Magical World (#5): Visiting Villa Zebra, a museum for kids in Rotterdam

Villa Zebra

One of my little friends had her birthday recently, and I asked her whether she wanted a present of her choice or an outing with just the two of us. She chose the latter, and when I came to pick her up she came running full speed and jumped into my arms, all excited. So we biked across town and went to Villa Zebra, which is actually opposite of my house but not to hers. It's a museum for kids, with a lot of to do area but also getting them familiar with observing and enjoying artworks.

My little friend just turned 6, and first she was jumping all over the place and didn't have the focus to spend some time with the art on display. Then we came to an area where they have something like a circus tent, with a lot of colours and some clothing and wigs for the kids to wear, and even some buttons for sound effects (applause, or a 'tadaaaaa' kind of sound). And when I gave her some time for just playing around, she settled a bit more. She had something of a love affair with the zebra/giraffe in the circus tent, hugging it and dressing it. This was definitely her favourite part of the museum.

Checking her looks 'backstage'. The wig and the hat were a difficult combination, and the hat kept falling off.

One on one time with the zebra/giraffe. The buttons to the left are for the sound effects.

She was so excited, I thought I'd give her a bit of space to play by herself and get settled. So I sat to the back, then noticed I was sitting opposite of a mirror. As I was taking a picture of me taking a picture, she ran into view to take a look in the mirror of the backstage area. She immediately ran out again, but I was just in time.

Double mirror image

Ticket to the future

Upstairs they had an exhibition for kids from 7 to 12. So a bit beyond her grasp. We got a handout from the museum, with a map for walking through the exhibition and with questions to consider per work of art. With the theme being the future, questions were for example: what is time, and what does it mean that time passes by? Or with an area with art which gave an impression of a futuristic kitchen: what items and utensils do you think you will be cooking with in the future?

One of the artworks, leading to a small tunnel the children could crawl through, to get to another area with futuristic art

Below is the piece of art she spent most time with. Because one of the PVC tubes had a code on it, of numbers and letters, and she couldn't figure out what the code was for and wanted to know what it meant and then tried to copy all the letters and numbers to her map, as a note. It was a funny response. Maybe it shows how school and the way we socialise kids makes them most comfortable with looking at digits and letters - a very rational approach to the environment. Or maybe it's just her age and what she is most interested in at the moment. Or, possibly, she had a bit of what I can also feel when I'm visiting a museum: that feeling of - what exactly am I supposed to be doing here?

Intrigued by the PVC tube's coding. But if you didn't know, it would seem she's lost herself in the work of art, right?

Copying the code

Some time to relax

After we'd 'seen everything', we went downstairs again for a drink and a snack. Right behind us was this amazing dollhouse, large enough for small kids to actually go inside.

Huge dollhouse

After the drink we stayed around a bit longer, there were some tables for kids to make and build their own art, with clay or with kinetic sand or with some funny magnetic building elements. We had fun making things together, then time was up and we headed home. Sitting in front of me in the bike she said, 'so now I've had my birthday present'. And I asked her whether she liked it and she said she liked it very much. And I think she actually had a really good time. And so did I.

Magical World Series

This is #5 in the Magical World Series. With these posts, I hope to add a little happiness and light-heartedness to your day. There is magic in every little corner of the world. And if we share it with each other, it does really brighten up the place!

All content is created by me, and Steemit original.
Camera used: Canon G7X