DIT (Do it Together)
Design a Toy Party
Have your party at Turtlewings and each participant will receive a DIY-blank baby Qee. (5 different ones to choose from) The afternoon will be spent having fun customizing your own baby Qee with your friends, as well as, enjoying, cupcakes and refreshments.
Date: Reservation required (only Saturday)
Ages: 4+
Time: 14:00-16:30
A unique celebration that not only honors the individual, but the world in which he or she inhabits. Spend the afternoon at Turtlewings with 6-10 of your closest friends.
Fee: 280€ includes invitations for up to 10, design project, cup cakes and refreshments.
(learn more…)
May 23rd’s Brussels International Broadcast
TVbrussels came a few weeks ago and filmed Turtlewings and the things we are up to. It was a great experience. Watch it here! (Turtlewings 4 mins of fame is about 5:40 min into the broadcast just after Frey Wille.)
Find out more about our Tuesday’s workshops featured on TVbrussels here!
David Garcia Studio inaugurated this prize winning installation in September 2009. Combining simple geometry with playful intentions, the 6 elements were designed to enhance play and inspire two different age groups of a newly built kinder-garden in Drejens, Denmark. Shifts in scale and direction, and variations in space, from intimate to shared and open, define the social qualities of the interventions. But it is the simplicity of the compositions, which allow for open interpretations, that has received so many compliments and have proven to be an instant hit with children. The installation was carried out in collaboration with artist Pernille Worsøe and designer Martin Larsen. The works were manufactured by boat builders Årøsund Bådværft.
We are constantly on the look out for others who are creating great spaces and experiences for children. It is both inspiring and motivating each time we find something. This is a wonderful example, the Elise Island project is the transformation of a children psychiatric clinic in Berlin, Germany.
“The clinic is called ‘Evangelisches Konigin Elisabeth Krankenhaus’ (KEH) and has created a holistic dreamland for young patients with psychiatric issues. Each room was designed in terms of shape, color, materials, light and air, with the aim of promoting a positive atmosphere of security and shelter, empowering children’s imagination and positive emotions.” Excerpts taken from MOOD: architecture+design+interior
Designed by Dan Pearlman, a Berlin based studio whom working mainly in the realm of brands development and brand architecture, this was their first project in this area. There solution gives such a air of calm, quite and sense of being in nature that it is no doubt that the space is very soothing for the people interacting with it.
“The new concept meets the demands of young patients and therapeutical staff at the same time. The obligations of therapeutic professionals and the emotional needs of young patients are now balanced. And the response has been positive: According to KEH psychiatrists and doctors, the young patients are more calm and sensitive and the level of aggression amongst adolescents has been significantly decreased.”
While in London this weekend I took the opportunity to increase our Turtlewings library. I was excited to find this book “How to Have a Beautiful Mind” by Edward de Bono. He is the mind behind the “Six Thinking Hats” and a leading authority in the field of creative thinking and the direct teaching of thinking skills. I have only gotten about halfway through the book, but have already filled the margins with notes and doodles. If you haven’t picked up one of his books yet, please do and let us know what you think. Here is a one quote from this book I have highlighted.
“We find that the direct teaching of ‘thinking’ as a skill in schools has a marked effect on self-esteem and behaviour in deprived areas. Youngsters, now feel able to take control of their lives and to make decisions, choices and plans. In affluent areas the effect is more on the school work than on behaviour.” (Pg. 32 Chapter 3: How to Differ)
