More than half a million school children visit the National Museums of Kenya to learn about cultural heritage.
NMK director Fredrick Manthi said the organisation has very strong programmes for public education.
He spoke on Saturday during the commemoration of the International Museum Day.
“Through these programmes, we engage with schools from all over the country. For instance, every single year, the Nairobi National Museums, Kenya's flagship museum, which is also the National Museum, hosts more than 500,000 school children,” Manthi said.
International Museums Day was officially established by the International Council of Museums in 1977.
The day was established to create an annual event that would further the aspirations and efforts of museums world-over.
It also seeks to cement museums' importance in cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of peace among people.
This year’s theme was Museums for Education and Research.
Manthi said the theme speaks to the goals for which museums are established.
Some museums have become spaces, where innovative research and creativity are domiciled.
“This sits very well with the push by the leadership of this country for the citizenry to embrace technology (such as going digital in all our services) in order to optimise output,” Manthi said.
NMK’s education section, which hosted the International Museums Day, plays a key role in public engagement and education.
Some of the programmes in the section have been tailored to address specific issues and topics taught in the education curriculum.
The Friday event featured veteran artist Leonard Kateete, who presided over activities such as paintings, mosaics and paper art.
“Most museums were created based on pre-historic and past artifacts that defined society. Right now, we would like our society or our country to move on to the different direction creativity is headed," Katete, a retired teacher said.
"This will be the leading factor in our growth to catch up with the developed countries.”
He said creativity, in the current era, includes digital innovation and not only art.
“Everything that makes our lives comfortable revolves around creativity," Kateete said.
"I believe that with computers and technologies, we can do many things, be it scientific or artistic. So these children are being spiked by the idea of creativity.”
He said creativity makes lives better and comes up with new ideas that are not strictly paintings but practical ones that contribute to the growth of the nation.
Kateete said the new CBC curriculum will play a key role in enhancing practicability in society.
NMK’s acting head of education, Caleb Oduol, said art is one of the pillars for the museum apart from history, culture and nature.
“We picked art because we want to help young children develop their artistic talent and also explore their creative minds,” he said.
Oduol said they are complementing classroom activities in schools.
“We are trying to inspire these young talents to be artists in future because they can use this as a hobby and also as a means of earning a living.”
According to the International Council of Museums, more than 37,000 museums participated in the event in about 158 countries and territories last year.
