Lions, tigers and bears, oh my: Louvre Abu Dhabi hosts display for kids
From sly foxes to ferocious bears and faithful puppies, animals are an important part of the stories every child grows up with. A new exhibition at Louvre Abu Dhabi’s children’s museum explores how different cultures have perceived animals in folklore, art and everyday life.
The top hit, by far, is an interactive display that projects shadows of children onto the wall and turns them into animals: hey presto! A bouncing cacophony of kids, given bunny ears and antlers, lion tails and big horse backsides.
Taking work from its permanent collection, the children’s museum enlivens the pieces in welcoming ways, from puzzles to interactive storytelling and technology. As in the main galleries, a strong theme is how different cultures converge and diverge – a brass rooster from Nigeria shows how the bird was used to signal power in the 18th century kingdom of Benin, while a gemellion – a bowl used for washing your hands in Europe’s Middle Ages – invokes power with a painted lion.
The children’s museum is pitched at ages six and above – though it must be said that the majority of youngsters always seem under that threshold. A few displays for the under sixes wouldn’t go amiss.
Animals: Between Real and Imaginary runs until July 2019. Louvre Abu Dhabi is free for those 12 years and under. General admission for adults is Dh60.