One of the world's most universal truths is that children are the future, and the sacred image of childhood is one that is enshrined in all the world's cultures. This is precisely why films like 2006's Children of Men and its bleak tagline, "No children. No future. No hope", will always have the sentimental power to stun our senses. But children still face exclusion in our public life, most prominently in places of artistic heritage, such as our galleries and museums. Fortunately, this dangerous trend has been counteracted in the last few decades by the emergence of special Children's Museums, across America and the rest of the world. These are institutions in which children are provided with fun and informal learning experiences; one of the leaders in this field is the Children's Museum of Kansas City.
The
Children's Museum of Kansas City claims that its mission is to provide "an innovative, hands-on learning environment where young children explore, discover, and imagine through play." Using a variety of different tools and exhibits, the museum strives to foster interest in particular key fields to aid in the development of the child: diversity, problem solving, literacy, creativity, imagination, relationships, communication and curriculum integration. This approach is designed to appeal to a wider array of childhood learning styles and levels of intelligence.
Since its humble beginnings in the Carriage House of the Kansas State School for the Visually Handicapped in Kansas City, the museum has served over 275,000 children, organised after school programs for over 2500 students and provided "Classroom on Wheels" programs for over 28,000 children. It is now one of the essential places to visit in Kansas City if you have children, with a yearly attendance rate of in excess of 23,000 visitors.
The Children's Museum of Kansas City employs educational techniques and organised events to help children learn and play. Particular programs include: Discovery Days which explore topics involved with science, history, art and culture; Youth Achievement Programs (YAPs), Family Fun Days and Tot Time, designed especially for 2-3 year olds. The Classroom on Wheels facility - affectionately known as the C.O.W. - is a full size bus which contains a fossil dig, including an entire dinosaur skeleton made from copies of real bones. If this isn't enough to excite your children, the Children's Museum also organises birthday parties along a number of themes: from simple sports and teddy bear parties, to "monster makeovers" and Victorian-style tea parties, in which children are given Victorian etiquette lessons by the Museum's Party Hostess as well as elegant costumes and accessories to wear.
The activities and good work of the Children's Museum of Kansas City since its inception in 1989 serves to highlight the growing importance of similar institutions in America, and their value in educating and constructively engaging children in a world where kids are increasingly over reliant on video games and television to provide them with entertainment. Trips to similar museums with your kids, in American centers like Boston, Dallas and Chicago as well as overseas in Edinburgh and London, are sure to make excellent holidays; and with schemes like the
Hilton Honours reward system comfortable accommodation for your family near these attractions will always be affordable.
