For
Immediate Release
October 21, 2011
Contact: Megan Fischer
Director of Communications
(401) 273-5437 ext. 126
Return to Press Room
The Power to Play: From Trash to Treasure
Toys Handcrafted by Children From Around the World
Through January 2012 at Providence Children’s Museum
PROVIDENCE, RI – Providence Children’s Museum announces the opening of The Power to Play: From Trash to Treasure,
a display of toys handcrafted by children from around the world and on
view through January 2012. The charming creations poignantly
illustrate children’s creativity and inventiveness and the universal
importance of play in children’s development.
The toys are a selection from a traveling exhibition of more than 350 pieces collected by ChildFund International,
a global child development and protection agency. The collection has
been featured in National Geographic magazine and displayed at National
Geographic’s Explorers Hall in Washington D.C.
The playthings were crafted in countries including India, Brazil,
Ethiopia and the United States and range from dolls, games and musical
instruments to a variety of things that float, roll and fly. They
were constructed from materials and objects found around children’s
homes and villages – bottle caps, twigs, discarded containers and
cardboard, old flip-flops, fabric scraps and bits of wood, wire and
string. Some of the collection’s highlights include a tin can
truck, a jump rope braided from colorful plastic bags, and a well-worn
shoe turned into a car.
Each toy has a story. Some are unique to their place of origin,
some reflect the challenging social, economic and political conditions
faced in children’s countries, and others are universal, like balls and
kites made in different places using exactly the same techniques.
None of the playthings were made for sale; each came about because a
child had the inspiration, the materials and the need to play.
Together, the toys demonstrate children’s creativity, resiliency and
enduring spirit and evoke powerful personal reflections and vivid
memories of play.
Providence Children’s Museum actively advocates for and celebrates the
power of children’s play; this display provides a compelling way to
share that message. “Some of the toys are so intricate and
detailed, you can see the children as engineers, figuring out how an
axle works so their truck can really move,” said Museum Exhibits
Director Robin Meisner. “To show children’s work that
represents cultures from all over the world – and work that is
incredibly well designed and functional – demonstrates kids’ creativity
and ingenuity.”
Visitors of all ages will delight in the details of the designs and the
creative use of materials. They will be invited to share how they
make their own toys, encouraging reflection on and conversation about
the common bond children share in their need for play and the ability
to create their own playthings.
The display will be on view in the Museum’s atrium through January 2012
and is free with Museum admission of $8.50 per person. For more
information, visit www.ChildrenMuseum.org.
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Boy with car, credit: ChildFund International