Mandela exhibit at Children's Museum takes care to connect kids with his childhood

An in-depth exhibit about Nelson Mandela that's traveling the world is now at The Children's Museum — with a special focus on helping kids understand the South African leader's childhood and fight against apartheid.

Produced by The Royal House of Mandela, Royal House of Mandela Investments and Round Room Live, "Mandela: The Official Exhibition" tells his story through personal items, photos, videos and other materials. Sections include his years growing up, time as a lawyer and activist, decades in prison, presidency and legacy.

The exhibit opened June 22 at The Children's Museum and will run through Jan. 20, 2025. Last week, on July 18 — which is Mandela's birthday and an internationally honored day — the museum celebrated his legacy and brought in a group of Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, who offered their perspectives.

Here are a few of the exhibit's highlights and impact. It is recommended for ages 12 and up.

Connecting with kids through Mandela's childhood

Making sure that visiting kids connect with Mandela's childhood was especially important to The Children's Museum, said Aaron Bonds, the museum's director of actor interpretation and theater. Mandela was born in 1918 into a royal family of the AbaThembu people in the Eastern Cape, but a white magistrate took the family's title and power during a land dispute. The young boy grew up performing many chores, including shepherding, milking and cleaning animal pens.

After Mandela's father died when he was 12, the AbaThembu regent took him in and made sure he received a vibrant education. These lessons — along with those from the Methodist church and from tribal leaders about the land that was taken from his people — shaped Mandela.

Bonds said he hopes visiting kids will find commonalities with the legendary leader and understand how his childhood shaped his accomplishments.

"It allows our children to sort of think a little bit about comparing that to their life. 'Oh, I have chores like that. Oh, I have an aunt or uncle that looks after me,'" Bonds said. "It helps for Nelson Mandela to not necessarily be this larger-than-life figure that they're learning about but just another human, and that's really important."

Finding the right balance between age-appropriate displays and showing the truth behind the racism Mandela fought was paramount, Bonds said.

"It was created for an adult audience, and so we had to be really mindful about what we were going to display," Bonds said. "We worked really hard to honor the initial insight of the group that worked to create this."

"Mandela: Through His Own Words," a daily live performance, also gives children and their families a way to discuss his life and difficult topics.

How personal belongings and signs tell the story

Much of the exhibit's emotion is conveyed through Mandela's personal effects. Among those are the regent's books, ceremonial items like the uhadi bowed musical instrument and part of Mandela's original handwritten autobiography, which contributed to "Long Walk to Freedom." Photos of his family and letters to his children throughout different periods of his life are shown.

"Whenever I feel lonely I look at your photo, which is always in front of me," reads a letter Mandela wrote to his daughters while in prison.

The exhibit also displays the racist and discriminatory signs that populated apartheid South Africa. A bench stamped with the words "Europeans only" sits near historic photos of white women on the same type of seat. A lit-up sign reads "Europeans only. Drive-In dry cleaners."

One photo shows a couple holding each other under a "Native bus stop" sign, while another shows Mandela burning his passbook — issued as part of an identification system that controlled Africans' movements — as an act of rebellion.

Objects also demonstrate how apartheid was defeated. Especially noteworthy is Mandela's stately beige trench coat that he often sported as a president and statesman while traveling after his 1990 release from prison.

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Mandela's legacy helps new generation solve present-day problems

For fellow Helina Teklu, who is from Ethiopia, the exhibit was deeply moving. She said she knew about colonization's effects but had not experienced them herself.

"We always hear it — like apartheid, colonization, everything — but it's different when you actually see it. Today, it hit me," Teklu, who is based in Addis Ababa, told IndyStar at the July 18 event. "Coming here and seeing actually what Mandela did for this people and (South Africa) ... I almost broke down into tears."

Teklu is the CEO and founder of Seed Balls Ethiopia, which manufactures marble-sized balls that protect seeds so they can germinate, thus helping to replant forests and increase farmers' productivity. Connecting with other African fellows and following Mandela's legacy is offering a larger opportunity to fight food insecurity, she said.

"Now I'm planning on expanding to different African countries as well, and Mandela has opened that up for me," Teklu said. "(Collaboration is) one thing I always thought about but never knew how to go about it. Because it's not fair for Ethiopia just to work on food security for just ourselves and be successful. I can't see the rest of Africa being hungry while we are eating."

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Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or [email protected]. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @domenicareports.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Children's Museum's Mandela exhibit helps kids see his background