VietNamNet Bridge – Children from around Southeast Asia will play together in an exciting and action-packed two-day festival entitled Befriend Southeast Asia at the Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology in Ha Noi this weekend.

The event is timed to help celebrate International Children's Day on June 1.

The festival will give children from Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Cambodia and Viet Nam a chance to introduce their cultures through music and dance, folk games and workshops. Museum visitors will be able to partake in a wide variety of folk games such as "walking on coconut shells" (from Laos, Thailand and Indonesia), the "pebble board game" (Indonesia, Philippines and Viet Nam), "jumping over hands and feet" (Myanmar, Philippines and Viet Nam), "pick-up-sticks" (Philippines and Viet Nam), "tug-of-war" (Thailand and Viet Nam) and "spinning tops" (Malaysia, Indonesia and Viet Nam).

Children will also take part in workshops guiding them in how to make toys using traditional methods and materials, such as toys made from leaves (grasshoppers, fish and flowers), bamboo puppets, animals made from rolled paper, and a workshop on traditional paper fans presented by craftsmen from Chang Son Commune in Ha Noi's Thach That District.

Kids will also play games designed to help them learn about the national flags, cultural heritage and currencies of Southeast Asian countries, and traditional puzzles and games involving trees, fruits, flowers and animals.

Children will also have a chance to be photographed in the traditional costumes of the various countries in Southeast Asia. By learning through play, the children will enhance their cultural knowledge and improve their initiative and creativity, said museum official Le Vu Hang. The festival has received assistance from the embassies of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News