...and then there were two!

Museum Toddlers

When I think "museum", I think -> dioramas, dinosaurs, dust, fossilised guards shouting "QUIET!" and of course, boring. (I have about an gram's worth of culture in my brain. The rest is my shopping-discount-calculator.) So I was really pleasantly surprised to find out from Grace about this Museum Toddlers programme at the National Museum. Kids in the museum? Can meh!?

Can!

First in Singapore, the National Museum of Singapore's Museum Toddlers programme provides a play-based learning experience for children aged 18months to 4 years. Using key artefacts from the Museum's collection, the programme focusses on the process of exploring and interacting... and using the powers of imagination.

Go to [www.nationalmuseum.sg] -> [what's on] -> [all events] -> [museum toddlers] to read more.

There was singing, a puppet show, an art-and-craft session and finally, a short visit to the film gallery where we saw old hand puppets, old costumes worn by chinese opera actors, old videos of puppet shows and an old puppet stage. Very very cool.

What I really like is how NHB is trying to reach out to the really young with all these programmes. This Museum Toddlers programme has been running bi-monthly from April and will last until December. There are 4 different types of workshops altogether - puppetry, photography, fashion and a culinary one. Guess which one we're going for next? ;)

I also like how the workshop was in a way, holistic and thematic. The kids watched a puppet show, then they made their own pop-up puppet (I'll post the instructions in the next post) and then this was linked to Singapore's own history and past - how opera and puppet shows were a popular form of entertainment for the immigrants in the early 1900's. I just wish there was some focus on wayang kulit too.

The guys from Toy Box were very very good - funny, enthusiastic and really into the kids. For a long time, DN just stuck to me. Once he warmed up, he moved right in front. :)

There he is, clapping his hands after the puppet show.

Before they made their own pop-up puppet, one of the Toy Box guys showed them a real pop-up puppet and how it worked.

After they'd finished their puppet, the kids were shown these old stick puppets - how they worked and how elaborate their costumes were. This was a nice lead-in to the visit to the film gallery.