Udupi: Hasta Shilpa Trust, Manipal, has launched a new museum showcasing collection of toys and play things, many of which were traditionally used in different parts of southern Karnataka in the care of children from infancy onwards.

The museum is probably the first of its kind in India showcasing such a collection, which is inextricably linked to early childhood care and learning in earlier times. In addition, its modern curios are also bound to arouse curiosity.

The museum is housed at the newly restored Hasta Shilpa Heritage House, Manipal. Reopening Hasta Shilpa Heritage House is significant as it displays the formative stages of Shenoy’s ideas on Hasta Shilpa Heritage Village which now draws a steady number of visitors.

The Heritage House Museum of Toys and Playthings is conceived as a dedicated space for school-going children, which will soon become a vibrant learning space. Exhibitions, performances, story-telling sessions, summer schools and workshops appropriate for school-going children are also planned.

The Hasta Shilpa Trust was able to raise a substantial funds for the Museum from outside Dakshina Kannada to bring it to this stage. The Museum will be open only three days a week from November until the end of February, exclusively to groups of school children, only through advance booking by phone/email.