In its third week, ‘Our Summer is Culture and Creativity’ summer camp for children and adolescents carries a wide range of contemporary activities inspired by Emirati cultural heritage to nourish participants’ curiosity, enrich their abilities to learn and create, and enhance the values of heritage in them.

Following two weeks of arts and literature at the camp, the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) will take participants during the third week on a rich journey of local and international heritage, taking place from 15 to 21 August. At Al Safa Art & Design Library, children from 6 to 12 years old will enjoy a series of popular stories, such as ‘Khattaf Rafai’ by Dubai Abulhoul, ‘Baba Zayed and His Love for Heritage’ by Salha Ghobash, and ‘Ghadira and the Magical Taki’ by Fatima Al Nuaimi, in addition to stories and competitions about proverbs, accompanied by workshops, where they will learn about traditional tools and crafts.  The children will also embark on a virtual tour of the Dubai Museum, learn basic researching methods through the Al Mandoos game, and explore the many Emirati and international flavours via the ‘Friends Through Food’ workshop.

Over at the Hatta Library, children will learn about tales recounting how the ancestors lived and ate in the past as well as about their use of folk medicines to treat diseases, through myths, folk tales, and various entertaining and interactive heritage competitions. Participants will also look forward to enjoying a virtual tour of Hatta during this week that would introduce them to its touristic and heritage places, which is full of tourist attractions and beautiful nature elements.

This week will also focus on enabling children (3 years and above) to improve their discipline and develop their mental arithmetic skills through an English session, during which they will learn to use the abacus at Umm Suqeim, Al Mankhool and Al Twar libraries. In addition, Umm Suqeim Library for children aged 6 to 12 years has prepared a story-reading session with the story ‘Sleeping with Scorpions’ written by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, as well as a tour of Dubai museums, a cooking workshop, and heritage workshops in which children will learn about ‘Talli’ craft and jewelry and about traditional Emirati clothing. At Al Mankhool Library, children will explore world heritage in a reading session of tales from China, accompanied by a dragon-drawing workshop. The children will also have the opportunity to enter the world of architecture in Dubai as a global city based on authentic Emirati values through the workshop ‘Designing Dubai: City of the Future.’

Children at Al Twar Library will learn about the roles of hope and positivity when facing challenges and creating the future in the ‘Hope Always Wins’ workshop, during which they will learn about some of the challenges the ancestors had to endure and how they overcame them. The children will also enjoy another workshop inspired from the wisdom of the ancestors as well as enjoy folk games and will conclude their week with a pottery-colouring workshop that will reinforce the importance of their handicrafts and how they can be combined with the arts.

At Al Rashidiya Library, children will explore the world of traditional games in the United Arab Emirates. They will also enjoy reading sessions for ‘My Little World Series’ written by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Through two virtual workshops in English, the children will learn more about the world of falcons and camels through an interesting story. They will also enrich their knowledge of the colours of the Emirati flag and the story of the Emirati people and their unique culture.

At the Hor Al Anz Library, children will enjoy heritage competitions and short films about the UAE, in addition to learning how to draw on shells, which will help them express their artistic creativity by exploiting natural resources. The children will also learn about Emirati cuisine, it’s delicious dishes and how to cook them as well as enrich their knowledge about the customs and heritage of different peoples of the world in the ‘International Day of the Peoples’ workshop.

To register, please visit the libraries’ Instagram account @dubaipubliclibraries.