Playing with the king

August 18, 2008 - 9:01 AM by David

Forget about children’s museums and discovery zones. In Israel, when you want to take your kid out for some afternoon activities, go back 2,000 years or so and play in some history.

The Tower of David Museum inside Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City, just opened up their new kids exhibition – called Fortress and Fantasy – and it’s a fun and educational way to get the young ones out of the house.

The museum is situated in the formidable restored Citadel, which looms over the Old City. Its origins go back to the Hasmonenan kings, a Jewish dynasty that reigned from the mid-2nd to the mid-1st centuries BCE, and fortified the area with an impressive wall and large watchtowers. Built on through successive periods of Roman, Christian and Muslim, Crusader, Mamluk and Turkish (am I leaving anyone out?) rule, the site eventually became known as the Tower of David, despite King David having nothing to do with it.

The museum opened in 1989, the chambers of the citadel were converted into exhibition rooms, and the Crusader hall became the venue for changing exhibits connected to Jerusalem and its history.

My seven-year-old son got into the spirit of exploring the tunnels, checking out the moats, turrets and climbing to the top of the tower for a the amazing view of the Old City and beyond. The new exhibition in the Crusader hall features a bunch of cool, interactive stations that are tangentially connected to the virtual world of castles, myths and fantasies.

Technology developed by the Israeli startup EYECLICK, uses cameras and special sensors activated by both hands and feet, which allows interactive multimedia to coordinate video content with the movement of the kids. If anything, the group we were with was more into the games than the history aspect – a natural outcome for kids who spend most of their time at a keyboard.

A final station outside featured a hands-on Playmobil area for the kids to build their own castles and knights. But my son – a Leggo snob - turned his head away, saying there were only cars and accessories available, and not the raw material to build a real castle.

An ‘ice choco’ quickly remedied his sour mood, and we ended the day walking through the swanky, outdoor Mamilla mall, also built out of a slice of history. Just another extraodinary afternoon in Jerusalem.

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