Serious play

I could begin this blog by saying: ‘Here at Eureka we take training our staff very seriously’, because we do. But ‘serious’ suggests lectures, assessments, boredom and other things that are, well, serious! This was certainly not the case when it came to our ‘It’s Up To You’ training this month. Creative, spontaneous and hilarious are more like it.

Creative staff training helps inspire our Enablers when delivering programmes.

We were training our staff for something called the ‘It’s Up To You’ Hour. The idea was trialled last year and gave our Enablers a whole hour during the day in which they could do whatever they liked; tell a story, run a juggling workshop, take musical instruments into the galleries or other things of that nature. We found that our staff had many hidden talents which emerged through this initiative and the ‘Its Up To You Hour’ generated some of the best customer feedback we received in years. So we decided to re-launch the idea this year, timed with the hiring of a whole new batch of Enablers.

For the training we collected a vast number of resources; costumes, storybooks, props, and other diverse items. We then put the Enablers into groups and gave them the freedom to devise a full days worth of events using what we had in the room or anything they could find from the museum.

Complete freedom, however, can be intimidating, so we gave each group a simple scenario detailing how many visitors were in the museum and what the weather was like on the day they were planning for. This helped to inspire some of the events and made the enablers think about whether a particular event is suitable for varying visitor numbers.

‘We all need empty hours in our lives or we will have no time to create or dream’

The quote from child psychiatrist and author Robert Coles sums up or philosophy when executing the session. Creating a stimulating environment where the staff felt free to do what they wanted worked far better than having a structured training schedule as it gave them room to ‘Create and Dream’, though our hours were far from empty.

There was no shortage of ideas; staff devised a range of different activities, from manic games involving water balloons to quiet and calm origami folding. In this setting the Enablers were empowered to show off their many talents as musicians, magicians or historians.

Fun was had by all and this fun atmosphere will be directly passed onto our visitors who can expect varied spontaneous events and activities in our galleries in the future (particularly on weekends and quiet afternoons)!

So as we see training is a very important part of being an Enabler at Eureka, but I still wouldn’t say that ‘At Eureka we take training our staff very seriously’; I would rather say that ‘At Eureka we take training our staff very playfully’.

Ben Healey is a Team Leader at Eureka! The National Children's Museum

Over the rainbow with Early Years activities

Half terms at Eureka! are fantastically themed filled events and this latest one was no exception. Our theme for this particular February half term was the classic film ‘The Wizard of Oz’; the influence of which resonated throughout the full museum. As the Early Years enabler it was my job to make sure that this was also key feature of the under-fives’ area, the Creativity Space. So when it came to deciding on what aspect of the Wizard of Oz to concentrate on I began by breaking the story down to its basic components and found the amazing array of colour featured within. I found that I was also fascinated by the colour used in the film and how they highlighted this burst of colour by beginning with black and white film and then over the rainbow to the wonderfully highlighted, technicolour Land of Oz.

Ready for rainbows in the classroom, as one of our Enablers plays with the light box.

As an Early Year professional I know that colour is greatly important early on in the Early Years Foundation Stage and that, by the age of 3, some children will be able to identify and match up colours. Researchers have found that toddlers are able to learn the names of colours but not an understanding of the relationship between the colours. By the time children are three years old they have mastered the basic colours and correlations between them. However, at this age colourations, shades and neighbouring colours are often still confusing and mistakes are easily made. As learning about colours can be lots of fun I took this as a fantastic opportunity to enhance the opportunities for learning about colours at Eureka! and to express the importance of colour with our ‘over the rainbow’ focus.

Whether we realise it or not colour plays such an integral part of our lives. As babies we begin to associate colours to moods and feelings and throughout our childhood we build upon this. Pink is often associated with a comforting feeling as this is the colour we might have experienced whilst in the womb. Even when we grow older we can attribute other emotional connotations to colours.

Colour is everywhere; all around us this magnificent planet contains all the colours of the rainbow. When we break colour down into it’s simplest form colour is simply light interacting with receptors in our eyes to ‘show’ us the primary colour spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet; the true rainbow. For The Wizard of Oz our little ‘munchkins’ experienced a different colour each day of the week in accordance to this true rainbow. Within the classroom there was colour everywhere! The light box had coloured sand. The . water tray held coloured gooey ‘Gelli baff’, which is a product that turns children’s bath water into jelly like goo and then back again. The children could paper mache a section of the rainbow, and were also able to choose from an array of materials to create their own masterpieces; all of these were changed daily in accordance with the colour of the day. Along with each colour of the day I also featured their shades of colours, such as light and dark and pastel and vivid colours in order to highlight that each colour is not singular but has an array of variations across the colour wheel.  

It was fantastic to see the children respond in such a positive way to this theme and to the colours within the Creativity Space. I even noticed the impact of some colour days over others; ;on the red and yellow days where people seemed more vivacious than on the more subdued green and blue days. Whatever the reasons for this we all had a wonderful time; this was a well received event and I loved every minute of the week.

During the week, I particularly enjoyed the day where I worked with my favourite colour, blue. What’s your favourite colour? What do you like about it?

Penny Dargan-Makin is the Early Years Specialist Enabler at Eureka! The National Children’s Museum.

Making ‘cents’ of Money Matters

Our new workshop started this week. It’s called ‘Money Matters’ and is very topical when you consider the recent calls for financial education to be made compulsory in schools. Here are a few facts, taken from the Personal Finance Education Group website, that point towards why starting financial education young is important.

•    7 years is the average for children to begin receiving pocket money.
•    8 years is the average age for UK children to get their first mobile phone.
•    10 years is the average age that children begin to purchase items online.

And…

•    Over 75% of 7-11 year olds are already saving for the future.
•    42% of children prefer to store their money in a money box.
•    93% of teachers and parents think that personal finance education should be taught in schools.

So, we think we’re on the right track. As Billy Graham once said: ‘If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area in his life’.

The Money Matters workshop takes place in the Eureka! Bank and our ‘Imagination Space’ room and involves: exploration, investigation, discussions, games and (of course!) role-play. It will hopefully help develop in the children a good attitude towards saving and financial responsibility.

On one particular morning last month, I was dressed very smartly in shirt, tie and jacket with my ‘Bank Manager’ badge hung from my lapel. Enabler Darren was my cashier and also looked the part in another smart shirt, tie and badge. We had great fun in the bank as the children (7-9 years old) filled in withdrawal forms with Darren to get their Eureka! Bank notes and phoned me in my office to ask pertinent questions such as ‘Why should I keep my money in your bank?’ and ‘Is it fun being a bank manager?’

Money matters here in the Eureka! Bank!

They explored the bank vault with its huge thick doors and different alarm systems. They discovered all the security features that make it so difficult to forge a banknote. They even sat in a million pound chair and contemplated what they would do if they had that much money!

Keeping the Bank Vault safe and secure!

Back in the Imagination Space we had the children counting up giant laminated coins, working out interest payments on their calculators and joining in with a game that was a mixture of  ‘Play Your Cards Right’ and ‘The Price is Right’. The children responded brilliantly to the tasks and the discussions. It was heartening to hear their reasons for not spending all their money:
•    “Because you won’t be able to keep your promises if you’ve promised to take somebody on a day out”
•    “Because you won’t be able to buy your mum a birthday present”.

They were also very enthusiastic about giving their money away to charities:
•    “Because it’s good to help other people who are poor”

By the end of the workshop the class had accrued over £400 in Eureka! Banknotes. We sent them home with the task of deciding as a class how they would spend, save and give away that money if it were real. It’s a great way to make sure the lessons of saving and spending wisely continue after their visit to Eureka! and I look forward to hearing from them and finding out what they decide.

Jill Ward is an Enabler at Eureka! The National Children’s Museum. If she received £400 she would:
•    Treat herelf to a couple of DVDs.
•    Treat her family to a nice meal out.
•    Give £50 to Comic Relief (because that’s her favourite charity).
•    Save the rest of it towards her next holiday.

Hello Halicat!

At the Eureka! Nursery last week there were lots of excited children in our pre-school waiting for a very special visitor: Halicat!

A little background, since the mascot from the Halifax Rugby League Football Club doesn’t stop by Eureka! every day. Following the lead from the children’s interest in colours the nursery’s preschoolers have been choosing a colour a week. We have been encouraging the children to bring in objects from home for their show and tell sessions. Last week was blue, and one of the children, Alex, decided he wanted to bring Halicat, who wears a blue and white striped shirt. Alex’s mum works at the Halifax RLFC, and between her office and our nursery we knew there was no question: how could we not make it happen?

Alex brought many Halifax RL artifacts during the week, leading up to the main event and on the Friday morning it was announced that Halicat was coming. We discussed it with the children to prepare them for the visitor. The children were excited, but also concerned about how Halicat would be able to come into the nursery and be safe. Together we all carried out a risk assessment for Halicat. The questions included:

• How will he know where he’s going?
• Will he get wet in the rain?
• If he is so big, what if he doesn’t fit through the door?

We went through all of their questions and assured them that everything would be just right for Halicat’s visit. Just in case, one of the children, Oliver, decided to make sure that a big umbrella was ready at the door for Sandra, our Head of Nursery, to carry out to Halicat if it started raining.

Although the children knew Halicat would come after their dinners they were continuously checking my watch to see if the little hand was at one and the big hand at six. Sam asked me if they could use key worker group time to make presents for Halicat. I thought this was a fantastic idea because it would help them develop colour awareness and give the children ownership of the project. The children wanted to make blue and white scarves, headbands and bracelets, using their colour awareness effectively as they made links between their artworks and the Halifax rugby team’s colours. Everyone had a different way of making their decorations; some made white and blue stripes with rollers, some did finger printing, hand printing, there were so many excellent techniques to try that before we knew it, their dinner was ready.

The dinner period turned into a conversation about what Halicat might eat. Lucas thought chips and Sam thought cat food. After lunch, we sat down on the carpet. The children had put on their scarves and garments; at this point they were so proud of what they had made, they were no longer presents for Halicat, but something for them to show to him what they had achieved. When the security buzzer rang at the Nursery’s front door, Oliver made sure I carried out the safety checks, and all of the children were jumping with excitement.

Children playing with Halicat

It was funny how quiet and nervous the room become when Halicat walked in, but the shy silence was quickly broken by Lucas, who asked ‘Are you Halicat?’, and Halicat nodded.

The questions came on strong after that, and from Alex’s mum they learned that Halicat lives in Shay Stadium, and comes out when the rugby team are playing. This was a good cue for us to encourage the children to communicate about their experiences and family members. Thea said her dad plays rugby, Oliver said his dad was ‘really strong’ and Sam told us he had been downloading photos of Halicat to his dad’s mobile phone!
Halicat prompted another positive learning experience for Ruby. She asked if she could bring out her cat, a very special toy who goes everywhere with her. Ruby came back with her cat and explained confidently to Halicat and the entire group why her cat is different and the same. She told us about the differences in colour; hers is pink, but they both have black whiskers. She identified the size difference, and that Halicat had on big boots and her cat did not.

After a lot of discussion and cuddles, Halicat gave hi-fives to everyone and they all posed for a photo. He even did a little dance before returning home to Shay Stadium.

Posing for the camera.

 The fun, holistic learning experience is still ongoing. The children have regularly revisited their photos of Halicat, and dress up with the different accessories they made. I often hear interesting conversation too as they play together, ‘put your scarf on, it’s rugby today’. What used to be a Chinese dragon has now been made into a ‘Hali-dragon’ by wrapping blue and white material around its head, on suggestion from the preschoolers.

Some children are now saying they will visit Halicat regularly on match days, which is exciting because it could be a new experience for the whole family. For those who aren’t going their not missing out, as Alex will give a regular update for us all. As he said: ‘I see him on Sundays, he’s my best friend!’

Clare Dean is an Early Years Professional at the Eureka! Nursery

An exciting start to 2011

2011 has started here at Eureka!, and if the past month if anything to go by it's going to be a busy year.

We started the year with Wallace and Gromit Invention Sessions as part of our Winter 2011 Ingenious Inventions activities, and with a month to go it seems like our visitors are as excited about the sessions as we are.

Our new 2011 leaflets arrived. Have you seen them yet? We love the bright yellow colour, but more importantly, pick one up on your next visit so you know all about the big events for 2011.

In January we also officially launched a new exhibit, the Hydrogen Fuel Pump and the hydrogen fuel powered car in the Garage in the Living and Working Together gallery. The exhibit was supported by Air Products, who brought HydroJen, the hydrogen power ambassador to the launch. The Mayor of Halifax, representatives from Air Products and Eureka! and children on a school visit were all on hand for the launch.

HydroJen and children with the Hydrogen Fuel Pump

Although it wasn't a Eureka! event, we also hosted the Northern Rail Cup launch for Rugby League Football here at the museum in January. On a week day in January it is usually quiet in the museum, so it was quite exciting to have so many rugby players, coaches and journalists in and around Eureka!.

Now that February is here, we're in full swing getting ready for half-term. Some of our Enablers have been hard at work on the Emerald City Challenge, a Wizard of Oz themed obstacle course in the Eureka! Theatre that will be on during half-term. Others are hard at work practicing the different science tricks they'll be showing off around the museum, or getting ready to go into character as Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow.

February half term at Eureka! runs from Monday 21 - Friday 25 February when we are open from 10am - 5pm. Since many schools are getting out at different times this month, we are also open on Monday 14, 21 and 28 February, if you want to get playing!

Don't forget that the Wallace and Gromit Invention Sessions will be running every weekend until 28 February. If you have children over the age of 7, this is a great chance to get a hands-on mechanical project that the whole family can do together, using the exclusive kits inspired by the BBC series Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention and created by Aardman Animation!

Have you been out for an Invention Session or had a play with the hydrogen fuel pump yet?

A day of inventor’s training with Wallace and Gromit

The BBC and Aardman Animations Ltd (the people who make Wallace and Gromit) came up with an idea for some ‘Invention Sessions’ based on one of Wallace’s own inventions, ‘the run-about steam chair’ shown in Wallace and Gromit’s World of Invention to excite and inspire young inventors all over the country. After taking the sessions on the road to various shopping centres across the country they have now passed the baton on to a handful of science and discovery centres to continue what they began. Eureka! was chosen to be one of those centres – how exciting for us!

It was especially exciting for me and my colleague Jennie as we were the ones who got to go down to BBC television centre in London to meet Wallace and Gromit and learn all they had to teach us about delivering the sessions. Well, actually, we didn’t meet Wallace and Gromit but we did meet a very nice man called Nick who turned us all in to children and delivered a session especially for us. (Wallace and Gromit were looking on in the guise of giant cardboard cut outs).

It’s fun being a child; those of you who have read my blogs before will realise that it is a very easy transition for me. We explored a bit of science and technology, played an amusing game and made silly noises and generally got to know more about the run-about chair. It was fun! There were a dozen other people from places as far apart as At Bristol and W5 in Belfast. They were equally good at being children; it must be something about the job we do.

Later on we all had a go at building our own run-about chair, powered by a battery. The instructions are really clear but I still managed to put one piece on upside down; oops! It’s very easy to take put things right, tho’ so I soon had it working properly. I felt really proud of myself. Jennie also managed to build her chair successfully, as did all the other ‘children’.

Jill in London with her Runabout Steam Chair

After lunch we had a go at adapting the session to use at our own centres. Jennie and I thought of loads of things at Eureka! we could use as examples; even Archimedes and his bath.

It was a very long day; we had to catch the 6.30am train from Halifax and didn’t get back until 8.45pm. However, we both came back full of enthusiasm and ready to train up other enablers to bring the sessions to life.

The session are for children aged seven and above and every child that comes to one of the sessions will get a run-about chair kit to take home with them, courtesy of the BBC. They are limited edition and are sooooooo cool. I’m really looking forward to the sessions and especially giving out the kits at the end. It’s like being Santa - and it isn’t even Christmas!

Jill Ward is an Enabler at Eureka! The National Children’s Museum

Ringing in the ‘Noon Year’

Welcome to 2011! It’s a brand-spanking-shiny New Year that I’m sure is going to be full of all sorts of surprises and adventures!

So what were you doing on New Years Eve? I have no doubt that most of you went to some sort of party with all of your friends and families. If you’ve been to Eureka! before, and I’m sure that most of you have, you should know that us Enablers love nothing more than to have a good party, and for New Year’s eve 2010, that’s exactly what we did: we threw a party.

Now because Eureka! isn’t open at midnight for the ‘real’ New Year, we decided to call ours a ‘Noon’ Years Eve party, and celebrated at exactly 12 noon when Archimedes took his midday bath. We invited all of our friends to join in with the festivities and my word, did they come.

The Town Square in the Living and Working Together gallery was jam packed with boys, girls, mums, dads, and grandparents all waiting to welcome the New Year in. Both Enabler Gillian and I were leading the big countdown to 2011 and with the help of everyone who came along it went with a real bang! Hundreds of balloons fell from the balcony, children jumped on bubble wrap to imitate fireworks, and party poppers were fired. It was brilliant fun.

Enjoying a bubble wrap stomp!

But the fun didn’t stop there, oh no. Immediately following the celebrations in the Town Square, I was joined by Enabler Becky and we threw a disco in the theatre where all our visitors could make there very own funky New Years hats, let their hair down and have a good old boogie.




Now, you might not have been able to join us this year at Eureka!, but is there some special way that you celebrate the New Year?

If you did come down to join us, or if you had a party of your own, we hope that you had just as much fun as we did. So from all of us here at Eureka!: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
  
Ben Guilfoyle is an Outreach Enabler at Eureka! The National Children's Museum