Sharjah Museums Department (SMD) has announced that preparations are on in full swing by the Department of Interpretation and Education to receive families at its museums due to the growing turnout of the public at the family amusement day set on Saturday every week.
The Department of Interpretation and Education is allocating one day for families on every Saturday whereas a certain topic is discussed at workshops hosted by education specialists from the Community and Accessibility Services. On February 18, Saturday, the Sharjah Archaeology Museum hosted a workshop titled "Create Your Own Artwork Inspired by the Ancient Seal" which aimed at discovering the importance of stamps throughout old ages, their uses and shapes.
The Department recently organized the family amusement day at Sharjah Aquarium which hosted a workshop on the beauty of creatures living in oceans with a focus on two types of fish, Shiri and Hamour that gave the opportunity for children and their families to know more information about environment where fish live. The workshop, the second to be organized in 2012, was aimed at highlighting the danger of overfishing so as to raise awareness about marine environment.
The Department said that more workshops on environmental awareness will be held in collaboration with the Sharjah Aquarium throughout the year in order to educate children about the importance of preserving the natural environment that sustains all life on the earth for future generations and thereby ensuring that all humanity can attain a healthy and enriched life.
Commenting on the programs, Alya Burhaima, Head of the Department of Interpretation and Education at the Sharjah Museums Department, said: "The Department aims to facilitate access to the people of Sharjah and all its visitors to all SMD museums through enjoyable, educational, stimulating, and enlightening programs, events, and materials based on the sites and collections of the museums; so as to foster an understanding of them as active cultural resources."
The department is committed to providing a museum learning environment by having and managing the necessary staff, space, resources, and funds to facilitate this service for all museum visitors, as well as to maintaining the highest possible level of academic standards and objectivity with regard to the museums’ collections and their interpretation through programming and materials, she added.
The Department started early this year with hoisting participants from community services, such as centres for people with special needs, who participated in two workshops that were held on the sidelines of the Islamic Miniatures Exhibition (Monamnamat) at the Sharjah Art Museum.
Noteworthy, the Department of Interpretation and Education was established in 2007 when the Sharjah Museums Department (SMD) was established. It provides a wide range of educational programs across SMD’s museums that include tours, gallery discussions and workshops, which offer an excellent opportunity to learn about and discover new insights into SMD’s extensive collections and to discuss ideas and concerns with museum professionals. The section completes the SMD’s key role in enhancing understanding, appreciation and respect to Sharjah’s distinguished cultural identity at both local and international levels. The programs are available to everyone throughout the year.
The interested people need to have pre-reservation as they can contact the section at email: education@SharjahMuseums.ae, or call telephone No. 06/5197266
