Mammutico at the Museum of Municipal Engineering
On September 17, the Creativity Zone opened at the Museum of Municipal Engineering (MiM) in Kraków. The slogan encouraging participation in the workshops is: build a city with mega blocks
The kids who come here for classes play with “Mammutico” blocks! They have access to as many as four different and very large sets from our lineup. There are so many blocks that at the height of the fun, it’s hard to squeeze through the workshop room.
An exhibition that engages entire families
The museum was looking for a good idea for a temporary exhibition, and we had it! Creative workshops are, after all, our specialty. All we had to do was adapt them to the museum’s theme, and the plan was ready. Mammutico blocks are the perfect “tool” for little engineers. During interactive sessions with a MiM educator, children can participate in engaging workshops, building cities of the future, playgrounds, city plans, water supply networks, and a host of other structures related to urban engineering.
The exhibition’s visual design was created for us by Fabryka Dekoracji—one of the largest set design companies in Poland. They have a wonderful team who immediately captured the spirit of our blocks and the space where the Creativity Zone was to be built. We produced the materials and all the decorations designed by Fabryka Dekoracji according to our own concept. The drawings of buildings decorating the walls of the Zone were created by Ach, dziewczyny, a company that also created the graphics promoting the entire project on commission from MiM.
“Safety and creativity are not mutually exclusive. ‘Mammutico’ is proof of that.” — Małgorzata Stępniak
The installation took us a few days, but in the very pleasant company of the museum staff, in an incredibly atmospheric building, and in the heart of Kraków’s Kazimierz district, the work went like a charm. A few significant changes arose during the installation, but the intended effect was achieved!
Learning through play at the museum
The Zone’s equipment and decor are only half the battle. For children’s activities to be both educational and engaging, you also need well-crafted lesson plans and skilled facilitation. Our role in this regard was significant as well. Iza authored six creative lesson plans, but Dominik decided that urban engineering without gas pipelines, sewer systems, and fiber-optic cables doesn’t count, so he added a topic on the “Underground Web.” All the content was reviewed for us by Ania Komorowska from Pracownia K—a company specializing in designing amazing playgrounds.
Just before the opening of the Creativity Zone, we went to Kraków to introduce the museum educators to our blocks and show them how interestingly and creatively the blocks can be used for learning and play at the same time. Dominik led the training from start to finish. First, he “played” with the educators, then he conducted a demonstration lesson with a class of nine-year-olds, so the animators could see the activities “in action.”
During the demonstration lesson, a video promoting MiM’s new initiative was also produced at the museum’s request. The concept and direction were handled by Mammutico, but this exceptionally professional, creative, and fascinating edit was carried out by our collaborator Paweł Malczyk.
We would like to thank everyone who helped us bring this incredibly interesting project to life. It was a completely new venture for us! We learned a lot while working on this exhibition. This experience showed us that we are capable of doing amazing things because we have a great deal of determination and skills we hadn’t realized we possessed
Mammutico® — a tool that grows with the child.
