FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Carla Campbell, 423-648-6054
Libby Raiford, 423-648-6096
“Your House, My House” - An Interactive Journey into Homes Around the World
New Exhibit at Creative Discovery Museum, February 14 - May 31
(January 8, 2009) – People live in homes of all shapes and sizes – big ones and small houses, portable houses, homes made of plants, apartments, houseboats, homes on stilts – the list is long. Your House, My House is a fantastic journey into the homes of people around the world.
Creative Discovery Museum presents this exciting, hands-on, interactive exhibit February 14-May 31, 2009, sponsored by Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union. Your House, My House" was designed and built by The Children's Museum of Memphis for the Youth Museum Exhibit Collaborative.
“In this Your House, My House, kids discover the critical role environmental resources play in the way we build our homes and live our everyday lives.” said Dr. Jayne Griffin, Director of Education for Creative Discovery Museum. “Looking at things that are ‘same and different’ provides an excellent mental framework for kids to categorize and think about information. This exhibit offers an opportunity for kids to compare likenesses and differences between their homes and homes in other cultures. The best part is that this happens while they are actively engaged in designing, building and role playing. The mark of a good children’s exhibit is that it provides solid educational experiences while kids are immersed in doing what they love to do… play.”
Throughout the world, houses that might look very different are shaped by many of the same factors, such as geographical setting, climate, tradition, culture, personal preference, monetary resources, availability of materials and others. The exhibit focuses on how different environmental settings influence what a house is made of, what the structure is like and how the components of the house work. Hands-on activities include designing, building and visiting homes from around the world in the context of their physical environments and culture.
The “My House” area has several walk-in environments where children can experience what it’s like to live and play in different homes.
Mongolian Tent House -- This tent home called a “ger” is well-suited to the climate and lifestyle of herders who live in the harsh climate on the Mongolian steppes. Children can roll up the exterior felt covering of the ger; serve food to guests from the center stove; play the “morin khuur” and learn the legend of this unique horse-head fiddle; use a wooden paddle to churn dairy products and learn about the herding animals found in Mongolia; and sit on a Mongolian saddle and learn why the horse is an integral part of herding life. Children can use a tabletop model to disassemble a ger, pack it onto two camels and then rebuild it, learning what it is like for a family that lives in a ger to take it apart and move quickly with their animal herd.
Malaysian Stilt House -- Visitors enter this house-on-stilts from a Malaysian fishing village through a scale model of its porch. Children can catch fish in a net or in traps from the porch of the house; play with plush fish and sea animals; sit in a boat and steer it to shore or check the fish traps; and play traditional Malaysian games.
Woven House from Fiji -- The walls of this “m’bure” home from the South Pacific island Fiji are woven from palm leaves to combat tropical heat. Children can make patterns and designs on paper with rubber stamps, similar to the masi designs made on tapa cloth; weave a mat for the floor; touch the woven mat material that makes up the m’bure’s walls; try on traditional Fijian clothing; listen to the sounds of the sea in the conch shell; beat a traditional drum called a lali; and prepare a meal on the “outdoor fire” using traditional implements.
Other exhibit areas include Houses, Houses Everywhere, which shows photos and models of houses from around the world, with world maps for reference and exploration. Give a House a Home is an open-ended matching activity that lets visitors match houses from around the world with their settings, showing how different types of houses help people live comfortably in different environments. The Design Center area features “design-a-house” computers that let children create their own home design and a drafting table to draw their own house or their dream house. The Build Your Own area gives children the materials to build a small timber house and several tabletop house models.
Hours through the month of February -- open Monday through Saturday (except Wednesday) 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m., closed Wednesday.
Spring hours, beginning March 1 -- open Monday through Saturday (including Wednesday) 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m.
New Ticket Price – As of February 13, 2009, ticket prices will increase by $1 to $9.95 for children and adults. Creative Discovery Museum is located at 321 Chestnut Street in downtown Chattanooga. For more information, call (423) 756-2738, or visit www.cdmfun.org.
Creative Discovery Museum is recognized as one of the top children’s museums in the nation. It is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to educational enrichment for children ages 4-months to 12-years-old through interactive, hands-on experiences that foster creative and critical thinking. The Museum focuses on a broad range of areas encompassed by Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Technology and the Sciences. In addition to its exhibits, Creative Discovery Museum provides local residents and visitors with special events, educational programming, teacher resources for the classroom, field trips, after school programming, early childhood education classes, artist residencies, camps, art lessons, science demonstrations, and a branch of the local library. Creative Discovery Museum is a funded agency of Allied Arts and Tennessee Arts Commission.
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