MoPA gets ready to play in Melbourne

THE Museum of Play and Art (MoPA) has revealed more details about its second museum which is slated to open in Melbourne this December.

Work is already under way on the site in Bay Road, Sandringham, turning 2,500 square metres of existing space into a fully immersive learning and creative experience for children aged one to eight.

Mindful of the needs and desires of modern families, the site has been designed to be ultra-comfortable and safe for toddlers, but also to showcase a huge range of new exhibitions and activations built on the foundations of play-based learning.

MoPA is using a $277,000 grant from the federal government’s Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) program, acknowledging the museum’s reputation as a popular art and cultural institution that delivers education for families with young children.

The RISE grants recognise arts organisations that deliver great service to their communities while delivering on their cultural promise and creating employment opportunities.

Launching in Geelong’s Wintergarden building in January 2020, just 10 weeks before the pandemic shut down the entire Australian arts and entertainment industry, MoPA has established itself as an important cultural destination for children and their families, welcoming well over 100,000 visitors since opening.

Directors Billie Georgieff and Thomas Mahon say their museum in Melbourne will deliver the same experience Geelong is famous for and so much more.

“We are incredibly grateful to receive this RISE grant, an acknowledgment of MoPA’s contribution to the young arts and cultural scene in regional Victoria,” Mr Mahon said.

“With the Melbourne museum already well under way, the funding has added significant scale to our plans; we’re just so excited to bring our unique early-learning experience to Melbourne’s south-east.”

MoPA has reopened following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in regional Victoria and Mr Mahon said some families were extremely keen to take advantage, with the venue hosting 12 parties over the weekend of August 15-16 alone.

Families visiting MoPA are encouraged to explore, create, play and experiment together with all the exhibits and spaces in the museum.

The exhibits on display at MoPA’s museums (in both Geelong and Melbourne) include elements such as climbing structures carefully tailored to support early independence and healthy dis-attachment, soft-play areas with both physical and cognitive developmental stages built into its design, immersive art walls that enable families to “become” the art and physically “jump in” to the framed pieces, and even a real vintage car that families can paint together.

For more information, head to MoPA’s website.