Paula Lindo – Our histories, stories, present, future.

Play Mas!, the inaguuaral project of the Zum Zum interactive children’s museum, continues to run at 215 Belmont Circular Road, Belmont. The museum is a project of dancer and filmmaker Sonja Dumas.

“Children of any age need various ways of expressing themselves if they’re to grow into the best adults they can be.” That’s the motivation behind dancer, filmmaker and artist Sonja Dumas’  latest initiative, Play Mas! at the interactive Zum Zum children’s museum, located at 215 Belmont Circular Road, Belmont.

She said a space beyond school and home which gives children a place to express themselves should be a place “where they can discover something about themselves and the world through visual display and through play. The museum is big on both. There are several children’s museums around the world, and it’s an idea I’ve had for T&T for at least twenty years, and this year, when I got a lucky break in the form of a free space for two months, I just bit the bullet and went with it. The children can view the costumes on exhibit and can dress up in elements of traditional mas. There’s also an opportunity to create a miniature of an original costume from recycled materials.”

Dumas said her desire to keep the museum as indigenous as possible led to the choice of name. “I went back to language of the First Peoples of the region. From my research, the Taino nickname for “hummingbird” appears to be “Zum-Zum” and the actual Taino word is “colibri”. “Zum-Zum” is likely derived from the sound of the wings of the hummingbird. We have 17 species of hummingbirds in Trinidad and Tobago, and the island was once, and in some quarters still is, known as the Land of the Hummingbird – Iere  or Kairi. I felt that the name was the first step in making it a truly indigenous museum.”

She said the space is by definition a children’s museum, “which is an informal space where children can find visual expressions and representations of various phenomena and where they can also interact with the exhibits in the service of the development of their imagination. The interactive part is the critical difference between a traditional museum and a children’s museum, the former usually having a hands-off policy for all its displays. Play Mas!” is supported by the Ministry of Education as it supports certain aspects of the primary school curriculum.”

Dumas said the location is key to the success of the museum. “I got the free space in Belmont thanks to Holistic School, and it’s also a stone’s throw away from the Savannah, so I’m hoping to get Carnival visitors from there to come here. The space that houses the exhibition is a quaint little Belmont cottage from an entirely different era; that in itself is an education. Belmont is a place of great history.”

Dumas said Play Mas! is a pilot for a permanent museum. “I’m really hoping to make it a permanent space which presents various aspects of Trinidadian and Tobagonian /Caribbean phenomena so that children across future generations could benefit from the experience. For now, the exhibition is a pilot, but I’m on the hunt for a more permanent space, sponsorship and other resources that would make the project a sustainable, ongoing one. It would provide such a great support for learning in the classroom and for developing imagination, pride in one’s customs and culture, and independent thought.”

Play Mas! runs until March 12. Opening hours are Tuesday to Friday 10 am to 3 am and Saturday and Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm.  For more details email zumzummuseum@gmail.com. Children 12 and under must be supervised by an adult. Groups over five persons please call 729-5006 to book 48 hours in advance.