| "The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious – the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science."
In January 2005, Creative Kids Museum (CKM) was awarded the centennial per capita grant of $2.8 million to become Calgary's centennial legacy. Scheduled to open in the fall of 2006 with school programs available for November bookings, it is currently under construction to the west of the TELUS World of Science. Recently, TELUS and CKM formed a unique partnership opening up opportunities for science and art to mesh in the minds of children.
The story, however, began in 2000. Former teacher Krista Schlosser, founding President of the Creative Kids Museum, wanted kids to have a place where creativity had no boundaries. Schlosser was inspired by watching her own children learn through play and by the example of children’s museums in Eastern Canada. She envisioned a place of interactive arts in an immersive environment. A group of 11 business leaders, psychologists and teachers shared her enthusiasm and formed a society "to provide a space for children and their families to have fun in an exciting environment where hands-on discovery enhances creativity and learning."
The city’s grant put the project on the fast track with its promise that the "museum will evolve according to the needs of children."
The emphasis on research propelled the decision to build now, even though the Creative Kids Museum will move with the TELUS World of Science to a new site north of the Calgary Zoo in 2010. Both the building and its exhibits are designed for easy transportation to the new site. Kids can do their interactive thing with the displays and exhibits over the next three years while staff and programmers assess it all.
Founder and former artistic director of WP Puppets and now CKM program coordinator, Wendy Passmore-Godfrey bubbles over with ideas and enthusiasm as she points out how each area will spark the imagination of kids from toddlers to teens. A responsive floor will play notes that become compositions as its colourful shapes are stepped on. In another area, kids can put on their own shows or at another time watch a show designed for them. Computer fans will find the Smart Wall attractive because of its interactive reach to other kids’ museums. Kids can also make their own puppets and put on a show. Budding visual artists can paint on the walls. It’s an ideal place for youngsters to dabble in a wide spectrum of the arts.
Museum designers Tim Watkins and Carol May, as well as musician and performance artist Mark Dicey are among the local artists, designers and fabricators bringing it all to fruition.
School programs will bring groups of kids on field trips into the museum during the week. The program will feature open studios every Saturday where people of all ages can come and create art with a program leader who will present a theme and coach the participants. "It can be a family thing too," says Passmore-Godfrey, "or if the kid wants to send the parent away, the parent can have a nice read on the beach."
"If it has snowed the night before, maybe we’ll do a study of the symmetry of snowflakes or how to paint ice. It will be quite ad hoc – a surprise every Saturday."
Sunday afternoons will feature guest artists leading workshops, again, appealing to all ages. Program leaders may use these spontaneous weekend sessions as the basis for school programs.
Passmore-Godfrey has issued calls for program and discovery leaders and artists, including for an artist-in-residence, to realize all of this. And she wants everyone to be on the alert for the Creative Kids Museum Summer Team, setting up at festivals around Calgary. They are giving a small preview of the exciting fall programs at the Creative Kids Museum. The activities involve sculpture, music, puppetry, mask making and chalk art. |
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