A regular tour around any museum requires visitors not to touch the displays. While adults are happy looking at and reading what is there to see, children have to be reminded not to touch anything. To ensure that a child’s visit to the museum is fulfilling, they must be allowed to engage themselves with new things.
With this in mind, the National Museum in the Capital has lined up a special 26-day exhibition titled “Elements” for children as part of its summer activities. The exhibition, which promises a curiosity-sparking itinerary, shall cater to children between the ages of 6 to 12 years.
It is being put together by Think Arts, a group that aims to bring imaginative and out-of-the-box aesthetic experiences for children.
Spanning about 45 minutes, the experience shall include five sections, each of which shall have something new to offer. From exploring a series of cupboards that have a surprise element behind every door to navigating around a maze to crawling through tunnels, the experience may remind the children of how Lewis Carroll’s Alice may have felt in Wonderland.
Also, there will be a zone in which children are encouraged to explore themselves as artists. Their work will then be displayed as part of the exhibition. Further, a room filled with musical instruments will allow them to try their hand at playing them, while a tactile section will have them walking through a path made of different materials.
The section will end with the children dipping their feet into colour made from kumkum and turmeric, leaving behind a trail of red and yellow footprints.
A feedback wall will later allow them to draw and scribble once the tour ends.
The entire experience has been laid out without the use of electronic devices to create a sense of the ‘virtual’.
Speaking about the exhibition, Think Arts founder Ruchira Das said the kids will be allowed to touch anything and everything along the rooms, chambers and labyrinths.
“We aim to provide the child with uninhibited and un-patterned activities. They will be free to do anything, but we will ensure safety of the visitors and objects,” Ms. Das added.
Anurupa Roy, a co-conceiver of “Elements”, said the exhibition was rolled out on the basis of the understanding that children are intelligent and independent beings, which is also why the gallery discourages entry of elders — whose company tends to impede imagination by imposing set notions on young minds.
The exhibition is on till July 5 on the second floor of the museum. It is open on all days except Monday and national holidays.
