Did you know us plushies go on Summer Camp every year? My sweet friend Hope has a camp site called Camp Hoop La Hoo Ray and we all go there have fun by the lake, eat delicious food, sing songs and tell stories by the camp fire, play sports and do Arts & Crafts. Me and lil Bamboo are the Arts & Crafts Camp Counselors and we do lots of fun projects. Me wanted to show you what we did at Camp this year. Maybe it fun for you to try some of these crafts too. 
O boy! Me totally forgot about these two museums me went to on me Summer vacation LAST YEAR. Me thought me was done after part 9 and then Berry said: ‘But we went to Kaap Skil with Frights and to the Juttersmuseum with Bamboo in the Summer!’ Also, she said it with a face palm, because she almost forgot about it too. Hihi. Silly huh that when it not a workthingy you can forget about these things so easily. Well… during our Summer vacation on the island of Texel we went to two museums and had a blast! So prepare for LOTS of fun pictures! (pictures by Berry de Nijs)
Me love going out to see some special art. At the beginning of the year Berry got invited for the opening of the International Light Art Festival in Zeist at a castle there called Slot Zeist. So… she grabbed me, her notebook and camera and we went to Zeist to check it out. It was AMAZING. Me love going out in the evening and the light art was soooo pretty! (pictures by Berry de Nijs)
Me think Vincent van Gogh is a beautiful artist. Me love the colours he used in his paintings and his own, dreamy style of painting. Did you know he was really good in making selfies? Yes me know we do it all the time with the camera on our phones. But when Vincent was alive, you only could make a selfie by painting yourself. Hihi. But artists also painted portraits of their artist friends. And that is exactly why Berry took me on a work thingy to the Van Gogh Museum last February. (pictures by Berry de Nijs)
O me COOKNESS! Me still no believe me saw me elephant buddies again last week! Berry and me went by train to The Hague and there they were. We went for cake and coffee to a café and me just had to hold them. Maybe a bit too tight, but it been a while. Me last saw them on our Madurodam trip (remember). That a loooong time ago. So this was AMAZING. Me was so happy, me almost forgot to eat cake. Almost that is, hihi. (pictures by Berry de Nijs)
The second workthingy of the year brought Berry and me to the Mauritshuis in The Hague. It one of me fave museums. They have a great collection and the coolest exhibits! This one was all about George Stubbs. A very famous British artist who was really in to horsies. You could say he was obsessed by horsies. He even made a whole book with anatomical studies of horsies. And paintings. He was the guy to call if you wanted a painting of your prizewinning pony. The best part? To just sit with Berry and look at the huge painting of Whistlejacket… Because, sometimes you just need to sit with your bestie in silence, enjoying something beautiful. (pictures by Berry de Nijs)
In February Berry was asked to visit Caravaggio & Bernini at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam so she could write about it for a magazine. Guess who tagged along… hihi yes. Me, ofcourse. And wow it was amazing. Me love the Rijksmuseum, because it so big and they have real special exhibits. Like this one about two amazing Italian artists. They say without these two artists Rembrandt would never have been such a huge painter!Yay! Part 10 is the first part of the 2020 At the Museum trips. And it was not even a work thingy. Berry wanted to see the exhibit very much and her dad too. So we hopped on the bike, than the train and went to Assen. It was so much fun. It already started outside the train station of Assen with a HUGE statue of a dog called Mannes. And then we saw the statue of Bartje, a very famous book character in the Netherlands and especially for the province of Drenthe. That was already very cool. The museum was cool too! (pictures by Berry de Nijs)
Museum Speelklok is a cute museum located in a church in the city of Utrecht. It is one of our favourite museums because it has all kinds of automated musical instruments. Like the pianola, that plays by itself. Or the windorgans from small to HUGE. And ofcourse clocks that play music and all kinds of musicboxes. Berry loved this place since she was little (she even has her own collection of musicboxes) and even did an internship at the educational department when she was in college. Last year we visited the museum for the sneak preview of a newly acquired musical clock that is fondly nicknamed as the Nightwatch under the clocks! (pictures by Berry de Nijs)
On August 27 2019 Berry had a very special workthingy in Leiden: the grand re-opening of Naturalis! Now, Naturalis is not an art museum, but it is a museum of natural history AND a science centre that show you all about life in the world. From fossils and dinosaurs to reproduction and more. It about history and about science. There even are scientists working at Naturalis every day. It very cool! Did you know 2019 was the Year of Rembrandt? Well it was! And a lot of museums worked together to show the best of Rembrandt and different parts of his life. It was awesome. Berry and me tried to see as much as we could! And we did! Some of the exhibits me already talked about in previous At the Museum editions. But some museum we only visited once last year, so me decided to dedicate this At the Museum part to the one time visits we made for the Rembrandt Year. So… we went to Leeuwarden and Amsterdam for different exhibits, and me loved it! (pictures by Berry de Nijs)
One of me fave museums in the Netherlands is the Mauritshuis in The Hague. Me have been there many times for Berry her work thingies. But… mostly we go and see a new exhibit at the special exhibit wing of the museum. This time we went with me buddies Keith and Richie to ALSO see the regular exhibits on 19 December 2019. And it was amazing! Me saw the girl with the pearl earring for the very first time! Awesome huh. Of course first Richie, Keith, Honeydrop and me went to have cake and coffee and tea… (pictures by Berry de Nijs)
Museum MORE is a Modern Art Museum in Gorssel, the Netherlands. Berry learned about them during the Vakantiebeurs and then she got invited for a work thingy. And me got to tag along, ofcourse. It was great. The road to it was nice, because me got to see a little of the Hanze cities. The museum was different from what me is used too, because normally we see old art and not so much modern art. It was a new but very fun experience. (pictures by Berry de Nijs)
In Amsterdam there is a museum dedicated to the Jewish History in the Netherlands. It is situated near City Hall at the Jewish Quarter. There is a temple, but also a kids museum with Dick Bruna art (you know him, he is nijntjes’ father) and… there are the stories about the Jewish community. Last year me visited the museum for work thingies of course, but it was also the first time. Berry heard of the museum thanks to the Rembrandt year – you will read more about that later in these series – and contacted them to get on the press relations list. And a few weeks later she got invited for the opening of an exhibit. So… we hopped on the train and enjoyed the first visit. We visited the museum twice and saw three different exhibits.
One of me fave museums in The Hague is De Mesdag Collectie (the Mesdag Collection). This museum is situated in the old museum and home of Hendrik Willem and Sientje Mesdag. They were really famous in their time. They collected AND made art. They held art parties and organised art exhibits. Their collection can be seen at this beautiful little museum! Also the museum hosts exhibitions that are related to the Mesdags. Last year me went twice to De Mesdag Collectie, one time for a workthingy and the second time with friends (you will read all about that on a Saturday). (pictures by Berry de Nijs)
October 25 2019 was a very special day, because me, Bamboo, Keith and Richie, Aapie and Abu would surprise Aapie’s mom for her birthday! Birthday parties are the best. You can hang out with your friends and have cake. Also we went out to see some art! Yes, we went to the Mesdag Collectie together. Awesome huh. Come along, me made loads of pictures that day to show you all! (pictures by Berry de Nijs)
Two trips on the same day? TWO? Yes! Two workthingies on the SAME DAY! Me was so excited! Me finally got to go to the Museum Prinsenhof Delft (because last time me went to Delft Frights went to the museum and me went to the spa…). It was for the Mojo Concerts exhibit opening. So that was very exciting. AND at the end of the afternoon we hopped in the car to Garderen for the opening of ‘t Veluws Zandsculpturenfestijn. Me know… that tough to pronounce… it the annual Sandsculpture exhibit. Me love it soooo much. Me hope me will be carved in sand one day… Enjoy the awesome pictures! (pictures by Berry de Nijs)
One of the Dutch most famous painters worldwide is Vincent van Gogh. He was a really gifted genius with his own style. That is why he has his own museum in the Netherlands: the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. They have lots of paintings made by Vincent, but they also host exhibits featuring other artists that in one way or the other were inspired by Vincent. Me usually get to visit the popular museum on Berry her work thingy days when there is a new exhibit. Did you know visitors are not allowed to take photos at the Van Gogh Museum? That is why it is extra special that press people on work thingies are allowed to take pictures! It makes these visits even more special. (pictures by Berry de Nijs)
Me love Berry her workthingies so much. This way she takes me places not many monsters get to see. Especially art museums. So… me starting a new Wednesday’s series in which me tell you more about the exhibits me saw in 2019 (me still have a lot of catching up to do) and hopefully 2020 soon. Me will show some art, tell you about the workthingies and more. Because me go to the same museums for these workthingies me is going to put them together per museum or art exhibit together. Fun huh. Well… me start with Mauritshuis in The Hague. It a lovely museum next to the Binnenhof, where our politicians meet. Mauritshuis is an historic building and used to be the house of this dude named Johan Maurits and was built in the 17th century. You can experience all kind of 17th century arts there. Like art from Rembrandt and Johannes Vermeer. (pictures made by Berry de Nijs)
A very big while back, me went to Schiphol with Berry to go and admire some gorgeous elephant statues that together make up an outdoor exhibit called The Elephant Parade. The Elephant Parade shows two different types of baby elephants, that are decorated by all kind of artists for a good cause. The parade is an initiativ of two Dutch men who visited an elephant hospital in Thailand en where they met the cute little Mosha who had needed a prosthetic leg. ‘WHY would an elephant need that?’ me hear you ask and me will answer that with: ‘Because she stepped on a landmine.’ So for several years now, The Elephant Parade asks your attention for helping the elephants at the hospital. Ofcourse by getting more awereness and by buying cute merchandise. Berry and me went to Schiphol so she could write a story about it. And when we learned the Elephant Parade would march through a mall in Delft last year, me just HAD to go and see them again. Ofcourse this time we went with our sweet elephant friends Richie and Keith and their human Tessa on March 15 2019. (pictures by Berry de Nijs)
