Turn Your Room Into ... What You Miss the Most About the City!

I moved to NYC at the age of 24. On one of her visits, my aunt looked me in the eye and genuinely asked me, “Why? Why do you choose to live in NYC? In a small apartment, always busy, always feeling behind!”

I paused, “It must be the city’s energy. I love going to galleries, museums, walking around the city, meeting new people, and honestly discovering something new at every corner.” She looked at me being puzzled, “you moved to NYC for the museums?!” 

Fast forward 12 years from then, I found myself locked in an apartment, dreaming of going to work, museums, galleries, restaurants, hanging out with New Yorkers - I miss NYC while living in it. 

In response to the pandemic, one of the first things GIANT did was to offer free consultation to parents - you see, I now have a PhD in education, years of experience designing learning experiences for children of all ages, and work with an amazing team of educators, artists, and designers. Parents took us up on it, and one of the surprises for us was to learn that children really miss going to museums! “The MET, Natural History Museum, Children Museum of the Arts. “My son has accepted that school is closed, but how can even museums be closed?!” one parent shared. 

The truth is that for us New Yorkers, museums remind us of a familiar space, somewhere we go to get inspired, reflect, and just be. Kids and adults. It gives us a sense of belonging to the city we’re proud to call home. 

So here is what we did: we started a free daily workshop series in collaboration with renowned artist and children’s book author, Hervé Tullet, to help families turn their rooms into a museum! In less than a week more than 2000 children registered, with all the energy and excitement you can imagine.

Every day at 3:30pm, we have kids, siblings, parents, grandparents joining us from around the world, listening to music, drawing and painting to the beats and rhythm of the music, learning new techniques from Herve and putting together their museum day by day.  

I learned and created alongside them, built a mini-museum in a shoebox, and invited my husband for a visit. Assembled another one under our dining table, and now I am thinking of building a third one on our balcony! Once again, kids reminded me how we can be playful and enjoy the moment. They reminded me about the magic of pretend play, and how it can actually make us happy and empowered. They showed me once again, why they need to get the chance to build the world we all live in! 

What else do kids miss? Playgrounds! That’s going to be the theme of our next series: helping kids turn their rooms into a playland. 

So what does your family miss about the city? Turn your rooms into ... that! Write to us and let us know what you miss. You could inspire our next series! 

We’d also love for you to join our daily free workshop series and Turn Your Rooms into Museums, Playlands, …. You name it! Throughout these series, not only do you get a chance to connect back to the city you love, but also you get to enjoy the therapeutic power of arts and crafts, making, and getting lost in music. Of course, your kids will learn many valuable lessons along the way, and most importantly you’ll make memories that last much longer than you can imagine. 

I’m not gonna lie - I can’t wait to open our doors at The GIANT Room and celebrate with a collaborative exhibition of all things we’ve made at home during this pandemic. Until then, we continue to stay home, dream, build, get inspired by our community online, and share virtually for now! 

Much love, 

The GIANT Team