Kids Can Make Instruments, Hummus at Museum's Free Craft Days

Free Craft Sundays return to the Arab American National Museum this month, giving kids ages 6-12 the chance to experience elements of life as a new immigrant and have fun at the same time.

This set of Free Craft Sundays is based on the current AANM exhibition Little Syria, NY: An Immigrant Community’s Life & Legacy, on display through April 21. The exhibit is a trip back in time to the thriving lower Manhattan immigrant enclave of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, where author Kahlil Gibran lived and worked and where many Arab American businesses and institutions, such as churches and newspapers, got their start.

AANM educators lead all sessions; children must be accompanied by an adult in order to participate. Museum admission is free for those taking part in this program. Families must RSVP to Wisal Samaha at 313-624-0210 or rwsamaha@accesscommunity.org to reserve their child’s seat.

Here's a look at the lineup:

2-4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013: Peddlers trunks

Drawing inspiration from peddlers trunks in the exhibition and in the AANM permanent collection, children will transform a common everyday shoebox (provided) into a miniature peddlers trunk. A short presentation with a slide show and a brief visit to the Little Syria, NY gallery are included.

2-4 Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013: Storybooks

Following a short visit to the Little Syria, NY exhibition and a session with an interactive video game created by NYC’s Tenement Museum, kids will be inspired to imagine they are immigrants to the Little Syria neighborhood, and document their experiences in a storybook they write and decorate themselves.

2-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013: Musical instruments

After a short presentation that compares/contrasts Arabic musical instruments with Western instruments and a visit to the Music display in the AANM’s Community Courtyard, kids will make their own pie-pan tambourine, set of maracas or a mysterious-yet-fascinating “humming instrument."

2-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013: Hummus

Yum! Kids will learn how immigrants preserve and share their culture by maintaining food traditions from their homelands, by making and sampling the delicious chickpea-based spread known as hummus. Other foods featured in the Little Syria, NY exhibition will also be available for taste-testing.

The museum is located at 13624 Michigan Ave. in Dearborn. Learn more at www.arabamericanmuseum.org.