Planet Word: Igniting Minds with the Versatility of Language
By • July 11, 2024 0 546
Planet Word is fun!
If you want a way to connect words to pictures in a child’s mind, Planet Word has it. Through demonstration, performance, listening, watching, practice and speech, a tour through one of Washington, D.C.’s most interactive museums will ignite minds of all ages with the strength and versatility of WORDS.
Visit Planet Word at 925 13th Street, N.W. Located in the Franklin School, this museum adds to a strong history of education for that building, which has housed schools there since 1869. Walk-ins are welcome, but it can get crowded so be sure to sign up for an entrance ticket online at planetwordmuseum.org.
The Franklin School is part of the D.C. tapestry of old, grand buildings. After lying vacant and boarded up for years, it is now housing education in the form of Planet Word. Refreshed with a new mission, its stunning architectural details are embedded into the modern space with a sincere blend of old and new.
The vision of Planet Word is to increase literacy by engaging several senses to experience language and words.
“There should be a place to explore the power, fun and beauty of words,” Ann B. Friedman, the creator of Planet Word, decided. Planetwordmuseum.org reports that 32 million U.S. adults can’t read, and 37 percent of 4th graders can’t read at a basic level. Friedman wanted to help solve that problem by creating a way for words to become fun. She has succeeded.
Outside Planet Word’s front door is the Tree of Babel, which whispers to visitors in foreign words from all over the world.
The museum experience starts on the third floor, where a giant 22-foot-high electronic sculpture sits in the center of the room surrounded by computer tablets on pedestals. Each has a language ambassador and takes the visitor through a tour of one of 30 languages, with a demonstration and a chance to practice.
Visitors really enjoy themselves with lots of places to explore. Each room is a completely different visual experience.
A 22-foot-high word wall asks questions of visitors, and another room has framed screens discussing humor and AI. Examples of satire and parody with “Saturday Night Live” clips explain comedy concepts. There’s a library room that feels like a trip to Hogwarts with its blend of Dark Academia spiced up with modern electronics to draw the little reader from book to screen and back.
One room was a giant painting on three walls. Along the bottom were descriptive words. Using “brushes” you dip into the bucket to choose a certain word, like “spring.” Using a “brush,” a section of the picture could be “painted” to change it to match the word chosen.
Under your brush stroke, the painting changes to reflect the descriptive word you chose. I had to remind myself to let the younger attendees go first. With words like “surreal,” kids can see what that word means by watching cows in a pasture take on Salvatore Dali-like characteristics. The season or weather could be changed by using one of a dozen descriptive words.
One bright pink room with a disco ball was a karaoke lounge. It described songwriting techniques and let kids sing along with the music demonstration.
For children more interested in giving speeches, another exhibit sampled famous speeches and has a room where the visitor could practice themselves.
The experience was engaging and fun and there wasn’t a bored child or adult anywhere. Planet Word is great for elementary-aged children, and there is a special escape room for the 12 plus. Parents and grandparents will also learn something new. It was well worth the trip.
