It's a mystery: the Mayan prediction for 21 December 2012. Centuries ago the Mayas predicted a major change on this date. But what was it? There are those who say it will mark the end of an era, or even the end of civilisation. The Museum of Ethnology in the Dutch university city of Leiden has mounted an exhibition about the Mayan mystery.
 
Visitors learn about the Mayas by stepping into their world. Mayan culture is displayed in an interactive form, so that children can learn to decipher the secrets of the Mayas through play. Visitors can discover the hieroglyphs they used, the language and the sound of the words. They can also play football, or pok-ta-pok as the Mayans called it, in a version for the Wii game system.

"Maya 2012: the Mysteries of an Ancient People" does not give any definite answer to the most intriguing question: what will happen in the year 2012? If, of course, anything at all happens. As Laura van Broekhoven, the museum's curator for Central and South America, explains, "the inscriptions are too badly damaged to make out what it was".

The temporary exhibition on the Maya at the Museum of Ethnology (Museum Volkenkunde) in Leiden runs until 22 August 2010