***Advertorial Blog for darts, Doncaster Community Arts***
We were asked to pop along to check out a brand new exhibition that opens today at The Point in Doncaster Town Centre.
A fun and interactive exhibition for families, it is based on Wow! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood. Specially designed to appeal to families and especially under 5’s, there are lots of sensory and interactive elements and it is FREE!
The exhibition introduces colours and encourages children to be creative by playing with shapes, puppets, costumes and drawing.
We went through to the gallery, which is at the back of the building. (Managed to get a parking spot just up the road outside – free for 2 hours)
We’d never read Wow! Said the Owl, so the first thing we did was get comfy and read it. There are seats and bean bags, mats, a tent etc. This included me reading it aloud with one mini Mumbler acting it out in the costumes and the other doing it as a puppet show! So lots of fun…the areas are immediately engaging and the story was lovely. Although the exhibition is perfect for under 5’s, my 8 year old has always loved dressing up and role play, so she loved this. She is an enthusiastic reader, so she spent some time reading to herself too.
After we had read Wow! Said the Owl and also a couple of other books, using the costumes to be bats, rabbits and other creatures, the kids wanted to explore some of the interactive things.
As you can see from the photos, there were lots of things to keep them entertained. I’d say we were there for about an hour and a half and they could have stayed longer as they got engrossed in the colouring (which is upstairs) and we went in the ‘story’ room area twice to read the book again.
Wow! Said The Owl is running at The Point until the 7th March and there is a special opportunity to meet the author and illustrator Tim Hopgood at a Family Workshop on February 18th! He’ll be showing you how to recreate some of the characters, including the little Owl. Find out more
We loved looking at the illustrations around the room and there was a wooden owl that had been carved for Tim and was the inspiration for the stories. There were spinny things and noisy things (mini mumbler below is holding a big shaker that sounds like rain…we used this in our story telling).
We really enjoyed it. I’ve mentioned before about the facilities at the Point. The cafe looks great, there are books for children to read there. We’d eaten before, but it’s a great place to enjoy for some activities in the morning with pre-schoolers and then have lunch.
We enjoyed watching the moving clock too, which is near the cafe – every hour little characters pull bells. There is also a curious table that i’d not noticed before, but the kids got under it. Someone came over and told us that was what it was designed for and it’s better if you’re small! So they were encouraged to lie under it and put their hands in the ‘feely’ holes and make music! So that was a discovery, that they also had fun with whilst there.
So pop to the Point and see the exhibition whilst it’s on 6th January – 7th March. It’s a great thing to do indoors whilst the weather isn’t great. We’d recommend it! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Entry is free and school/group visits are welcomed.
The Point, Home of darts, 16 South Parade, Doncaster, DN1 2DR
01302 341662
email darts@thepoint.org.uk
See more about Wow Said the Owl and other events and activities on the darts website
Disclosure: Although this is a sponsored blog post, the opinion i’ve expressed is my own. We really loved the exhibition and i’d never recommend something I didn’t think was great”
