New under 5s play space ‘Tiny Tyneside’ to open at Discovery Museum 12 April
“It’s wonderful to be able to offer something new in Discovery Museum for our smallest visitors."
Discovery Museum’s new free play space Tiny Tyneside for children under five will open in time for Easter, from Saturday 12 April.
Tiny Tyneside will be a fun, safe place for young children to play, learn and explore the themes of the museum including transport, inventions and bridges, all adapted for little visitors to enjoy.
Supported by Discovery Museum’s Early Years partner Lumo, Tiny Tyneside is funded by The Sir James Knott Trust, The Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust, The Reece Foundation, The Wolfson Foundation
and North Standard. Tiny Tyneside is also supported by donors to The Big Give Tiny Tyneside Appeal which was generously match-funded by Lumo.
Keith Merrin, Director of North East Museums said:
“It’s wonderful to be able to offer something new in Discovery Museum for our smallest visitors. Tiny Tyneside is a colourful, interactive hands-on space specially created to inspire young children.
“I’d like to extend a huge thank you to all of our funders and also to Lumo for match funding our appeal, as North East Museums’ Early Years partner.”
"Tiny Tyneside is a fantastic initiative that will provide a fun, safe, and educational space for young children to explore themes like transport, engineering, and innovation"
Martijn Gilbert, Managing Director at Lumo, said:
“At Lumo, we are passionate about connecting people and communities, and that starts from the very earliest years.
"Tiny Tyneside is a fantastic initiative that will provide a fun, safe, and educational space for young children to explore themes like transport, engineering, and innovation; all key to our region’s proud heritage. As the region's leader in green travel, we're delighted to support this project, helping to ensure that future generations can learn, play, and be inspired.”
Jo Curry, Manager, Sir James Knott Trust said:
“Sir James Knott Trust is delighted to see Tiny Tyneside come to fruition at The Discovery Museum. It will be a great place for families to play and learn, and we might be inspiring the next generation of inventors and historians.”
Leader of Newcastle City Council, Cllr Karen Kilgour who is officially opening the space said:
“Learning through play is so important for children’s development so it is wonderful to see Discovery Museum introducing this new play space. It will not only entertain and inspire the city’s youngest visitors but also educate them about Tyneside's rich heritage in a fun and engaging way. I'm sure it will become a firm favourite among families who visit the city.”
Tiny Tyneside has examples of interactive transport for young children to sit on, move or manipulate
Featuring a floor vinyl representing the River Tyne, Tiny Tyneside has examples of interactive transport for young children to sit on, move or manipulate with a mini-Turbinia, a mini-Mauretania with a moveable crane, and sit-on NISSAN Leaf and Armstrong Whitworth cars.
There’ll be interactive play tables and fidget wall installations with gears for little hands to turn, trains on wooden tracks and a hand cranked circuit to light a bulb.
There’ll be a wall with different jobs past and present with hats to try on, and an activity to build the Tyne Bridge out of foam blocks.
Children will also be able to create transport and animal shapes on the shadow wall. The space will have seating for adults and allocated buggy parking.
The museum’s Turbinia Café has recently been updated with a colourful and uplifting play corner for young children with comfy chairs for guardians.
Discovery Museum has a popular programme for children under five called Tiny Sparks, with weekly term time storytime and craft sessions, and biannual Tiny Sparks Takeovers where young children get to ‘takeover’ the first floor of the museum.
