Natalya and Diego Jimenez stand under a hut during a visit to the Children's Museum at the National Museum of Korea. The museum gives children a hands-on experience by letting them handle tools and puzzles indicative of ancient South Korea. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
Natalya and Diego Jimenez stand under a hut during a visit to the Children's Museum at the National Museum of Korea. The museum gives children a hands-on experience by letting them handle tools and puzzles indicative of ancient South Korea. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
Children play with blocks Nov. 22 at the Children's Museum at the National Museum of Korea. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
Diego Jimenez gets assistance building a house out of blocks during a Nov. 22 visit to the Children's Museum at the National Museum of Korea. The museum gives children a hands-on experience by letting them handle tools, puzzles and pots found in medieval South Korea. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
South Korean schoolchildren learn how to use a shovel at the Children's Museum at the National Museum of Korea. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
South Korean schoolchildren learn taekwondo at the Children's Museum at the National Museum of Korea. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
South Korean schoolchildren work on their puzzles during a visit to the Children's Museum at the National Museum of Korea. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
Diego Jimenez learns how South Koreans used to heat their homes during a visit to the Children's Museum at the National Museum of Korea. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
South Korean schoolchildren learn the difference between ancient and modern kitchens at the Children's Museum at the National Museum of Korea. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
Children can learn about ancient farming tools used in South Korea at the Children's Museum at the National Museum of Korea. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
South Korean schoolchildren leave the Children's Museum at the National Museum of Korea. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
Do you have children who like to touch everything in sight? Well, I do.
So it was a relief to discover the Children’s Museum at the National Museum of Korea, where kids are not only encouraged, but expected, to take a hands-on approach during their visit. Our kids couldn’t wait to check out the museum. My wife and I were excited as well because there is no admission charge to the museum. Of course, we discovered that we shouldn’t have visited on a school day. The museum was packed, and we had to wait in a long line to enter.
But it was well worth the wait.
This museum is a paradise of sorts for curious children. My son and daughter were able to build houses with blocks, color symbols on paper and check out replicas of old Korean huts. Natalya and Diego also handled bows and arrows, axes and shovels in an exhibit that showed how Korean farmers from years past lived and worked.
As we continued our journey through the museum, my kids played with magnetic puzzles and musical instruments. Diego quickly made friends with a Korean boy, and the two of them played around with the pots and pans in a hands-on kitchen.
One of the biggest attractions is a fortress located in the middle of the museum. It’s a place where kids can have pictures of them taken with soldiers’ uniforms on. But the line was so long that we skipped it.
As we passed the fortress, we wandered outside to discover eight scientific playgrounds where visitors learn how energy is generated and transmitted by jumping, spinning and shaking. Let’s just say my kids used a lot of energy learning about energy.
We ended the day with a stop at the gift shop and a promise to return next month. With my children enjoying touching (and sometimes breaking) our treasures at home, that time can’t come fast enough.
KNOW & GOChildren’s Museum at the National Museum of Korea
Hours: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wednesdays and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sundays and holidays, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Mondays and Jan. 1.
Admission: Free
Directions: By subway, line 4, exit 2,five-minute walk.
Online: www.museum.go.kr
