Explore the deep sea with Jules Verne at SCRF 2019

Nautilus mollusk is a sea creature known for its peculiar ability to propel itself through the water by use of air chambers inside its shell. The French author, Jules Verne, named his magnificent submarine after this amazing creature and its interior is one of the primary characters in his adventure novel, ’20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.’

The 11th edition of Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival is showcasing an interactive exhibition titled, ‘Voyage to the Deep,’ which has been developed, designed, and constructed by the Australian National Maritime Museum. Designed for 2-10 year-olds, the exhibition explores the workings of submarines, marine biology and habitats, diving equipment, as well as maritime archaeology.

Keeping in tune with the best antique science fiction, Verne goes to vast lengths to imagine how a submarine works. He drew inspiration from models he saw on display at the 1867 world fair in Paris, and scientific knowledge about electricity and battery power.

The exhibition blends fantasy and fact to encourage creativity, learning, and spark the real-life wonders of exploring the ocean. Keeping in line with the theme, ‘Explore Knowledge,’ the exhibition takes visitors to the centre of this fantasy world with a giant replica of Nautilus. Children can board the submarine and discover its inner world by taking control at the helm, peer through the periscope, crank the propeller, test out the bunks, and explore Caption Nemo’s mysterious salon.

The Nautilus is divided into five rooms: control room, navigation room, salon, living quarters, and engine room. In the control room you will find navigational devices, dive boots that are deceptively heavy, information about deep sea divers and their equipment. In the navigation room, children can access the conning tower, which allows the navigator to see in all directions and communicate with visitors in the control room.

The salon is where the treasure lies. Captain Nemo kept his musical pipe organ and many cases for the display of marine animals, shells, and other specimens that visitors can explore under the microscope. The living quarter is located in the stern of the ship, followed by the engine room. The journey into this exhibition is an ongoing history, geology, zoology, and geography lesson.

Verne imagined his Nautilus long before submarines were ever used to explore the sea. At that time, the idea of exploring the depths of the seas was still very much a fantasy, as much for inventors and authors. Visitors can explore the internal and external makeup of the ship until April 27 at Expo Sharjah Centre.

Football Workshops

Croatian football coach Rafael Spajic has travelled all the way to the 11th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Festival (SCRF 2019) to share his personal story and help young visitors become game ready.

At special workshops dedicated to explaining the techniques of becoming a good footballer, Spajic is dedicating separate training modules for fresh beginners and for those who’ve had some experience playing the game.  

Narrating his personal journey in football, which began when his parents decided to move from Switzerland to Croatia, Spajic noted: “I tried to be good at football to attract friends because children always want to be close to those who can play the game well and know some good tricks with the ball.”

Keeping them focused

SCRF, which is running from 17-27 April 2019, at the Expo Centre Sharjah, has gone beyond being a book exhibition and developed into an integrated event that contributes to enriching the knowledge of visitors with science, literature and sports, and garners the participation of organisations and centres dedicated to children.

Children’s authors from around the world debunked the theory that special literary devices were required while writing for children and that it is a unique craft. At a Cultural Activities session organised at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival 2019, four writers – Nikki Sheehan from the UK, Ramendra Kumar from India, John Coy from the US and Dubai Abulhoul from UAE – opined that it was writing from the heart that mattered more than any literary sleight of hand to hold children’s attention.

“There is a school of thought that you should go down to the level of the child when writing for them,” said Ramendra Kumar, who is an associate at a public sector company by day who writes ‘at all other times’. He’s written 35 books so far that have been translated into 29 languages and won many awards. “The fact is that you should rise up to their level. Never be patronising with them, they will see through you immediately.”

Dubai Abulhoul, who published her first book at 14 and has since written a series on djinns, said: “As a child I used to hate books that portrayed children as paragons of virtue. Even then I knew greys were an important part of life. So naturally, when I started writing for children, I did not set out to tell them what was right and wrong. Never insult their intelligence. They can, and do figure it out for themselves. What I try to (write) is something funny and strong.”