Indian Museums For Children- Part 1

Life

oi-Staff

By Super

Monday, March 25, 2013, 9:05

Children's museums are institutions that stimulate informal learning experiences for children. This summer, drive in with your kids to some of the best Indian children's museums. Read all bout them below.

National Children's Museum In Delhi

Timings: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Admission Fee : Free and open to all.
Photography charges : nil, permission required
Time required for sightseeing : Nearly 40 minutes
How to Reach : You can either take local buses from various points within the city to reach the museum, or can hire auto-rickshaws and taxis or metro rail.
Nearest Railway Station : New Delhi Railway Station
Nearest International Airport : Indira Gandhi International Airport

National Children's Museum in Delhi serves as a kind of warehouse of information of India's history and culture since 1962. It is open on all days of the year. Every year during the summer holidays, children from all over the country throng the museum. At this period lot of activities are carried out for kids. Regular workshops and exhibitions are held throughout the year.

The museum situated in Bal Bhawan Complex on Kotla Marg is an appealing museum for children where they are informed about India's tradition, culture and life in an interesting manner taking into consideration a child's psychology. It owns rich collection of toys from India and abroad, dolls, animals in stone, bronze and stuffed as well as examples of children's creative activity in different media.

There are several permanent galleries in the National Children's Museum. Hamara Bharat, the permanent gallery of the museum presents the rich Indian culture, art, religion, science and technology through different means like audiovisual shows. Younger kids will love the Sun gallery. It introduces kids to the Solar System by explaining the importance of Sun in our life, various topics of solar system and its origin from religious angle not only of India but also of other countries like Mesopotamia, China, Egypt, and Greece.

Through out the year from all over the country kids visit 'learning with pleasure' creative center in the museum. The complex also has a hostel, facilities for sports and games and other art like clay modeling. There is also a jet fighter, science park, aquarium and a proper functional mini train. Other facilities like set of drama kit, costumes, stories, puppets, toys, arrangement for puppet shows and shadow puppets are provided to children where they could themselves choose, experiment, enact and perform.

There is a special exhibition area within the museum known as Children's Creative Work where pieces of arts by children are displayed. This section becomes live especially during the summer months when workshops on arts, painting, music, theater, and dance are held. The fun doesn't end here, expert artisans are invited in the complex to teach the young minds different types of arts and crafts. The display here is changed from time to time to focus new creations of children.

Read about Nehru Children's Museum of Kolkata in the forthcoming article.