THE Brunei Museum Department yesterday launched their school holiday programme in an attempt to lure more students to learn and discover the country’s rich history through the exhibits at the Brunei Museum in Kota Batu.
Mariani Abu Bakar, public relations officer for the Brunei Museum, said that this is the first time the department has organised such a programme, which aimed to highlight the nation’s cultural heritage by including traditional games and activities such as congkak, pasang and kite-making.
“It’s wonderful to see over 30 kids here with their families on the first day of our pilot programme. We are very eager to get their feedback,” she said.
Mariani said that their aim was to attract the children to the museum with the planned activities and hopefully while they are there, they will take the time to discover the exhibits, especially the newly-opened Independence Gallery which highlights significant milestones in Brunei’s road to independence.
She said one of the more popular activities was an Amazing Race-style expedition through the museum, where children receive a list of clues and have to search through all the exhibits to find the answers.
Mariani said that tours of the museum, led by a guide from the Brunei Tourism Board, are also available for all who visit the museum.
Cikgu Asri, a retired Physical Education teacher, told The Brunei Times that he brought his son and grandson to the museum so that they could spend time together as a family.
“I’ve been teaching them to play congkak and so far they enjoy it. It’s better to get them out of the house where they would just be watching TV all day. At least this way we can do something different,” he said.
A housewife from Kg Pintu Malim, Siti Hawa, said that she took her three daughters to the museum after one of their teachers told her about the programme.
“It’s very good that they’re trying to revive some our traditional games. I haven’t played pasang since my youth. I will be bringing back the kids on Monday for the kite-making demonstration,” she said.
Mariani said that the programme will run throughout the school holiday period and they will be adding more activities once the itinerary is finalised.
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