People are often quick to ‘dis’ the Nation’s capital – ‘it’s boring’, they claim…but this is a far cry from the truth because there is so much going on. And so much that you can do with your little ones! Late last year, I took the boys to the Little Faces program at the National Portrait Gallery.
The Little Faces program invites children from 6 months to 3 years with their parent or carer to join a Learning Facilitator for playful activities in the galleries. The current program looks at the portrait Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu by Guy Maestri exploring faces, hands, colour, sound and movement.
Now you’ll need to book to be part of the program {which does cost $10 per adult – but does include a $5 voucher to the National Portrait Gallery cafe} via phone or email. We booked in with a friend which was fun for the boys {and for the Mums to have one another’s company}. And there was two other adults which meant that the class was a nice size.
I didn’t know if we were allowed to take photos of the portraits or of the activities – so here are some of my little faces…
Although they claim that the program is from 6 months to 3 years, I felt that the program moved a little too quickly for our two and a half year olds {and pretty much went straight over the head of my one year old}.
It was awesome to be able to be in the National Portrait Gallery prior to its regular patrons arriving – which meant that the boys were able to make a little noise without causing any heart ache.
The boys really enjoyed playing the musical instruments to the Aboriginal music – but were disappointed when they had to give the drums back. It would have been great if this part could have gone a little longer.
The painting which they focused on was in black and white, so the children were given the opportunity to draw faces with white crayons on black paper. This was a fun idea – but I think that they would have enjoyed it a little more if they could have had a more tactile experience.
Rosa and I spoke about how nice it would have been if they could have taken the boys outside to look at Aboriginal art that the boys could have touched. And then maybe let them do a ‘rubbing’ artwork or drawing on bark? We have very active boys, so maybe children who are happy to sit and draw would have really enjoy the ability to sit and draw faces.
All in all, we will probably return to the National Portrait Gallery once they have a new series running. It was a nice outing that broke up our regular routine.
The Little Faces program re-opens on Tuesday and Wednesdays from Feb 2. Check out their website for more details.
Sounds like a nice family outing, Shari! You’re so right when you say that Canberra isn’t boring. It’s a shame that people think that! We used to go on trips to Canberra when I was younger to visit family friends that live there, and we always had a really great time. I remember that the weather was a nice change from the heat here in Brisbane, too!
Thanks Lisa – we too, came to Canberra for family vacations when I was a child. There certainly is a lot to do here if you have children {and no traffic}. The other day we took the boys to Taronga Zoo and whilst we were sitting in traffic my two year old asked ‘are we in the carpark, is this it?’.