Blog

The school year is heading into its final stretch, the intense coming and going of groups of students in the halls of the Museu is gradually decreasing and our collection is starting to miss those inquisitive eyes on the other side of the display cabinets and the lively faces captured in selfies. But, before kicking back and getting into the summer break, we have several exciting suggestions, so children can come back to the museum, accompanied by their activity instructors and maybe even some new friends. Like every year, from the Sant Joan holiday in mid-June until the end of July, we organise activities and workshops for children ages 3 to 12, with the aim of continuing to make knowledge of music accessible through play, experiences and enjoyment.

We try to relate each activity to a family of instruments, to a certain way of producing sound or to various cultural traditions. We also try to include new ideas, and for this season we already have nine different ones!

Also including visits to some of the collection, the key focus of these activities is participation and experimentation, encouraging creation and recreation. There’s something for everyone: the youngest can make drinking jugs produce sound, splashing themselves by hitting the jugs; older children can build a string, wind or percussion instrument depending on their age and personal interests. Those who prefer to play an instrument can experiment with a theremin and other electric apparatuses or take part in the museum’s gamelan ensemble.

To round things off, this year’s new feature is an African percussion workshop. Besides learning different rhythmic patterns with a variety of instruments, a musician from Guinea-Bissau will help the children discover the language of the drums, the different rhythmic codes that some African groups still use to send messages from one village to another, or that musicians and dancers use to communicate with each other during celebrations and rituals. All in all, these are activities sure to keep the museum bustling with activity before a well-deserved break in August!

You can see the activities in detail via this link.