MuSo, short for Museum of Solutions, is a newly built museum in Mumbai that caters to the unique liking of children in a fun and interactive way. It is based on how to make the young generation responsible, conscious, caring, and mindful citizens of the world. It mainly focuses on building a sustainable environment and making children realize the importance of sustainability, creating a sustainable future.
At the entrance, the building is covered with a quote written in bold letters “We believe that children can change the world”, something normally not seen in other buildings. This quote itself emphasizes that Children are the harbingers of change. It attracts the attention of young minds instantly along with piquing their curiosity about What wonders and challenges await them.
The interiors of the building give a feeling of enthusiastic doodling done by kids. A massive amphitheater welcomes visitors and serves as a waiting area during the day and a theater at night for community and public events. The theater leads to the souvenirs and goodies corner filled with child-friendly items reflecting reality-rooted learning. Past this, the friendly faces of volunteers welcome at the reception counter. They guide about the tour and one can proceed to the rocket lift that commences the journey in the Museum of Solutions.
The museum has 4 floors, each floor dedicated to a specific activity and learning center. After taking off from the rocket, we started our journey on floor 7, themed the ‘Play Lab’, where we learned about STEM concepts through interactive exhibits and creative workshops.
The activities on this floor include a pipe filled with a continuous strong flow of air, teaching about air currents concepts. There lie smaller sections where one can build cars out of Lego blocks and test designs to see which is the fastest. An interesting section challenged kids to construct buildings using wooden blocks that can withstand earthquakes of different magnitudes.
Moving on, there was a storyboard for creating tales and a digital one too that used stop-motion animation or replicated a fast sequence code. The floor also contained activities that demonstrated how to keep up with speed or lift one’s weight.
A fun section based on water, where one learns how water travels and how water currents carry objects. This section also demonstrated how the dams in a city work and how to control the fast flow of rivers in an unharming way. The last, and probably the most fun-filled activity on this floor was a three-story beanstalk-type climbing environment which was both safe and exciting.
Taking our rocket to the 8th floor, we found it to be completely focused on Oceans and the life around them, the importance of water, tracking our water footprints, or seeing how water reaches our taps. One can also go on a journey with Puddles the turtle, through a movie of 8 minutes, and learn about the ocean waters and how water pollution affects aquatic life.
Interactive games to know more about Ocean creatures added a touch of curiosity.
One section displayed the life of local Koli fishermen and threw light on saving Mumbai’s deteriorating rivers or trying to understand how hard it is to collect water in villages. Last, and probably the most interesting one on the floor was the Investigation Zone, where one can work in a group to find solutions to water woes faced by all today.
Finally, landing on the 9th floor, one can find a floor entirely dedicated to creativity and bringing one’s innovative solutions to life through art, technology, woodworking, photography, electronics, and a lot more.
Here, one can do numerous fun activities, like disassembling and reassembling objects or learning about robotics and how to make a robot. One can also tinker with opening, screwing, drilling, cutting, sanding, and polishing objects in a safe environment. Art Studio allows one to draw, paint, sculpt, make, and bake ceramics or learn about art history. Rapid Prototyping Studio brings ideas to life using 3D printers, laser cutters, and CNC routers. Children can also enter the Woodworking Studio to create anything ranging from a birdhouse to a boat. One can also mix up sounds and make music with different electronic equipment inside a sound-proof recording studio.
To sum everything up, this museum is just too huge to explore and enjoy completely in under 3 hours as allotted for every visit. A second visit is a must. It enhances one’s thinking capability and imparts knowledge and awareness about nature, all while entertaining in a fun and unique way. A museum with a difference – MuSO
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