Erbil Citadel Children’s Interpretation Center

Starting in 2021, CRAST participated as a partner in the development and setting up of the Erbil Citadel Children’s Interpretation Center, a project by World Monuments Fund (WMF) and the High Commission for Erbil Citadel Revitalization (HCECR).

The Center is hosted in a Heritage Building Complex that was purposely restored by WMF in cooperation with HCECR in a previous stage of the project. Each one of the main rooms of the complex is equipped with a specially designed tool, offering an interactive experience for children to explore Erbil’s history, archaeology, culture, and heritage:

- Two parallel timelines providing a visual aid for students and educators to focus on historical events of the history of Erbil within the broader context of the history of Mesopotamia. The upper timeline is provided with movable small boards recounting significant moments in the history of Erbil that children can try to associate with the right historical period, while the illustrations of the lower one are puzzle pieces illustrating iconic findings from Southern Mesopotamia that younger children can move, play with and closely observe.

- A 3D model of the Citadel carved from Lebanese cedar wood to capture children’s attention through the miniaturization of the complex network of streets, alleys and buildings of the Citadel. The model stands on a base provided with six drawers that children can open to gain information on the more ancient phases of the history of the site, which are hidden under the surface of the Citadel.

- A giant wooden 3D puzzle replicating a traditional house that children can play with and dismantle to explore the inside of the rooms and the architectural details.

The Center is equipped with a cafeteria and an educational room where children can draw, play board games, read a comic book on the formation of a tell, and watch an animated video on the history of the Citadel.

If you want to have a virtual tour of the Center, click the link below:

https://qaflab.com/vr/childrens-interpretation-center/

Works at the Citadel have been made possible, in part, by the U.S. Embassy Baghdad and the U.S. Consulate General Erbil.