A tot plays with a digital painting exhibit at the Magic Bean House in Beijing. [Photo:CRIENGLISH.com]

On International Children's Day, Beijing's Magic Bean House was bustling with energetic, curious youngsters engaging in "play with a purpose".

The Magic Bean House near Chaoyang Park's west gate is currently the only American-style children's museum in China. While most children's educational programs in China rely on listening and memorization, the Magic Bean House encourages children to learn through constructive play.

"We think the most important thing for kids is the ability to manipulate stuff with their hands," said Zhang Li, Magic Bean House's founder.

Zhang discovered children's museums during a two-year stay in New York City. She became such a fan that each time she traveled to a new city, she would take her children to see the children's museum.

"When we got back to China in 2008, we tried to take them to some places like those museums, but we couldn't find anything comparable," Zhang said. "So, we thought it might be a good thing to start in China, to bring something different, something really for the kids, where they can learn something by themselves."

Because the concept of a children's museum was new in China, Zhang hired Jack Rouse Associates, the premier children's museum designers in the U.S. to design a children's museum for Beijing. The Magic Bean House opened its doors at the beginning of 2010.

Children's museums aim to help children learn about the world around them by engaging them in hands-on exhibits and role-playing. The most important part of the design and construction process is testing. Children and adults view the world differently, so predicting how a child will interact with equipment can be difficult.

"You need a lot of testing to see if its educational objectives are realized or not," Zhang said. "Sometimes it's not; you can design it one way, but kids don't play that way. Then you have to rebuild the exhibit."