Exhibition: WOW! Said the Owl at Clifton Park Museum, Rotherham
- Aug 1, 2019
- 3 min read
One of the things that struck me most when I became a mother was how children’s enthusiasm for the world around them can be so infectious. Many of us get to a point in adulthood where, bogged down with life, we forget to stop to appreciate things. Things like the beauty of a sunset, the calming sound of rainfall or the sight of a butterfly on a summer’s day. I was no different, but being with Ketchup and Mustard, and observing them view the world with such awe and wonder has taught me to slow down, pause and appreciate the small things in life that we often overlook.
For me, the owl in Tim Hopgood’s “Wow! Said the Owl” (and its sequel “Wow! It’s Night Time”) epitomises this enthusiasm that children possess as she gives up her sleep and stays awake to marvel at the colours and sights she sees in the beauty of the day.
We first discovered this book when Ketchup was a baby, and the heart-warming story with its adorable protagonist and beautifully colourful illustrations meant it was an instant hit in our home. It is one of a few books I never tire of reading to them so I was overjoyed to hear that an exhibition in its honour was coming to town at the Clifton Park Museum in Rotherham!
We have been to visit twice so far - once with friends and once with just the kids and me - and each time the children have insisted on going to the ground floor first, where the museum’s permanent exhibits are located; the first time we visited I was pleasantly surprised to find that instead of running this as an isolated exhibition, the main idea of the book had been incorporated into the museum's existing displays with these "WOW" signs dotted around – a great way of getting young children thinking about the concept of colour and a nice warm-up to the exhibition itself.
As we made our way upstairs, a museum attendant handed us clipboards with a "WOW Said the Owl" trail sheet on. Be sure to ask for one of these as it was a good way to get the children thinking about what they saw and they enjoyed putting the clues together.
Ketchup and Mustard erupted into excited shrieks as we got to the top of the stairs and were greeted by this familiar sight of Hopgood’s owl in her tree. As well as featuring this beautiful image, the opening section also had butterfly artwork done by school children and a wooden owl made by Tim Hopgood's grandfather which was the inspiration behind the main character in the book.
There was lots to get stuck into - the first room had a dressing-up corner where the children took turns at being the sun, clouds, rainbow and, of course, the owl herself. There was an activity table set up where we got to try our hands at leaf-rubbing, a cabinet showcasing various translations of the book and my personal favourite, this huge stunning fabric owl!
The next room had a colourful reading corner set up where we sat down to read the two “WOW!” books, as well as a couple of others by Hopgood. We stumbled upon some wonderful rain-sound making props to re-enact the moment in the book where the owl witnesses the rain. There was a colour-matching activity, a tepee for children to get cosy in and a blackboard version of the owl’s tree for your little owls to write their names on.
The exhibition is advertised as being for under-5s so with Ketchup being 7 and Mustard at 5 years-old, I wasn’t expecting content that would keep them engaged for long; however, not only did we spend almost two hours there, but they both enjoyed it enough to want to return a second time. I wouldn’t, therefore, let the recommended age put you off taking older fans of the book as there are certain features which would appeal to some older children as well - such as playing dressing-up, enjoying the books in the reading corner and finding the clues on the trail.
The exhibition is FREE to attend and is running until Sunday 8th September at Clifton Park Museum, Clifton Ln, Rotherham S65 2AA. A perfect bookery activity to enjoy this summer!
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