Engage your children at this workshop on critical thinking at the Mumbai Urban Arts Festival

Moments from MuSo workshops held earlier this year

Just one-and-a-half-years old, this writer's nephew pointed to an image of the moon in a photography book, inquiring about the big shiny ball. Mid-way through his induction into the satellite's placement in our solar system, the toddler's wildly confused face stared back at us; we had lost the plot. We turned the page of the book, an introduction for another day perhaps. What struck us only after a conversation with Preeti Goel Sanghi, the director of Museum of Solutions (MuSo), was that pointing to the actual moon outside the window would have been a better way to illustrate the concept. She believes that learning by observing and doing is much more beneficial for young ones, in terms of opening their minds to bigger questions, rather than feeding them with facts or instructions. Similarly, MuSo's programmes are structured to help children follow their curiosity and engage in critical thinking and problem-solving. If you're looking to enroll your child in a workshop that delivers learning in this manner, don't miss their weekend workshops for kids between nine and 12 years at Mumbai Urban Art Festival in Sassoon Docks.

Tackling sustainability and the environment, the two sessions scheduled this weekend include learning about SpongeBob's friends that live in intertidal zones along Mumbai's coast in the Who Lives In A Pineapple Under The Sea workshop on Saturday. Charged with kinaesthetic learning techniques, in this session, kids will be introduced to the homes of Mumbai's sea creatures and the risk that their destruction may pose. They will do so by building cool new homes for these creatures. In the second workshop, Net Gala, kids will upcycle fishing nets into clothing; the nets, when torn and left in the sea, trap and kill marine creatures. Both sessions will engage children in water-related environmental problems and potential solutions. These include interactive activities, questions that facilitate reflection, and tools to help kids tap into their potential to create solutions for real-life issues that they will have to deal with in the future.

Preeti Goel Sanghi

Sanghi points out, "Children approach new concepts without the biases or filters that grown-ups might, but with empathy and consideration." This becomes the perfect set-up for new perspectives and innovative ideas to flow. And so each workshop swaps a strict instruction-based approach for one that equips young participants with the skillset and information to further apply their curiosity. "Learning then stays with kids and comes back to them," Sanghi notes, highlighting that it allows better
recall and connections.

On February 11 and 12;
11 am to 1.30 pm at Mumbai Urban Art Festival, Sassoon Docks.
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Cost Rs 499 for each workshop