ABU DHABI // On Thursday night, Richard and Judith Dagonate brought their five-year-old daughter, Bianca, to the capital's Marina Mall. Bianca learned how to make a paper hat, and at the same time soaked up a little aeronautics. She was one of the throngs of children who, each evening over the course of Ramadan, will be introduced to the wonders of science in a show starring the characters from Sesame Street.
"She is so busy she doesn't have time to talk," said Mr Dagonate. "She was so happy to see the Sesame Street characters and it was a really good way for them learn about the history of flying." For 30 minutes, Bianca and the other children learnt about the history of flight, starting with flying insects and birds before moving on to hot air balloons, gliders and jets. The young visitors were then allowed to fly a model aeroplane around the mall before a photo opportunity with Elmo.
In addition to learning about flight, the youngsters could also enjoy a peek into a storytelling corner and an area where they could build little projects such as hats and paper planes. The event, Reach for the Sky, aims to delight and educate children by explaining everything from how rockets work to how birds fly. On Thursday night, about 100 children got a chance to touch and play with some model rockets while Bert and Ernie taught them some basic astronomy.
Ibrahim Mohammad Shabbad from Abu Dhabi said it was great for his six-year-old daughter, Fatima, to learn about flight, rockets and astronomy. "Children are very smart and can pick things up very quickly. Here they are having fun and learning a lot. I think I will be here for at least an hour. It looks like they are not going anywhere anytime soon," he smiled. Mohammad Ahmed brought his three children, Dana, six, Khalifa, five, and his youngest son Abdullah, four. "We heard about it on the radio and thought it would be a very good idea to bring the children down here.
"There is so much going on here for them and they are all really enjoying it." There was even a small cinema showing classic episodes of the Sesame Street television show. Sponsored by Mubadala Aerospace, the nightly educational workshops start at 9.30pm and have been organised by the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy and the Sesame Workshop. @Email:eharnan@thenational.ae
