New Hands On museum exhibit details life of Chinese children

This summer, why not take the kids on a trip to China?

“Children’s China,” opening Saturday at the Hands On Children’s Museum, gives children a look at what it would be like to grow up in China.

This will be the Northwest premiere for the exhibit, the first full-scale traveling exhibit at the museum since it moved in 2012.

The museum applied for and won a visit from the exhibit, funded by the Freeman Foundation, which aims to increase understanding and strengthen relationships between the United States and countries in East Asia.

“This level of exhibit would not typically be found in a children’s museum in a smaller market like South Sound,” said Patty Belmonte, the museum’s executive director. “We are very lucky to be able to offer this.”

The museum wanted to host “Children’s China” because of the strong relationship between China and Olympia.

“We have a growing Chinese student body at Saint Martin’s University, and there’s been a lot of cross-cultural sharing between China and the Olympia area,” Belmonte said. “Also, we have trade happening between China and Washington.”

Aimed at kids 3-12, the exhibit includes craft projects and screens with interactive activities, a sliding board, a moped that kids can sit on, and stuffed pandas to help teach about the conservation of the endangered creatures.

The exhibit will include make-and-take craft projects — so visitors could take home red envelopes, used to hold money given as gifts in China; paper lanterns; paper flowers; and drawings of pandas.

Most of the exhibit is in the 1,000-square-foot gallery, which usually houses the museum’s collection of emergency vehicles and an emergency room. That collection will be refurbished this summer and reinstalled this fall.

But “Children’s China,” developed by The Magic House, the children’s museum in St. Louis, is so extensive that its influence will be felt throughout the museum.

Chinese dishes, menus and replicas of popular food items will be found in the Good for You Gallery’s kitchen, farmers market and cafe. Nonmotorized exercise equipment — found in parks and on sidewalks in China — will be placed outdoors. The exhibit includes a pingpong table; at press time, museum staff weren’t sure where that would go.

Visitors to the exhibit can practice Chinese writing, try an interactive display that lets them experience traditional musical instruments and learn about China’s geography and the country’s appreciation for Confucius. Visitors can learn details of Chinese home life. Kitchens, for example, include devices to boil water, since tap water is not safe to drink in much of China.

This exhibit differs from the museum’s typical offerings in that it includes informational signs and many screens, some with interactive activities, others showing video. Museum officials say the information is important because this exhibit focuses on an area unfamiliar to many visitors.

The exhibit will be the first the museum has hosted that comes with an expert docent. Ivy Zhang — who grew up in China and works for the Confucius Institute, a nonprofit sponsored by the Chinese National Ministry of Education’s Beijing Language and Culture University, which promotes Chinese language and culture. Zhang will share her knowledge with museum visitors and staff during the exhibit.

“That is unique,” said Kathy Irwin, the museum’s director of exhibits and facilities.

“Children’s China” kicks off the museum’s new Summer Splash, which will include three months of special activities, replacing Sand in the City, the weekend festival and sand-sculpture competition that the museum hosted for 15 years.

Sand fans needn’t fret, though. In July, the museum will celebrate Sand, Water & Forts, and master sculptors will create a sculpture. In August, Pirates & Parrots will feature a 40-foot-long pirate ship.

This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 3:45 AM with the headline "New Hands On museum exhibit details life of Chinese children."