Discovery Room – A new space for students to experience
Attendees were Mr. Michael Croft, Head of Office and Unesco Representative to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – UNESCO in Hanoi, Madam Caryn McClelland, Vice Ambassador of the American Embassy in Vietnam, Mr. Nguyen Hong Son, Vice Head of the Continuing Education Department, Ms. Sarah Allen, Head of the Hanoi International Women’s Club, museum representatives, teachers and students from primary and secondary schools in Hanoi. The eminent teacher Nguyen Quy Thin of Thanh Chuong educational department in Nghe An Province, 300 kilometers from Hanoi introduced some designs of Thanh Chuong students which were made from the educational model STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and are now being shown at the VWM’s Discovery Room.
The Museum opened the first Discovery Room in October 2010. It was linked to the permanent exhibition’s contents with a focus of learning, creating and playing for both children and adults. During the six years of operation, the discovery room served tens of thousands of students from the age of 3 to 14. It is a space for students’ to experience and create when visiting the museum. In order to improve the room, the museum conducted an overall evaluation of the museum’s work, surveyed the needs of teachers and students as well as families, and studied the contents so as to find new approaches as well as activities to match the demands of the society.
The aim of the discovery room is to provide knowledge for children about gender equality, discuss issues relating to gender, enhance the children’s awareness of gender issues and promote gender equality. Therefore, the museum decided to renovate the discovery room’s contents into three main areas: an area of gender and sexuality, one area of activities, and an area to read books. in which gender activities are the core activities. Its contents are shown through visual educational tools or games so that students can experience and find out more about many aspects of life. It includes the difficult issues that are hard for parents to talk about with their children such as how the child was born, the similarities and the difference between gender and sexuality, how the children behave in different situations so they can gain skills to protect themselves, etc. It is also a friendly and comfortable space for children to develop their imagination, discover new ideas based on many activities and create chances to explore experiences, discuss their feelings and create, as well as give them the ability to think independently and promote teamwork.
The renovation of the discovery room’s contents received a lot of the support from UNESCO in Hanoi because it is the general goal of the museum and UNESCO to educate the young generation in gender equality in an interactive and experiential space.
The discovery room also received numerous books, films, and video clips from many organizations such as the Women’s Publishing House, Kim Dong Publishing House, Youth Publishing House, How to tell your child organization, Asian Fund, Ho Chi Minh People’s Radio, etc.
The discovery room has been opened to the public since November 23rd 2017
http://www.baotangphunu.org.
