With the kids off of school, my husband and I try to schedule fun and educational activities in order to spend quality time together. However, it’s summertime in New Orleans and it’s hot, y’all. We find ourselves looking for as many air conditioned venues as possible and one of our go-to spots is the Louisiana Children’s Museum located at 420 Julia Street. My girls love visiting the museum especially to “make groceries” in the Little Winn-Dixie Grocery Store.
As you can imagine, we were all thrilled to be invited to take a sneak peek at the brand new Talk & Play Center last week. Inspired by the children’s book “The Little Cajun Red Riding Hood” by Berthe Amoss, the New Orleans native and renowned cardboard artist Jacques Duffourc created a “green” space made entirely of recycled cardboard and repurposed exhibit pieces.
The Talk & Play Center is not only visually appealing, but aims to strengthen the early childhood needs of language and literacy development. For children ages birth to eight, the second floor exhibit features the four key building blocks for language development: vocabulary, storytelling, phonetics and deciphering.
My daughters were both attracted to the Sapling Stage where they could use their imaginations by creating a puppet show. I was amazed at how outgoing my normally shy children were after they donned a puppet! My seven year old loved the Story Porch where loads of books are available along with quiet places to read while my four year old preferred to cook a good ol’ Cajun meal (complete with crawfish and crabs of course) in the Cajun Cottage. However, my girls (and even my hubby) raved about the tunnel through the Cypress roots which they navigated with provided flashlights!
Check out a complete schedule of activities at the Louisiana Children’s Museum online or call (504) 523-1357. Admission is $8.00 for adults and children over age 1.