"Ten Centuries of Architecture" - children's programme

As you may have already heard on Radio Prague, Prague Castle is currently hosting one of the Czech Republic's biggest exhibitions of architecture. It's called "Ten Centuries of Architecture" and spreads out across the entire castle grounds, taking up six different spaces. The exhibition focuses on the Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, 19th century and 20th century, and shows examples of those styles found in the Czech Republic. Dita Asiedu has the story.

Schoolchildren enjoying the exhibition

Although the main exhibition itself is targeted toward an older audience, a children's programme was launched on Thursday, to introduce the younger generation to different periods in architecture. The state symbol of the Czech Republic is a lion, and the programme was named "On the Lion's Trail". Marie Galova is the director of the Prague Castle Administration and one of the organisers of the exhibition.

"At the beginning of every exhibition there is a special book and every child can use it with a pillow and colour pencils. They then have to look for lion's paws and at every paw, there is a special exercise. So, the whole programme is interactive. We didn't want a separate space or programme for these children but prepared for them an interesting form instead ".

The children's programme is not only interactive, but also involves young readers of one of the country's most popular childrens' magazines - ABC. Mirka Volfova is from ABC, and explains what her magazine has to offer to its young readers as part of the "Ten Centuries of Architecture" exhibition:

"Besides the issuing of reports with interviews and articles on the various architectonic periods throughout the course of the exhibition, the ABC magazine is also making use of its unique paper model attachments, which come with every publication, to make children aware of the different examples of architecture. The project will culminate in the summer, with a paper model competition during which children will be able to construct their own architectonic interiors. The best pieces will be exhibited at the Prague Castle, which will be a great honour for the small artists".

The children's programme is not only open to individual participants: it can also be visited by whole classes of schoolchildren. A special seminar is being planned in which teachers will be given a general introduction to the programme. A CD-Rom has also been produced, introducing children not only to architecture but also to clothing and other possessions from the past. The entire project will run throughout the exhibition and will come to a close on October 31st.