House of Wisdom inspires kids to explore new avenues
House of Wisdom booth inspires visitors of all ages to embrace valuable lessons promoting the significance of critical thinking, self-reliance, sustainable living, and environmental stewardship
The House of Wisdom booth at the 15th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival stands as a vibrant destination, drawing young visitors eager to explore, enhance skills, and foster critical and creative thinking, thus unlocking their potential.
Under the theme of “Hayy Bin Yaqdhan: A Journey of Enlightenment,” the booth inspires visitors of all ages to embrace valuable lessons promoting the significance of critical thinking, self-reliance, sustainable living, and environmental stewardship.
Through a myriad of activities, events, and storytelling inspired by the timeless narrative of the Andalusian philosopher Ibn Tufayl, it endeavours to instil these principles into the hearts and minds of its audience.
Children can enjoy activities like cube sculpting and puzzle-solving to assemble the image of the gazelle, a central character in the story of Hayy Bin Yaqdhan, along with other activities offering them an immersive experience.
The booth further enhances the visitors’ interaction with the narrative by providing children and literature enthusiasts the opportunity to explore rare, printed copies of the novel in Arabic, English, German, and French. This unique opportunity allows them to delve into one of the finest intellectual works in the history of Arabic literature.
Sustainability: Call it the impact of the changing climate, or perhaps the persistent messaging from the government regarding the necessity to alter our lifestyles to safeguard the Earth, sustainability has entered the collective conscience of people, young and old.
The Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival too has been playing an incredible role in building young consciousnesses with regular workshops at their “Go Sustainable pavilion.”
On Friday, it hosted a workshop demonstrating how to construct a dwarf house using materials that would otherwise have been discarded as rubbish.
“The turnout for our workshops this season has been fantastic. Even today, I am surprised to see so many children returning to our workshop to make Dwarf House. These boys at the table are so acutely aware of the importance of recycling and reusing. I am impressed,” said Ismail Al Ahmad, a certified instructor, pointing at two 7-year-olds, Hamdan and Ahmed, who were deep into their craft, pasting brown paper on an empty popcorn tub.
Explaining the meaning of recycling, Hamdan said, “It is when we reuse waste to make new things instead of throwing them away and making a big mess on the Earth. We should not buy new things all the time because they come from factories, which produce a lot of CO2, which increases global warming in the atmosphere of the Earth.”
Ahmed nodded in agreement and jumped in to add, “I like the workshop because it is teaching me how to recycle.”
Beyond the educational aspect of the workshop, it also served as a masterclass in refining fine motor skills and fostering teamwork. Children as young as 7 deftly wielded hot glue guns, scissors, cello tape, and craft paper to transform refuse into beautiful knick knacks.
Another 8-year-old girl at the workshop was an enthusiastic participant who not only completed her project quickly but was also helping other girls.
The Go Sustainable section hosts eight workshops every day, designed to impart knowledge to children about the significance of recycling. The 15th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival draws to a close on May 12.
Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival is championing sustainability, unveiling a series of workshops designed to inspire children of all ages to significantly reduce their household waste and turn it into pieces of art and useful items. These sessions not only introduce the principles of the circular economy but also empower participants to creatively repurpose everyday refuse into something useful.
“Recycling is important to save the planet and reduce pollution. They teach us at school,” shared nine-year-old Mohammed, a participant in two workshops who is keen to continue his eco-educational journey. He gleefully described transforming a milk carton into a birdhouse, hoping to attract nesting pigeons to his balcony. “I hope the pigeons lay some eggs in my birdhouse.”