Jollibee, Museum Foundation tie up for NEWSEUM

A great man once said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”True story there , sir Pablo Picasso.

As a mom of 3, I find it a challenge in this digital day and age , to expose my kids beyond the internet.
Certainly there are more things in life than gadgets and computers.
I felt the intense need of exposing my children to art, culture and history through museums.
When I was a kid, the idea of spending hours at a museum or art gallery was enough for me. It brings me calmness and peace whenever I'm on that spot.
Time and time again, I find myself offering the same “we should go to the museum” or "let's take a tour at the post office!" pleas to my kids but not a surefire way to my kids' hearts.

Worry no more, parents, for there is one of a kind collaboration that took place not so long ago, and I was there to witness it.
They said that every masterpiece starts in a white canvass and as an idea takes shape, the canvass is no longer empty.

That masterpiece is the Newseum -- the collaboration project between The Museum Foundation and Jollibee corporation that aims to educate young children about the importance of a visit in the museum during their free time and spending their weekends there.

Who would have thought that the two entirely different entities can share a common goal?

Signing a memorandum between Jollibee food Corp. and The Museum Foundation of the Phils Inc.

It was indeed a momentous event for the Museum Foundation as it is their first time to undertake such unique joint project with the country's leading fast food chain.
Who else can attract children to spend an afternoon in a museum than the Jollibee mascot.
Imagine the Jollibee mascot posing beside a priceless works of Juan Luna, encouraging the children with their parents to go and visit a museum.

After months of working out the details, they are finally launching the program after the exchange of ideas with the Vice President for Marketing of Jollibee, Mr. Harvey Ong.
Through all of his experience and all his exposures to museums during his stay in Taiwan, the idea was gained.
He would tour his visitors from the Philippines or from Singapore to Taiwan National Museum and the concept was probably forming inside his mind, the rest is history.

The partnership is to make the children aware of the precious art and culture and the wealth of knowledge to be found inside a museum.
They believe that the important aspect of holistic development is through arts and culture appreciation.
That we'll have to see in the coming months how successful this is and I really hope more museums will engage and participate in enriching the children's lives with art and culture. This will also determine whether Jollibee will continue with this collaboration.

They have plans to expand the project to all Jollibee branches across the country and find new ways to engage and reach out the all Jollibee kids.

As long as there are Filipino Jollibee kids who are passionate about art and the support is still there, the project will continue.

Newseum has the potential to change the lives of children for the better through art.
It will have the platform to reach the children who will benefit from this project the most.
Through this Neueum project, it will help parents raise happy and well-rounded individuals.

At a Jollibee Kiddie party, all the children will be given activity sheets featuring the masterpieces of Filipino Artists such as

National Artist Arturo Luz
Master Fernando Zobel
Master Mauro "MALANG" Santos
Sculptor Peter De Guzman
Illustrator Sharry Bobadilla

The partner museums include

The Ateneo Art Gallery
Ayala Museum
Lopez Museum and Library
The art collection of the Far Eastern University
Museo Pambata

Coloring those sheets will help the children with their creativity and open their eyes to the world of art.

The coloring sheets will feature coupons that the children can use as tickets to gain free entry into their partner museums.

This will also make them eligible to participate in a special raffle wherein the top prize is a Jollibee Kiddie party worth 6,000 pesos! Awesome!

Speaking of awesome, did you know that it was initially called Project Awesome?

Because in reality, it is indeed an awesome project and the possibilities are also awesome. But they changed it to Newseum after, not sure about the reason there though.

They will be piloting the project for the next 3 months, hoping that more museums can participate, not just in Manila, but throughout the country.

In that way, more children will love to visit museums and appreciate art.

When the children walk the halls of the said museums, they will of course experience the extraordinary. They will walk among the works of the greatest artists of our time. It will give them happiness that those were crafted by hands the same as theirs. I would be very happy happy if my kids participate in this project.

I'm sure they will be inspired that they too can create such masterpieces because of all the works they get to see.

Here are some of the activity sheets that your kids can enjoy :)

Bagong Taon by Arturo Luz

The activity sheet includes a box of 4 crayons, the description of the work, the location map where it is found in the Ateneo Art Gallery, and the coupon.

For The Boy with a Kite by Fernando Zobel activity sheet, will include the description of the work, the location of where it is found in the Ayala Museum, and the coupon.

For the Rural Scene Fiesta by Mauro "MALANG" Santos activity sheet includes a box of 4 crayons, description of work, the location of where the work is found inside Lopez Museum and Library, and the coupon.

For the Karagatan or Under the sea by the Museo Pambata , children will learn more about the Philippine marine life. They will be given coloring books.

For the Art Collection of Far Eastern University, a Sculpture of a Tamaraw in metal by Peter De Guzman, children can take photos of it and they will be given crayons and clay.