Children's museum preserves the playful past

Slamet Susanto ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Yogyakarta   |  Tue, 04/08/2008 11:52 AM  |  Potpourri

Children watch toys displayed at Kolong Tangga museum, which literally means the space under the stairs, at Yogyakarta Cultural Park. (JP/Slamet Susanto)

In an attempt to preserve traditional Indonesian toys and games that have been almost forgotten, and at the same time introduce culture and art to children, a supporter of children's education set up a children's museum called Kolong Tangga, or the Space Under the Stairs, in Taman Budaya Yogyakarta (TBY), or the Yogyakarta Culture Park.

It is claimed to be the first children's museum in Indonesia. The name comes from the museum's location, which makes use space underneath the TBY.

Hundred of toys and traditional playthings which have been almost forgotten have been neatly displayed in a room measuring some 3 by 12 meters. Because of the space limitation the room is able to accommodate only around 200 types of toys and other traditional playthings.

"In fact the collection comprises more than 800 items. That's why every three months the children's toys and playthings are rotated. We keep changing the exhibits so everything in our collection can be displayed," said the museum's technical director, Indra Gunawan.

Toys and traditional playthings in the museum collection include a wooden bicycle made in 1969 from Magelang, a slingshot made from a tree root, from Timor, a miniature set of wooden gamelan instruments from Purwokerto, Central Java, made in 1960, and various other traditional toys.

Besides displaying the toys the museum also holds a workshop every Saturday and Sunday especially for children. The aim is to develop the children's creative skills.

According to the vision of Kolong Tangga, the aim is to conserve toys and recover the skills of children in the past. The workshop is divided into two groups. The first covers materials that relate to old stories. For example a workshop was held to write a story or fairy tale, and illustrate an old book or tell a story.

A second workshop concerns the world of toys and children's games. Examples of the activities include making traditional dolls or staging traditional games.

"We hope this will expand creative skills and open up children's minds through learning about traditional toys and playthings," said Indra.

One old game, said Indra, was based on creative ideas, with materials drawn from natural surroundings such as wood, branches, fruits and leaves.

"This also made use of the children's knowledge and understanding of the environment, and made them employ creative ideas to use whatever they could find around us," he said.

In the museum's office in Kolong Tangga there is also a special reading room called Burung Biru Baca Buku (Blue Bird Reading Book). The reading room doesn't just function as a borrowing place or for reading books; this library is also used as a playground and place for children's learning.

In the library, children are invited to read and write stories together, or to listen to storytellers reading from books.

Sofia Amri Yogi, a staff member with the outdoor division of the museum, said that every Sunday, apart from his official duties, he also organized games held in a field. Apart from introducing old customs to children, this is also useful in helping children develop socialization skills.

A characteristic of Indonesian traditional games is that they don't focus on the individual but promote togetherness -- the games require teamwork.

"This trains children in the skills of socialization," said Yogi.

All activities, said Yogi, are free for all children in Indonesia who are under the age of 16. Children can also become members of Kolong Tangga.

To register as a member, a child needs a photo and Rp 5,000 (50 US cents) as an administrative fee. Members can take part in numerous activities for free.

"At the moment there are 120 children registered as members," said Yogi.

Already open for over a month, every Saturday and Sunday the children's museum is filled with children taking part in the workshops or playing together.

"I'm happy that I could learn about puppetry," said Evi, an elementary school student who, with a friend, was taking part in a workshop on making straw puppets.

For some parents, the presence of the Kolong Tangga children's museum can also fill the gaps in formal education, which doesn't teach old customs at an early stage.

"The old games were full of meaning and values. By understanding these games, children will get a great boost to their education," said Sartono, who accompanied his son Bagus, who is in elementary school, on a visit to Kolong Tangga.

"At the same time I felt nostalgic when I saw toys that I recalled from the time when I was a small child, and which are now gone," said Sartono.

The children's museum was established by Rudi Corens, a curator and artist from Belgium, with backing from Dyan Anggraini Rais from Taman Budaya Yogyakarta and Anggi Minarni from Kartapustaka Yogyakarta, as well as other supporters of children's education.

The original idea behind the establishment of the museum was the preservation of Indonesian traditional toys and playthings from bygone days.

Corens, who has lived in Indonesia for 25 years and is constantly looking for traditional toys and games, said the museum was originally planned to open in 2006.

But because of other issues, and the need to raise funds, the opening was pushed back until this year.

"According to my information, one traditional toy from Indonesia is lost every year," Corens said. "The existence of this museum means that we are able to look after children's traditional games so they are not forgotten."

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