The Cape Town Museum of Childhood is not only an institute that advocates for children, but is also a space where young people can feel celebrated. It marked the first anniversary of its opening in Rondebosch on Saturday, 1 October. 

At the museum, children can have fun and learn, while caregivers can reminisce and connect with the child within themselves, as well as the children in their lives, according to Sarah Atmore, project manager at the museum.

A series of telephones in the story room allow children to listen to the real-life stories and experiences of a few South Africans. (Photo: Tamsin Metelerkamp)

“It’s the first [museum] of its kind in Africa,” she said. “One year on, [we are] super proud of what we’ve achieved in setting the museum up … and the service we’ve offered to the community … and we’re excited for the next year, and then the next year after that.”

During a recent visit to the museum, Maverick Citizen found its rooms and grounds filled with the sounds of children at play — excited shrieks accompanying outdoor antics, the rumble of plastic scooters propelled through corridors, and the confident mumble of toddlers “reading” picture books. 

The museum can see up to 50 or 60 visitors a day, said Navarne Weeder, the museum’s visitor experience officer.

Daniele Browne, a mother of three who brings her children to the museum every Wednesday, told Maverick Citizen it is the perfect environment for her children to use their imaginations and explore their own interests.  

“We sit for hours and make crafts, read, build blocks, play outside, paint or play with dough … whatever they feel like doing without being directed,” she said.  

“I think the kids really enjoy the fact that they can be themselves; they can laugh and play and create without being told to keep quiet or how to play. This is critical to the development of the child — to feel that their ideas and interests are being acknowledged, to feel safe, to feel a sense of belonging to the environment they are in.”

The museum is a project of the Centre for Early Childhood Development. Entrance is free.

The story room in the Cape Town Museum of Childhood is filled with children’s books. It includes a space where young visitors can write their own stories. (Photo: Tamsin Metelerkamp)

One wall of the activity room in the Cape Town Museum of Childhood is covered in the creations of visiting children. (Photo: Tamsin Metelerkamp)

Childhood wonder

The museum has several rooms with different themes. The reading room, for example, is filled with a variety of children’s books and colourful bean bag chairs. 

In one corner, there is a table with paper and stationery that children can use to make their own books. 

“The reason I love [the reading] room so much is that it offers so much more than just stories — it offers opportunities [for] expression,” said Weeder. “It’s … important that children learn to read … and they want to write their own books, which is what the room also offers.” 

Another space designed to inspire creativity in young visitors is the activity room, where children can make use of recyclable materials, art supplies and tools under the supervision of caregivers and museum staff.

News headlines related to children are displayed in one of the rooms at the Cape Town Museum of Childhood. These headlines are intended as an ‘eye opener’ concerning the experiences of children in South Africa. (Photo: Tamsin Metelerkamp)

The walls of one of the museum’s rooms are lined with newspaper headlines showing the struggles and risks many South African children face. The display is intended as an “eye-opener” for visitors, explained Atmore. 

“As a museum, you are in a way responsible for what you create and what you put out there, and it’s very easy to either fixate on the bad stuff, or gloss over it and only focus on the good,” she said. 

“You’ve got a responsibility to give a real [and] balanced view of what children experience.”

A postbox at the Cape Town Museum of Childhood allows visiting children to post encouraging letters to the young patients at Red Cross Children’s Hospital. (Photo: Tamsin Metelerkamp)

The Red Cross room — developed in partnership with the Red Cross Children’s Hospital — offers insights into the history and achievements of the health facility. Children can use the green postbox at the centre of the room to send encouraging postcards to their counterparts being treated at the hospital. 

The District Six room provides children with a glimpse into South Africa’s history, while another room is devoted to the role of former president Nelson Mandela as a champion for the youth. 

Schools and outreach 

The museum hosts school groups on Tuesdays, when pupils are taught about childhood and their rights. 

Atmore told Maverick Citizen that the museum is intended to provide pupils with a fun experience, and “time out from being bombarded by responsibilities that they have, that they shouldn’t have”. 

“Hopefully, we’ve just … sparked a bit of thought to say, ‘I am part of this bigger picture, and I am important and loved and I can make a meaningful contribution’,” she said.

The Cape Town Museum of Childhood is intended as a fun and engaging space for visitors. (Photo: Tamsin Metelerkamp)

Shanaaz Abrahams, the principal of Sunny Bunnies Educare in Pelican Park, said visiting the museum was an enriching experience for the children from her early childhood development (ECD) centre. 

“[The museum staff] interacted with the kids, and the programmes they offer can add to children’s knowledge,” she said.

“Spaces like this are very important because most places are so expensive to take the kids. Some areas just can’t afford to take their ECD [centres] somewhere, so this place was perfect … and the kids loved it.” 

Outreach programmes form an important part of the museum’s activities. The space is open to those organisations and movements that seek to uplift children, said Atmore.

The children who visit the Cape Town Museum of Childhood have access to recyclable materials and art supplies in the activity room. (Photo: Tamsin Metelerkamp)

“RX Radio [Red Cross Radio], we’ve got a very nice relationship with,” she said. “We’ve … had children who are training to be broadcasters on the radio come through here for training.

“When someone, or an organisation, has got something that’s aligned to what we’re wanting to achieve, if we can accommodate [it, we will].” 

Atmore hopes to see the museum host more programmes that expose children to opportunities and skills they might not otherwise have access to. 

“I think as a team, we’ve managed to do some projects that are quite impactful,” she said. 

“If we can do more to give children this broader kind of experience of the world … and all its people and the little things that go with it … that would be good.” DM/MC