The Go-Kids kid reporters paid a visit to Museum de Fundatie Heino. Fancy finding out what they thought of it? Then do read on!
How the sculpture garden at Museum de Fundatie in Heino is being transformed into a lovely discovery trail
Museum de Fundatie Heino, housed in Het Nijenhuis Castle, is one of the most beautiful museums in the wider area. The site, set amidst lush greenery in the village of Heino near Zwolle, is a real gem, with the castle at its heart, which immediately captures the imagination. Most children have already learnt about castles and knights at school, and now they get to visit a real castle!
It actually consists of three parts:
- The castle
- The sculpture garden
- The museum café
On arrival, we are given a warm welcome and the ‘Knight Mikkel’ treasure hunt is explained to us using a booklet. The children are keen to get going straight away, so we start in the sculpture gardens. These stretch all the way round the castle, making for a lovely little walking route.
Out and about with Mikkel
The discovery trail is a fun booklet containing five questions about the sculptures in the garden. We won’t give them all away, but the questions aren’t about the sculptures or general knowledge – they’re about you. How would you move? What makes you happy? How would you comfort someone? Children are actually at the heart of this treasure hunt, and that’s what makes it extra special. Our kid reporters certainly knew how to comfort someone: with an ice cream! There’s no set route; the aim is simply to find the sculptures featured in the booklet. That makes it very accessible for younger children too.
The sculpture garden: feel free to look, feel free to touch
Most of the sculptures are works of art that you’re not allowed to touch or climb on. But there’s also one artwork right in the middle of the garden – a lovely bright red one – which the children are more than welcome to climb and scramble all over. Unfortunately, this sculpture had just been given a fresh coat of paint, so we can’t show you a photo of it. You’ll just have to go and see it for yourself one day :). In the sculpture garden, children can burn off their energy, let their imaginations run wild and discover something about art and culture – and as a parent, that’s bound to make you happy too.
The castle
After this lovely walk and treasure hunt through the gardens surrounding the castle and its moat, it’s time to explore the castle itself. There’s always something magical about walking through a building where, centuries ago, people used to walk about in costumes that you now only see at carnival or fancy dress parties. How different life was back then. And you can see that reflected in the many paintings hanging in all the different rooms. We explored the castle on our own, but if you’re in a group, you can also hire a museum guide to give you a tour. The museum guide pretends to be the ‘baroness’ of the castle, and you’ll come out with a stomach ache from laughing so much. It’s a bit more expensive, mind you, but highly recommended for a group or school trip, for example.
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