Children's City
Holon, Israel's ninth largest city located just 15 minutes southeast of Tel Aviv, has succeeded in fully establishing itself as "the children's city"
Holon's unique cultural facilities, exceptional events, centers of enrichment and children-friendly environmental design provide a veritable cornucopia of things to do for the younger set, in all age ranges. The fun-filled city is currently celebrating its 75th birthday, and if the old adage 'we are only as old as we feel' applies, Holon is a gleeful wild child ready to play.
Hannah Hertzman, General Director of the Holon Municipality and the driving force behind a variety of unique projects in Holon says, "My vision of the 'Children's City' is the North Star in the light, and we have been operating for more than two decades. We focus on and invest in the children, exposing them to knowledge and culture, raising their curiosity, enriching their world by implementing and including values in experiential and fun ways. All the while thinking what is next, and what else is missing."
Ganei Sipur (Story Gardens)
One of the city's most interesting cultural initiatives is the Ganei Sipur project, launched more than a decade ago by Mayor Motti Sasson and City Manager Hana Hertzman, which has made a major contribution to establishing Holon as the 'Children's City'. The project's centerpieces are the environmental sculptures inspired by beloved children's stories and created by various artists and located in parks all around the city.
The parks and statues are expressions of children's love for these classic tales while giving the younger set a taste of fine art and sculpture, adding a new dimension to the parks without detracting from their other contributions: exposure to nature, active play, sporting activities and a meeting place for various ages. Similar projects can be found scattered around the world: Efteling in Holland, artist Nikki de Saint Phalle's project in Italy, the story corners in Copenhagen's Tivoli and the sculptures at Eurodisney outside Paris.
See: Holon Municipality
Tif and Taf Center
A unique and innovative facility especially for parents and children from infancy to age three, Tif and Taf is an amazing museum for the toddlers, created by an experienced professional team of educators, psychologists and other academic experts headed by Prof. Pnina Klein. Experienced educators guide parents and their children through the facility, providing reliable professional advice on almost everything that's connected to child development.
The atmosphere is relaxed and pleasant, and the environment is carefully and innovatively designed to suit infant and toddler development – encouraging parent-child interaction in unique and impressive play facilities and varied open areas. There's consultations and directions for every parent and their child, play groups, lectures, discussions, social gatherings for parents, stories and classes. Warning: Your youngsters won't want to leave!
Tif And Taf Center, 109 Hankin St, Holon. 072-2412888
Children's Museum
Thrilling adventures filled with imagination and an educational added value are in store for children following routes through the museum. Each route shadows a particular character, on a path where "don't touch" doesn't exist and kids are invited to feel, grab, clutch and embrace their surroundings. In addition, the unconventional exhibit 'Dialogue in the Dark' is a place to discover a hidden world, and perhaps ourselves as well.
Blind guides lead visitors through spaces that are pitch black, but thoughtfully designed: the feeling of nature, parks, cities, markets, cafes and more are all present in this special exhibit. The twist? The blind and those with impaired vision play an active part in the mission: To "open the eyes" of visitors in complete darkness, with the aim of showing that their world isn't meager, just different. The exhibition takes visitors into a concealed but rich sensory world and creates a prejudice-free encounter between people who can see and people who cannot. The popular exhibition has been shown around the world for more than 20 years.
See: Children's Museum
Mediatheque Theater (a creative cultural center)
The Holon Mediatheque is a creative cultural center consisting of the Mediatheque Theater, the Mediatheque Public Library, Holon Cinematheque, the Israeli Cartoon Museum and Design Museum Holon. The theater has three auditoriums, a performing arts studio, and Dereh Hateatron, an experiential pathway for visitors to the stage and behind the scenes, enabling a glimpse into the creative world of the theater. Plays are chosen for their potential influence on young audiences, as an experience which shapes and develops them.
Mediatheque Theater, 6 Golda Meir Blvd, Holon. See: Mediatheque
The Israeli Museum of Caricature and Comics
Lovers of the medium, Unite! This is the only Israeli museum for admirers of the genre, providing an answer in the image of changing exhibitions, workshops and much more. Parents who visit the museum will enjoy the exploration of current affairs in Israel and the rest of the world (politics, culture, holidays, elections and more). Meanwhile, the younger set is stimulated by naive illustrations, comics and caricatures that will introduce them to the complex and excting world of visual art.
The Israeli Museum of Caricature and Comics, 61 Weizmann St, Holon. 03-6521849. See: The Israeli Cartoon Museum