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Showtime for the Summer Children’s Program at the Jewish Museum Berlin

Friday was showtime at the museum: the children in the summer break program had their big debut, presenting their plays and animated films. The whole week they had developed and rehearsed them, built sets, filmed, and added sound tracks. Everything was focused around the theme: What would a new, better world be like?

Die neue Welt und der Luchs (The New World and the Lynx) is one of the animated films shot as part of this year’s summer holiday programme.

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News from the Summer Children’s Program at the Jewish Museum Berlin

Questions about a new world: “Will I have a family?”; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Jule Roehr

“We should be able to pay with our ten fingers. Then everyone would have the same amount.” Marie* (8 years old) enthusiastically promoted her idea for a better world: “That would be fair!” Luca (10) wasn’t so convinced: “How am I supposed to buy bread with my fingers?”

The 2018 Summer Children’s Program at the Jewish Museum is focused on the question: what might a new, better world look like? The starting point is Noah’s ark, a symbol for new beginnings.

Animals in the new world: “Schweinefischili” (“Fishpiggy”); Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Jule Roehr

Franziska Kahn, a philosopher who works with children, prompts them: “Let’s discuss what’s most important in a better world.” “Okay!” the children cry out and raise their hands. “Family, friends, animals”—in that exact order! → continue reading

A little story about a revolutionary kind of museum

In the W. Michael Blumenthal Academy construction is currently underway on a Noah’s Ark-themed children’s museum; Jewish Museum Berlin, Olson Kundig Architecture and Exhibit Design, Seattle/WA, USA

“Do not touch!”—These three words are irrevocably associated with traditional museums. They denote an institutional balancing act. On the one hand, the historical objects and works of art that are gathered in museums are supposed to be made accessible to the public. On the other hand, the objects must be protected from the damage that might be done by overenthusiastic visitors. Despite what museologist Fiona Candlin describes as “low-key unauthorized touch”—stroking statues when unobserved, secretly tracing hieroglyphics with an index finger—a visit to a museum remains a mostly visual experience. → continue reading