New, "Playing at the Port": An Active Museum Courtyard at the National Maritime Museum, Haifa

The main courtyard of the National Maritime Museum is getting a makeover. After being inactive for many years, a festive event was held this week to launch the new courtyard at the National Maritime Museum, bearing the name "Playing at the Port" – an active courtyard similar to those found in leading maritime museums around the world.

The courtyard is a joint project of the Israel Ports Company (IPC) and Haifa Museums. This is a follow-up project to the film featured in a special museum complex, "We Are Building a Port Here," starring Idan Alterman. The initiative was also supported by the Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites in Israel.

The courtyard offers a unique maritime museum experience for children, families, and student groups. It is an active courtyard where visitors are invited, through play, hands-on experience, and imagination, to embark on a journey exploring port work, experiencing a variety of operations that take place within it, including cranes, containers, "sea" sailing, and more. Through this, visitors are encouraged to learn about the importance of ports to the State of Israel and their role in connecting Israel to the world.

The courtyard was established under the leadership of the Education Department of Haifa Museums, headed by Adina Perlman Vardi, and constitutes a new pillar in the museum's educational activities and a new attraction for visitors. The courtyard will be open in time for the Tishrei holidays, anticipating a large audience of visitors. The project management and courtyard design were carried out by designer Tali Bichler. Professional consultation was provided by the curator of the National Maritime Museum, Adi Shlach.

In the courtyard, children are invited to wear hard hats, load containers onto boats, transport containers just like in a port, dress up in various port roles, understand how ports contribute to Israel's economy, and more—all in an interactive and fun way, with careful consideration given to ensuring it serves as a museum courtyard that also provides information and enrichment, rather than just a playground. The courtyard is accessible to children and people with physical disabilities.

The courtyard is located right at the entrance to the National Maritime Museum, beneath the bridge that visitors walk across when entering the museum. It has been designed in a colorful and magnificent way so that it is also visible to pedestrians walking along Allenby Boulevard near the Maritime Museum.

The National Maritime Museum

Address: 198 Allenby Road, Haifa

https://www.nmm.org.il/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=1018141381&gbraid=0AAAAAD3flIMRxa9UO8ELuD4VMl6abGnzp&gclid=Cj0KCQjwh4TVBhCWARIsAG0czmo5j6fbFcRc90Z_dltE2VyhuD5zuoB2srfS-6twiQd7mv3LzGPa0okaAna0EALw_wcB

(Photo: Raanan Cohen)