Fantastic. That’s the first word that comes to mind when I think of the Creative Kids Museum located on the ground floor of Calgary’s Science Centre. It is everything the upstairs is not; while the Science Centre focuses on… science (duh!), the Creative Museum taps into the artistic side of inquisitive / exploratory kid brains. Some common threads…
Theatre: Here kids can act / dance / sing / be crazy while one person controls the lights, sounds and special effects from a switch board behind the audience. Beside the stage is a special dress up area where future thespians can prepare for their stage debut.
Music is a prevalent theme and throughout the museum you find an organ, a rock band studio (with costumes, a giant amp, and instruments), a room with walls covered with hittable items, and a floor that makes music when you step on key areas.
Puppets: Mr. Whale and the Princess don’t get along because Mr. Whale ate a car and now has stinky farts. There’s nothing like a good puppet theatre and a vat full of puppets to unleash creative story telling.
Wall of Paint / Chalk: I completely geeked out at the wall of paint. What kid wouldn’t like a gigantic centre trench filled with paint, massive paint brushes, and a larger than life wall to cover? Good thing there’s a hose nearby because markers and chalk are also added into the mix. Painting times vary.
Sculpture: Paper, wood, random shapes, magnets, glass, blocks… you name it, it’s there and kids are making sculptures out of it. Behind the giant paper sculpture is a wall that changes colour wherever you touch it.
It’s really hard to tell at this point if La Niña is a science geek, artist, or something in the middle. She does like music more than bugs, and drawing more than building boats; however, it’s hard to know where her brain cells are aligned because her attention span is so short. So, I just sit back and let her explore…
