Overview: Come castle folk! Come dance and play! The Amazing Castle
launches children's imaginations. In this traveling exhibit from Minnesota Children's
Museum, young children and their families travel to a magical place and become
inhabitants of a castle village. Children and their caregivers playfully explore
the interconnectedness of community members in a setting inspired by fantasy
and history. From becoming a jester and putting on a show, to helping the cook
prepare a feast and constructing a bench in the carpenter's workshop, children's
play and learning are supported by the exhibit's design, characters, narrative,
interactives, costumes and props. The goal of the exhibit is to strengthen awareness
of the interconnectedness of individuals in the community through playful imaginative
activities.
Audience: Most appropriate for ages 10 and younger.
Languages: Text graphics are available in English and Spanish.
Components: Each component of the exhibit invites the visitor to experience
community life through the perspective of one of 9 characters working together
to throw a party in the castle.
- This is the castle, The Amazing Castle, built by the Lord and the
Lady. Children are transported to a magical time and place from the moment
they step into The Amazing Castle! Lord Ben and Lady Evolent welcome
visitors, who begin their adventure by reading the story of The Amazing
Castle, which depicts the interconnectedness of the castle inhabitants.
- This is the jester who jokes and juggles. He planned a party to honor the
castle built by the Lord and the Lady. Visitors become the royal jester by
donning his costume and striking up a performance for the Lord and Lady. Children
can also present a puppet show using castle character hand puppets or select
a fancy robe, sit in a throne, and enjoy the entertainment as the Lord or
Lady.
- This is the gardener who waters and weeds. She grew some food to serve at
the party. She helped the jester who planned the party… Children put on a
garden smock and join Posey the Gardener in the royal garden where they pick
and plant vegetables and gather eggs from a hen in the garden shed.
- This is the cook who mixes and measures. He made a meal with the gardener's
harvest. He helped the gardener… Donning an apron, children select ingredients
from a larder stocked with bread, vegetables and fruits, and prepare a mouthwatering
meal. Cooking is fun with a cracking and glowing fire, a spit and a cauldron!
- This is the blacksmith who heats and hammers. She fixed a crack in the cook's
big pot. She helped the cook… Visitors pretend to affix a metal patch to the
hold in the cook's iron cauldron. They also pretend to repair iron tools using
a stone forge with glowing coals, a water bucket, and Synge's anvil.
- This is the tailor who snips and sews. He made an apron to cover the blacksmith.
He helped the blacksmith… Visitors design costumes, from sensible to ridiculous,
with a mix-and-match puzzle. Children also create their own outfits and discover
how silly their costumes appear when they see themselves in a distorted mirror.
- This is the carpenter who saws and sands. He built the bench where the tailor
works. He helped the tailor… Children and adults grab a work apron and build
a simple table or chair using mortise and tenon construction, or put together
something of their own design.
- This is the dragon all dreamy and drowsy. He wakes to start the party… Herald
the dragon keeps falling asleep! Visitors love to wake him and see him rise
from the top of the tower by matching each of the castle characters with his
or her appropriate tool or symbol.
- This is the fortress sure to be enjoyed by our youngest royals… Toddlers
create a miniature community in a castle-inspired dollhouse, build their own
fortress out of "stone" blocks and play with a castle busy wall. Adults can
take a seat on the Keep's wall while playing with their little ones.
Goals: To strengthen awareness among museum visitors of the roles and interconnectedness
of individuals in a community through playful, imaginative activities.
- Objectives:
- o To transform a gallery into a castle village where a related cast of characters
involves children in concepts of community.
- o To communicate and relate what it means to be a part of a community through
developmentally appropriate, playful experiences.
- o To engage visitors in activities supporting the concept that a community
is made up of different people.
- o To advance the idea that in a community people help each other to solve
problems and get things done.
Support: Marketing and publicity materials, educational materials and installation
guide are provided.