There’s so much that schools do not do. In fact, schools have more dont’s than dos:
Don’t play during class hours.
Don’t question the teachers.
Don’t try to be innovative.
Don’t ask silly questions about things not in the syllabus.
But now, nestled in the heart of Central Mumbai, stands a building where these rules are meant to be broken — where children can ask questions, dirty their hands, touch, feel, invent, innovate and understand. The Museum of Solutions (MuSo), a 10-storey building inside the Kamala Mills Complex in Lower Parel, was inaugurated late last month. Founded by Tanvi Jindal Shete, daughter of industrialist Sajjan Jindal and his wife Sangita, she serves as MuSo’s CEO, while Michael Peter Edson, co-founder of the UN Live Museum in Copenhagen, is the director.
Though India has had children’s museums before, including the Nehru Children’s Museum in Kolkata, the National Children’s Museum in Delhi and, more recently, the Children’s Museum at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya in Mumbai and the Children’s Gallery at Bihar Museum, MuSo promises something more. Underlying all the fun and games, the not-for-profit hopes to galvanise the spirit in children to become agents of change.
In fact, Shete — who is also the director of Jindal South West (JSW) Foundation, which has invested almost ₹210 crore to set up MuSo — spent two years visiting museums across the world. “Each museum taught me different things . OliOli in Dubai taught me how it’s okay not to give too much explanation; children will learn no matter what. Exploratorium in San Francisco showed me how impactful extremely simple exhibits can be. Experimentarium in Denmark showed me how team games and full body exhibits really engage people,” she says.
Her line of thinking was simple: adults have failed to solve the world’s problems. So, why not let children try? “The Museum of Solutions is a unique model, creating an experiential and educational experience for children that encourages them to look beyond textbook rote learning, and opens up their vision to a world of possibilities...I love the fact that this empowers them to design solutions for their own future as they are the inheritors of our planet,” says conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah.
Step ‘out of the box’
Each of the three main activity floors of MuSo spins differently. Walking through the Play Lab is a time trap. A plethora of contraptions demand the visitor abandon all sense of time, and engage with the simple magic of science. Air is the theme here, and scarves placed at one end of a tunnel are propelled by air, to emerge from outlets at the other end. “It’s just fun while children enjoy the experience,” Shete says, “but during a science lesson, when they learn about velocity, suddenly the concept is clearly understandable. They start connecting it all through memories.”
Creating an animation, solving problems, a sensory tunnel, and risk taking exercises are part of the smorgasbord of activities that further draw one into forgetting not just time, but age too. Though meant for children between three and 17, each station has the magnetic power to lure adults to touch, feel…and play.
The Discover Lab, a floor above, is themed around water. A wall throws questions like, ‘Why can’t we drink salt water?’, and then, in innovative ways, explains the importance of water to life. A film follows Puddles, a sea turtle whose journey from Lakshadweep to her natal shore takes her through all aspects of life in the deep, ending with her reaching her shore to find it destroyed by humans dumping plastic and toxic waste. Narrated by Jackie Shroff and Dia Mirza, Puddles - The Turtle Story is a call to action to preserve our oceans. “The immersive film made by Amoghavarsha J.S. is a wonderful way to teach young people the magic of the deep blue, and the plastic pollution marine life is contending with,” says Mirza. “It appeals to their conscience and is a powerful empathy building narrative.”
Problem solving related to water issues includes saving Champ the dog from the floods, preserving coral reefs, and providing water to areas with no access to it. “Mumbai’s Mithi river was one of our main themes related to water,” Shete adds. “But of the group of 20 children we initially talked to, only two knew of the river’s existence.” Adding empathy to geography and environmental concerns, the curators have also added a boat that children can climb into — where experiences and information merge to tell them about the life of Kohli fishermen, allowing them to weave a fishing net, or throw a line.
Inspired learning
The Make Lab is every child’s idea of paradise. Kids can work alone or in groups to create, design, and find cutting-edge ways to ‘bring alive innovative solutions with art and technology.’ “We just made this,” a staff member says, pointing to a 3-D printed blue octopus. In another room, a group of staffers is building a multi-layer wooden scaffold to balance figures. “Our carpentry room is a huge attraction,” Shete says. Photography, film-making, laser cutting, podcasting and metal fabrication are other possible activities.
At the Grow Lab, children can dirty their hands while grappling with bee keeping, composting, gardening and sustainable farming methods. Binary workshops to understand gender, workshops for grandparents, parents and children, and Lego workshops are all part of the plan. Even the bathrooms have puzzles on the walls!
A group of 60 young people with an average age of 27-29 make up the staff of the MuSo. Among them are architects, designers, museum educators and students of art and design. Special efforts and collaborations are being planned to ensure the museum is accessible to children from all communities, including the most underprivileged. “We have teachers asking us to bring our ideas to their schools,” Shete says, “So we have created slots for them and their classes too.”
The museum aims to reach more than 50,000 children through its ‘Free Mondays’ initiative alone, apart from inviting around 250 school groups each year. They are also planning a special MuSo Changemakers Council, where a diverse group of Mumbai’s 11-14-year-olds will be selected to engage in leadership training, delve into challenges of significance to youth and their futures, and advise the museum on strategy, programmes, and policies.
Entry is ticketed (₹750) on all days other than Monday.
The writer is an editor and author with biographies of Guru Dutt, Jagjit Singh and S.D. Burman to her credit.
