Tours of buildings, a LEGO® building workroom, an intergenerational game, and other activities were prepared for families with children as part of the accompanying program. In total the festival was visited by approx. 4,000 children.
Special Tours of Buildings
The festival offered ten fun guided tours to families with children along with the creative Worksheets for Little Architects, which aim to disclose architectural terms and topics to children in a fun way. Children could visit e.g. the more than a century old wooden boathouse in Podolí, which houses the Czech Yacht Club. Designed by architect Josef Fanta and built on the site of a former prison, the Hlávka Student Dormitory was also open to children. They could also go to the heart of the Old Town and explore one of the oldest churches found in this quarter – the Church of St. Anne. The recently reconstructed Podkovářská Premises in Vysočany, formerly used as a paint factory, offered printing machines, a graphic studio, and other ateliers for visit.
Children and adults alike could also take a tour of the Trmal Villa in Strašnice – designed by the famous Czech architect Jan Kotěra –, which led them to every room in the house. The department store Quadrio offered gorgeous views of the city from the roof; so did the ARA Palace located nearby, where people could also visit the interiors of a coworking space. Families with children were also invited to the Great Strahov Stadium, where they could listen to the captivating story of the stadium’s origin and its history, which included Sokol meetings, mass gymnastics events, concerts, and military parades. During the festival week, a special tour for children was also held at the New Stage of the National Theater, where children could explore the technical rooms and design their own costumes.
LEGO® Workroom
Similarly to the festival’s past editions, we opened a free construction workroom in collaboration with our partner Czech RepuBRICK in the festival’s information center at Hybernská Campus. Older children used white LEGO® bricks and their imagination to build buildings of various shapes and younger children could play with DUPLO bricks.
Programs for Children in the Open Buildings
Several buildings put their own efforts into creating a program for families with children. Young children were able to discover interesting places and hidden details of Zenger Transformer Station as part of a special tour organized by Kunsthalle Praha. At the Masaryk Railway Station motive power depot, children were able to learn about the functions of various railway equipment. The traditional Letná Fair took place on Sunday near the water tower in Letná. The company Albi prepared a magical reading, a science construction kit, an educational game, and a creative corner for families with children at the Karlín Palace. An art workshop was held at the GHMP Eco-Atelier at Troja Chateau. In front of the building of the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic, children could ride around a traffic playground. The Goethe-Institut and Czech National Agency for International Education and Research also offered programs for children. Children had the opportunity to try out the latest interactive games, learn about artificial intelligence, and experience the technologies of the future as part of the accompanying program at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Intergenerational game OPEN GENERATIONS: School of Life
As part of their semester course Animation of Culture, students of the Arts management program at the Prague University of Economics and Business prepared a fun intergenerational game School of Life for the festival in the districts of Dejvice and Suchdol. Children with parents or grandparents could pass through the buildings of educational institutions, share memories, and complete various interactive tasks.
