16 November,2024 12:00 PM IST | Mumbai | Junisha Dama
The Luckey Climber, a three-storey installation
Tackle the Luckey Climber, a three-storey installation, with teamwork; discover what's inside a Koli fishing boat; or participate in a robotics workshop to learn circuitry and how to build robots. All of this is possible at the Museum of Solutions (MuSo), a children's museum that opened its doors a year ago. As they celebrate their first birthday, a carnival awaits. And, they are sprouting more floors in the year to come.
Spread across one lakh sq ft, MuSo has been a leap forward for children's museums in the country. The building has four distinct labs that allow children to tinker with math, art, and other STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) subjects. In the coming year, the museum is gearing up to launch a fifth - the Grow Lab, will come up on an entirely new floor. The open-air space will focus on sustainability and clean living. Exhibits and activities will teach children about composting, beekeeping, growing vegetables; and immerse in a tropical garden.
The Air Launch allows children to play and learn about physics
There is also a recycling centre underway, an entire floor dedicated to learning about the ecological impact of plastic waste and using state-of-the-art tools and Precious Plastic machines to turn discarded plastic into useful products. What sets MuSo apart is that all through the process of designing the museum, children have always been at the fore. In the beginning, the institution had a panel of children aged 10 to 14 to steer the direction the museum should take. And now, they will set up a Changemakers Panel, a first of its kind globally, where children aged 11 to 14 will help design new programmes and exhibits.
The museum has also tied up with Standard Chartered Bank to jointly incubate the Futuremakers Programme, which will enable 100 city-based children from BMC schools to create a prototype of sustainable solutions for real-world problems concerning water-related challenges and developments associated with sustainable food. The museum will conduct a set of skills-based training workshops that will help the school children develop critical thinking, a problem-solving approach, collaboration and leadership. The first leg of the programme has already kicked off, and the prototypes developed by the young participants are expected to be presented in March 2025.
"The Futuremakers programme offers school children a platform to gain a deeper understanding of environmental and social issues, focusing on fostering a curiosity-driven and solution-oriented mindset," says Abhik Bhattacherji, Marketing Head, MuSo. For its first anniversary celebrations, expect a carnival-themed party, with music in the amphitheatre, and pop-up games for children. The museum will transform into a cultural hub, with several events and activities planned there till the end of the month.
The museum is also hosting a Dino exhibit that allows visitors to step back in time and come face to face with life-sized dinosaurs. Here's something fun for children to dig into - a sand pit-like area where they can uncover fossils like real-life explorers. For those with an interest in both archaeology and craft, there's an art activity that allows one to stamp and create clay fossils, in the process also learning how dinosaurs lived and moved.
Through November, every Saturday will also see a smartphone photography workshop that allows kids to learn about lighting, angles, and camera modes. They can later practise these skills in a photo walk around the museum. And, finally, for those philosophically inclined, there's The Axiom of Choice, a play based on eminent World War II mathematician Andre Weil. The theatrical production, to be staged on November 27, weaves together mathematics with war and the question of whether free will exists.
Old favourites
Each of the existing labs or exhibits uses digital technologies and interactive media to keep children hooked. One exhibit requires you to place your hand on the wall as a recorded voice tells you about water conservation. At another, you can build a car using LEGO pieces and watch the distance it goes on a slope. Another lets you discover the animals that live in the mangroves. At the media lab, kids can record and create unique sounds. While tackling STEM subjects in the play zone, kids can make a stop-motion animated film by creating unique frames. While there's much to see and do on each floor, for the quieter children, there's also a library with sensory activities.
WHAT: MuSo opening anniversary
WHEN: Starting Nov 22
WHERE: Museum of Solutions, Lower Parel
PRICE: Rs 999 onwards for kids aged two to 17
