Ah, autumn, the leaves are turning, the air is cooling, and during autumn break, school is out. It’s great — but sometimes you just need somewhere for your own little animals to run wild. 😉
This is why we would like to introduce you to Wereldmuseum Leiden’s DierenAcademie (Animal Academy)!
Need somewhere to tire your little tigers out? Well, class is in session. This educational exhibit both teaches your children about the animal kingdom and engages your children by offering fun exercises throughout.
Let your little ones go wild for a day — all indoors
Picture this: it’s 9:15 AM, the kids are bouncing off the walls, and it’s raining cats and dogs outside. Could you let this explosive energy free within the walls of your home? Maybe, but the Animal Academy is a far better option.
Suitable for both young and older children, Wereldmuseum Leiden’s Animal Academy exhibition allows them to run around within the exhibit’s walls instead. In fact, it encourages it!
Raining hard enough outside to give your cat swimming lessons? Whether it’s pouring or roasting (who knows with this weather), Wereldmuseum Leiden is also a nice, cool, dry refuge for you and your children this autumn.
What is the Animal Academy?
The concept behind Wereldmuseum Leiden’s Animal Academy is simple. It’s an interactive exhibit that both entertains and educates the kids, all while exploring the interaction between humans, animals, and the earth.
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The idea is that the Animal Academy functions like, well, an academy! With a variety of classrooms for your child to run between, the exhibit lets your kids run, push, hop and howl — all while learning at the same time.
A jungle that’s guaranteed to keep everyone fascinated
As soon as you walk into the exhibit, you and your child are invited to engage with it. Almost all aspects of the exhibit are interactive, meaning from the get-go, your child can get hands-on.
Each classroom is themed around a specific animal and offers fun facts about how they navigate nature. Armed with these fun facts, your child will be encouraged to mimic the animal through fun interactive challenges.
Ever wondered how your child would go about pretending to be a dung beetle pushing a giant “dung” from one side of the room to another? No? Well, you can experience it anyway!
LEARN MORE | Something for the whole family! Let your kids run wild at Wereld Museum Leiden’s Animal Academy
Or how about discovering just how cute your child looks while donning a wolf’s tail and learning to perfect their howl?
Whether your child wants to feel like an ant, hide like a cheetah, crawl like a polar bear on ice, or hop like a kangaroo, there are plenty of options to keep them moving, engaged, and learning.
Not to mention you’ll get some great photo ops. 😍
Not only a fun experience but a learning event
At the end of the day, the Animal Academy is an academy! The exhibit was curated with a very educational intention in mind.
The hope is that by encouraging children to engage with and mimic the behaviours of animals, children can learn about how these animals relate to the world.
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Taking it a step further, the exhibit also wants to welcome children to think about how they, as humans, interact with their environment.
For children and parents alike!
However, the lessons aren’t only for the kids. Just as you watch your child mimic and interact with the exhibit, the Animal Academy also has the goal of making parents think more about their interaction with the environment.
The goal of the exhibit is also to create a space to reflect upon humans and how we impact the world. It begs the question, what can we learn from the animal kingdom?
The answer? That we as a species can and need to do better. Hopping, howling, and crawling aside, this message is at the heart of Wereldmuseum Leiden’s Animal Academy.
The kids are grabbing their coats — tell us when, where, and how!
Ready to let your inner animal out to play? How about your real ones? Grab those kiddos, save your house from destruction, and head to Wereldmuseum Leiden’s website to purchase tickets for the museum and its fabulous exhibit.
No time to hop online? Geen probleem, you can always buy the tickets from the ticket desk.
Fun fact: Children under six can enter Wereldmuseum Leiden for free!
You’ll find that Wereldmuseum Leiden’s doors are open between 10 AM and 5 PM, six days a week. Each weekend the museum will also host fun workshops, activities, and weekend tours!
Looking for something extra special to do? Wereldmuseum Leiden will host a spectacular prom to celebrate the close of their exhibition. On 22 October, children and parents are welcomed to the museum to take part in special workshops and enjoy talks from the likes of Forest Ranger Tim, Iven Cudogham from Anansi de Spin!
So have no fear, if the Dutch summer weather is acting up, the Animal Academy’s doors are open.
Have you attended this stunning exhibition yet? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!