The Crnkovich Court, a unique place in the very center of Novalja, is not your garden variety kind of a palace. It is instead a courtyard of a 150 year old house once owned by the Crnković family. Until 1943 the house served as a boutique and a barber shop, but it was given a new lease on life in 2011 by the beloved Croatian childrens’ author Mladen Kushec, when the house passed on to his wife.

With the help of his family and a museum consultant Elena Dabo, Kushec turned the old shop into a charming private museum named Butiga where all the exhibits are various items and tools he found in the attic of the house that were once the inventory of the shop - an old ink pen with a stand, soap made of lard and an old ledger, among other things.. According to Kushec, his desire was to create a sort of a time machine that would take the visitors back to the old days and show them the old ways of life.

But it is the courtyard itself where all the action takes place. Kushec, who had devoted his life’s work to children, dipped once more into his imagination and created a happy world of creativity for children through a project of various arts & crafts and educational workshops that take place in the courtyard every summer.
During the course of 5 weeks children create their own radio shows and puppet shows, paint, weave, craft with various materials and learn about ecology and science through experiments under the supervision of experienced workshop leaders.

All workshops are free and available for children up to 12 years of age. While they are mostly designed for children between the ages of 7 - 12, children as young as 3 have participated in the version of the programme which has been adapted to their age.

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№13 of 25 places in Novalja
№1372 of 2178 places in Croatia
№3 of 5 museums and galleries in Novalja
№86 of 175 museums and galleries in Croatia