Children can soon dive into their own fantasy world at Shrikrishna Science Centre, thanks to a one-of-its-kind children's gallery being built at the centre.
To start with, it would have around an 8ft well-crafted dollhouse replete with miniature style furniture and an artificial doctor's clinic (around 8ft-long) among other props to help children weave their imagination and strengthen their creative expression.
The gallery is being developed on the lines of the children's gallery at Birla Industrial and Technology Museum in Calcutta. While the Calcutta-based BIT Museum is the first such facility developed by National Council of Science Museums, inaugurated in 2012, its Patna cousin would be the second gallery in the country to be developed by the council of science museums.
The children's gallery, being developed at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore, would come up on an area of 2000sqft. "Shrikrishna Science Centre has set a target of September 2017 to complete the children's gallery work," confirmed the centre's project coordinator, Pradipta Mukhopadhyay. He said the facility is being developed for children between five to 12 years of age.
"The Centre will not charge anything extra for the facility, rather it would increase the present entry fee of Rs 20," said Mukhopadhyay.
Residents welcomed the idea of setting up a children's gallery. "I would love to see my eight-year-old daughter, Aishwarya, play in the dollhouse of the children's gallery in the museum. Some children find difficult in putting feelings into words, while some are frightened to speak directly on any topic. The dollhouse can help dispel these inhibitions of children," said Maya Kumari, a Kankerbagh resident.
Elaborating on the plan, Swarup Mandal, curator of Shrikrishna Science Centre, said: "The dollhouse is being built in such a way that children can enter it along with their dolls. The two-storeyed dollhouse also has railings and gives the feel of a real house. We will put up miniature furniture in front of the dollhouse in which toddlers can sit. We are also developing a doctor's clinic, which would also be around 8ft long alongside the dollhouse where we will put up beds. A doctor holding a stethoscope will be present there. The idea is that children can play with the stethoscope. There would also be a kitchen set-up apart from an artificial garden in which we would put some swings."
Mandal said artificial fruits would be kept in the garden along with their names so that toddlers can identify them with names.
Mukhopadhyay said a stage was also being created in the children's gallery, where puppet shows would be presented for the children. "Children would be told small stories with the help of puppets. The puppets were earlier used as an important part of our culture, as in fairs organised in rural areas. So to revive this culture, we will organise puppet shows for children as well. We will set up gaming zones in the area. We are importing machines from the United States," said Mukhopadhyay.
Parents won't be allowed in the children's gallery though. "We will separate parents by a glass barricade in the area. Parents can observe the activities of children from that area but they won't be allowed to enter the gallery. We will engage instructors in the gallery so that they can keep tabs on the children," added Mukhopadhyay.
