction inspired by real conservation practice. For classroom use beyond personal study contact edwinogielibrary@gmail.com.