Play With Your Birds Analysis

Play With Your Birds: Where Children’s Creativity Soars

The Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) is an incredible facility that offers art exhibits and experiences for people of all ages, including some particularly unique spaces for children. One site in particular, titled Play With Your Birds, is designed by Rosanna Raymond and gives children the opportunity to explore the origins of the traditional Tahitian garment, the tiputa, as well as providing the resources for visitors to create their own (Queensland Government, 2015). After spending time analysing this space using the keywords designed by Ceppi & Zini (1998) as a guide, it becomes clear why this space is so attractive for people of all ages and how it creates a learning environment attends

The seatings is positioned around the perimeter of the room, which creates a multigenerational setting (refer to Appendix 4). Parents and carers can watch over their children in an unobtrusive way and feel comfortable and welcomed in the space. This also creates a sense of community in a non-hierarchical way. Although there is a small instruction guide subtly placed on the wall (refer to Appendix 5), the children are not being explicitly directed or bossed around. They are in control of their activity, which stimulates their creativity and does not limit their imagination (Cheung, 2012). Even the presence of the GOMA staff is subtle and mainly there for keeping the space welcoming as oppose to giving orders. Furthermore, the layout of the room allows for flexible learning. Children can work independently or collaboratively. The space is designed with enough patterned tables that children can find their own, private space and complete the activity through self-learning, however, they have also positioned them to face each other to encourage collaboration and with enough room for children to sit beside each other to complete their work. This ensures the space attends to a variety of children’s learning needs. Furthermore, because of the positioning of the patterned tables and the feeling of safety within the space, the children can narrate their learning to their parents, carers or even to new acquaintances. The children can wear the art they have created and show others, the children feel their work is valued which encourages further narrations to others. Another strength of being able to wear their art is it adds to the osmosis of the space, as the children feel connected to the Tahitian society and their traditions. Kist (2013) describes the importance of connecting early year’s children to the