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July 7th, 2008
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Child's Play

Urban diversions

By Elisabeth Amante Heys
For The Prague Post
June 13th, 2007 issue

Park & Play

Caters to children 2–12, but offers infant care with advance notice
Admission: From 149 Kč per hour for one child to 300 Kč per hour for three
Hours: Mon.–Fri. 8 a.m.–7 p.m., Sat. and Sun. 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
Tel.: 736 484 284
Web: www.parkandplay.cz
Muzeum dětské kresby
Admission: Children 6–15, 20 Kč;
students, 30 Kč; adults, 40 Kč
Hours: Tues.–Sun. 1–6 p.m.
Web: www.muzeumuzaby.cz
Grow Your Own
Marigold and four o'clock seeds are
available at many supermarkets and garden supply stores. For other ideas on easy-to-grow plants, check
www.eartheasy.com

Looking for ways to keep young kids happy in Prague, a city said to be short on child-friendly activities? Don’t believe it. Prague is becoming more child-friendly every day.
Take the establishment of Park & Play. This new facility combines old-fashioned preschool with new-fangled babysitting. Located on the first floor (upstairs rear) of the Černá růže shopping center (Na Příkopě 12, Prague 1–New Town), Park & Play lets harried moms deposit children ages 2–12 in a kid-friendly setting complete with a large outdoor play yard. There’s a ball pen and playhouse, lots of books, pillows and toys, musical activities, a dance program and a kid-size kitchen for cooking lessons for older tykes. Parents can stay for yoga and Pilates lessons in the same room while the kids are being entertained, or head out for lunch and shopping.
Park & Play prides itself on individualized attention, says manager Kristýna Borsodi, so there are usually just 10 to 15 children in the center at one time, with a limit of 25. All activities are offered in both English and Czech, and a summer day camp is scheduled to begin in July. (For more, see the interview with owner Vladimíra Šlégrová in the May 30 issue of The Prague Post.)
After some fun at Park & Play, take the five-minute walk to the Museum of Child Art (U radnice 13, Prague 1–Old Town). You’ve probably passed it 1,000 times without realizing it was there, right next to Ambiente Brasileiro and its green frog doorway. Duck into the archway to your right and follow the short alley to the tiny museum.
Muzeum dětské kresby, as it’s known in Czech, warehouses 15,000 pieces of artwork produced by children nationwide. You might catch a glimpse of the first example as you travel through the narrow alley and up the stairs: a large papier maché frog with orange bottle-cap toes! His brethren are inside, including a chunky gray elephant with a shower-head trunk. But before you enter, you’ll have to ring the bell or knock to be let in.
Exhibitions at the museum change monthly, so it’s a good idea to check the Web site, which will have an English translation soon, according to curator Dagmar Minaryková. As of this writing, there was an exhibition of toys, including dolls, carriages and stuffed animals.
All the children’s art in the collection was judged top in its category during competitions the museum sponsors several times throughout the year. The museum will exhibit works from this permanent collection, with a focus on musical themes running June 18–July 1. Beginning July 1, Muzeum dětské kresby will feature an exhibit of knit toys. And Sundays, children are invited to paint their own masterpieces.
As your child-in-Prague day comes to a close, head to a gardening store or your nearest Albert for a package of flower seeds, specifically marigolds or four o’clocks, which are sure to bloom by early September if you get them started now.
In Czech, marigolds are called aksamitník, or look for the Latin name, tagetes patula. Four o’clocks can also be found by their Latin equivalent: mirabilis jalapa. No child should miss out on the opportunity to watch these fool-proof seeds bloom into amazing flowering plants, grown indoors or out, using tubs or lightweight plastic pots with drainage holes. Both require only minimal care, but don’t let your toddler consume the four o’clock seeds. They’re poisonous, although only mildly toxic.  

Elisabeth Amante Heys can be reached at tempo@praguepost.com


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