Experience the Seasons in Japan with a new exhibition at the Canadian Children’s Museum

Experience the Seasons in Japan with a new exhibition at the Canadian Children’s Museum

Gatineau, Quebec, August 21, 2008 — This fall, children and their families can enjoy an entire year in Japan, without ever leaving the National Capital Region. Beginning October 4, Japan and Nature: Spirits of the Seasons comes to the Canadian Children’s Museum. This immersive exhibition invites visitors to discover how nature is celebrated in the everyday lives of Japanese children and reflected through stories, art, seasonal activities and celebrations.

Japan and Nature is designed around universal aspects of childhood – family, school, play and holiday celebrations – and is divided into four fun-filled interactive zones. Each zone is representative of a different season and a specific geographical region, allowing children to experience year round living in Japan. Kids can enjoy the spring time cherry blossom festival in Fukuoka; summer vacation fishing in Japan’s largest lake, Lake Biwa; visit a sacred Shinto shrine on a beautiful fall day in Kyoto; then finish the year abroad with winter in Sapporo, celebrating New Year’s inside a cozy Japanese winter home by playing a traditional New Year’s game and trying special winter foods.

This exhibition was developed by the Brooklyn Children’s Museum (BCM) for the Freeman Foundation Asian Exhibit Initiative; an initiative aimed at giving children and families the opportunity to explore the cultures of Asia. Creators of the exhibition traveled to Japan in order to collect stories, video and sound recordings of real children’s lives and experiences.

Special programming activities planned in conjunction with the exhibition will include food and craft workshops, martial arts demonstrations, musical performances and several special festive events during the six months the exhibition is presented. Japan and Nature: Spirits of the Seasons is on display at the Canadian Children’s Museum from October 4, 2008 until March 29, 2009.

The Canadian Children’s Museum (CCM), one of the Canadian Museum of Civilization’s most popular attractions, provides a creative space in which children and families can learn about the world and broaden their cultural experience. CCM passports in hand, visitors discover one incredible destination after another. Whether on a visit to homes in the International Village, a trek to a desert pyramid, a jaunt to the Port of Entry to help unload a cargo ship, or a stroll through the bustling Market Bazaar, visitors encounter endless ways to learn about the world and each other.

Japan and Nature was developed by the Brooklyn Children’s Museum with major funding from the Freeman Foundation.

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Canadian Museum of Civilization
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Canadian Museum of Civilization
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