Babyccino Milan » Events

Butterfly Oasis

admin — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:08:41 +0000

Last Sunday we decided to face the afternoon heat (we are now in the 30s here) and head to the Giardini Pubblici to visit the new Butterfly Oasis next to the Natural History Museum. It’s a pavilion that hosts an exhibition of many species of butterflies, imported weekly from Africa, South America and Sout-East Asia. The 200 sqm area is divided in two sections. The first part explores the meaning of colours in nature, with loads of pictures and a few live animals. The second part is the true butterfly exhibit, where a tropical environment is recreated to showcase butterflies and cocoons in their habitual settings. The visitor can walk through plants and climbing orchids while butterflies fly all around him. The Butterfly Oasis is, at this stage, a temporary project open until the end of September but the administration says they will, by the end of the year, open a permanent butterfly house that will be four times bigger, making it the largest in Italy. We had a nice time, and although it is not as big and nice as the one in the London Zoo, I highly recommend it, especially if you or your kids have never seen a butterfly house!
Another positive effect: after standing in true tropical heat to look at the butterflies, even Milan weather is more bearable!

-Michela

Flower show in Milan

admin — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:20:13 +0000

The 13th flower show of the Orticultural Association of Lombardy “Orticola” took place last weekend in Milan in the nice surroundings of Giardini Pubblici. It was obviously nice to look at all the flowers, plants and garden furniture on show, but what I thought was surprising was the effort made to make children feel welcomed! For the three days of the show, children (who enter free until they are 12) could attend all sorts of labs, where activities were designed to put them in touch with nature… and I believe city kids need all the contact they can get.

They could build flowers out of paper strings, or make fresh flower bouquets for Mother’s Day. They made collages with flowers, leaves and pieces of woods. They could take an active role in an orchestra that recreated the sounds of the woods by using all sorts of instruments. And they were able to watch a man making wicker baskets in front of them.
It was the perfect family outing, and I truly believe “Orticola” will become a regular event in our family spring calendar!

-Michela

Vietato non toccare!

admin — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:03:47 +0000

I took my older son to this exhibition whose title could be (freely) translated as “Please ~~do not~~ touch”. It’s in the Triennale, and it’s only for kids between the age of 2 and 6. It’s an interactive exhibition dedicated to the little ones and inspired by Bruno Munari ’s work. Munari, a famous Italian artist, had a great consideration for children and used to think their games were “very serious pastimes”. The exhibition is an interactive circuit where children discover things by touching them.

The public is divided into 4 groups and each one is led to one of the 4 “stations” of the exhibition. After 20 minutes in one station groups rotate. In the first one there are 8 big boxes that are apparently identical, children have to open them or look into some of the holes to (re)discover everyday things like stones or an ant. The second one is a collection of big cubes with a round hole and lined with different materials: glass, leather, metal, cardboard. Kids get to feel the difference between them with their whole body, not just their hands. At the third station you find tables which have been covered by tiles with different patterns. Children are given paper and crayons and are invited to discover patterns by passing the crayons over the paper lying on top of them. The last station is made of a back-lit wall that is covered in transparent fiches that have very simple drawings on them: a sun, a tree, a rain, a butterfly. These are the elements to play the game that Munari called “Plus and Minus”. By stacking many fiches together and then removing some, children can invent simple stories.

The overall experience lasts about 1 and 1/2 hours which is the perfect length for such a young crowd. My son (and I) had a great time and I’m thinking of sending him back with his daddy for a weekend outing!

Michela

Triennale di Milano
29th Jan – 30th March