This week we’ve been brimming with excitement in the Creative Learning Team as we launched our new interactive, family learning sessions, Navigate Create! These fun, interactive sessions are designed so families can playfully learn together exploring the museum’s collections through stories, drama, sound and art.
This week we saw us grab our explorer hats, make our magical magnifying glasses and join Ellie the Time-Traveling Explorer on her quest to find her best pal Bruin the Polar Bear and help him home to the Arctic. Along the way, we met lots of animals and we learned about their lives, habitats and how they live in colder climates. We also asked them… Have You Seen Bruin? Thankfully they had and Alan the Arctic Fox and Susan the Snowy Owl pointed us in the right direction.
Once we found Bruin, he told us about where he lived, what he ate for is tea and of course, what his favourite colour was (white) before he headed home with Ellie.
We had fun exploring with Ellie the Explorer. The children had fun picking up facts about the animals.
I think it makes parents feel comfortable and confident about returning to the museum on their own.
Navigate, Create! was delivered with our cultural partners ZeroThree15 Theatre Company. Our next session is on Saturday the 10th March. To book your FREE place please call our reception on 01382 307 200.
We also welcomed the Home-Start families group back into the museum this week for a very special mid-week A Day to Play with our partner organisation Shaper/Caper! We began working with Home-Start last year when they participated in our 150th Anniversary project The People’s Story and thought it would be great to invite the group back to give them a taster of what A Day to Play is really about! The group joined Captain Caper on a swashbuckling adventure far off the coast of Dundee!
The session helped the children and their parents to develop self-confidence through a range of stimulating exercises, movement, play, problem solving and working together. The children had a magical morning and let their imaginations run wild as they set sail on the pirate ship and braved the high seas.
It was such a brilliant morning and we could really see the power of play! We have always worked offsite with the Home-Start group so it was great to see both adults and kids enjoying the museum and accessing our Learning Space. Everyone left the museum full of energy and eager to return again for another adventure. It really turned the traditional idea of a museum on its head and had such a positive impact on everyone involved!
The enthusiasm was contagious!
As the group worker I witnessed a huge improvement in the parents interaction, sharing information with the children, communicating at a much higher level due to the activities that were led by the team.
A Day to Play takes place once a month at The McManus Galleries, it is intergenerational so they are suitable for children and young people from the age of 2 to 12. We would LOVE for families to come along and join in with us on a creative adventure. You don’t need any experience to enjoy A Day To Play so come along and give it a go! The next workshop is 2-3pm on Sunday 18th March, bookable from Shaper/Caper website.
McManus Creative Learning 