Well friends, I’m back! I had an amazing time at the 25th annual Association of Children’s Museums conference in Houston, Texas. I am so excited to tell you what I learned there.
On Saturday morning I heard Lisa Henson speak! Ms. Henson talked about all kinds of wonderful children’s television programming and how her company strives to make sure that their programs support lots of fun and educational content. It was so exciting!
After Ms. Henson’s presentation, it was time for the session: Theatrical Play is Child’s Play. Alice Gonglewski, my puppeteer, let me help with the workshop! We were joined by our friend Hyla Crane. Hyla is the Director of Education at Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk, Connecticut. Hyla and Alice worked together to demonstrate ways that our museums use theater to enhance the daily museum experience—including Playhouse shows, Reader’s Theater, creative dramatics, character interactions, and last (but not least) PUPPETS!!
Theater (especially puppets -- my favorite!) sparks children’s imaginations and encourages creative thinking and problem solving skills. We hope that moving forward, every children’s museum in the world will use theater techniques to create engaging, delightful, and magical experiences for children and families.
