Today there are many small museums with a narrow thematic focus. The initiators of the creation of new cultural spaces are enthusiasts who are anxiously collecting cultural historical heritage. One of these centers was the Zabavushka Museum of Folk Toys, where adults and children derive joy and knowledge.
Appearance story
Museum of folk toys "Fun" was founded in 1998. The beginning was made with a small exhibition organized by the Tradition Society of Folk Art Lovers. Having accepted the offer to participate in a charity event held by the All-Russian Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts, fans of folk toys saw the genuine interest of adults and children in this type of folk craft.
During the campaign, not everyone managed to visit the booth with toys, closer to the end of the event, the museum administration went towards the initiative group of toy lovers and the exhibition was extended, but the visit was possible only with purchased tickets. The financial load did not become an obstacle to visiting the stands, the flow of visitors did not dry up.
Then it was decided to create a separate museum, "Fun", where the public can not only examine and touch the exhibits, but also show their artistic talent by painting their favorite toy at the master class.
Description
The Zabavushka Museum is a non-governmental local history institution focused on working with schoolchildren. To date, the museum funds contain more than 5 thousand exhibits collected in 45 centers of traditional crafts. Toys are made of a variety of materials - wooden, clay, patchwork, straw, birch bark. All of them have their own character and reflect that part of Russia, where they were created from time immemorial for the amusement of children and the joy of adults.
More than 2 thousand exhibits are in the public domain for the public. On them you can study the history of the country. Here, toys from Dymkovo, Gorodets, Filimonov, Kargopol, Bogorodsky and other ancient or revived centers of handicrafts are pleasing to the eye. All exhibits are genuine, bear the stamp of the hand of a master and the originality of folk traditions.
Fascinating and informative
Employees of the Zabavushka Museum have created a unique exposition space where almost all rarities can be picked up. There are no closed showcases in the halls, children are offered live communication with historical and modern examples of folk toys. Schoolchildren with genuine interest consider toys that they understand and take pleasure in participating in the center’s interactive programs.
During the excursions, visitors are introduced to the peculiarities of each type of toy, along the way giving knowledge about the history and culture of the area from which the sculpture, doll or whistle originated. Students are shown what toys their peers played in different eras and explain the traditions, customs and rituals associated with the exhibits. For example, children will be told why in a peasant family behind the stove they kept 12 dolls with the ridiculous name “swaddling clothes”.
The Zabushushka Museum is also interesting in that children are given plenty to play enough - to launch a spinning top, to experience and understand how the world-famous articulated Bogorodskaya toy works. This craft has more than 350 years of development, and the works of masters still do not lose popularity.
Tours
Museum "Fun" invites visitors to such excursions:
- Folk clay toy. The principle of the excursion is based on: “By playing - we will find out”. The guide actively communicates with children, offering to create their own fairy tales, and engages in the informative interactive game “Building Villages”. In the final part of the tour, children are given the opportunity to paint a clay toy, which encourages complete freedom of creativity in the choice of form, ornament, and color.
- Toy crafts. On the tour, children get acquainted with Romanovsky, Kargopolsky, Abashevsky clay toys, as well as with Torzhok whistles. Children become participants in the interactive game "Fair", which helps to consolidate the knowledge gained. At the next stage, an acquaintance with a wooden toy takes place in the next hall of the Zabavushka Museum, where the first nesting dolls and real Bogorodskaya toys are presented. Students will also learn a lot about the technique of making figures from straw. The tour ends with a master class on painting whistles from Polokhov-Maidan, they take it with them.
- Doll from the flaps. On the tour, children will learn the traditions of creating dolls, ceremonies associated with textile toys that have existed in Russia in different centuries. Students create a patchwork amulet under the guidance of a master and take it with them.
- Family tour. Adults and children for a healthy stay choose one of thematic tours. Parents can accompany the child all the time in the museum or join at any convenient time. The museum also provides sightseeing tours for organized groups of adult visitors.
Excursions to the Museum of Fun last from 1 hour 10 minutes. A visit requires an organized group of 20 to 40 people, the cost of a visit is 470 rubles per participant. For parents, the ticket price is 100 rubles. A sightseeing tour for adults lasts 1 hour, the cost of tickets is 350 rubles (as part of a group of 10 or more people).
Reviews
Adults and children considered the Moscow Museum of Fun to be very unusual and interesting. Parents' comments tell that the children were immediately carried away by the guide’s story and examined all the toys with great interest. I also liked the fact that many exhibits can be picked up and viewed from all sides.
It is noted that the work of the animators, they are also guides, is excellent - no one was bored, everyone was involved in several games. In one hour, the children managed to not only learn the history of toys, ask all the questions and get comprehensive, clear answers, but also enjoy the creative process. The subjects of the excursions are different, but it’s possible to see everything, and each time new workshops are offered - a textile toy, painting an clay figurine or whistle, creating a fairy tale and much more.
Adults noted that the master classes are well organized - there are enough blanks for creativity, paints, brushes, rags and other accessories. There is enough space for everyone, the masters, leading classes, show patience and a pedagogical gift, allowing children to show talents and directing them in the right direction.
Some parents noted that the museum is difficult to find, in winter the rooms are not too warm, but the children do not pay attention to it. A small part of visitors considered that the exposition is not diverse, and the museum itself is more like a collection of random things. Most of the visitors recommend to visit all excursions in order to give children the opportunity to get basic knowledge about their homeland, folk crafts, and reveal their creative potential at master classes.
