Kivunim – The Municipal Organization for Recreation and Culture in Be'er Sheva
Kivunim was established with the idea that culture and recreation are a growing component in the lives of Be'er Sheva residents.
As a service to a major central Israeli metropolis, Kivunim offers Be'er Sheva and the entire area a bounty of varied and rich cultural activities alongside popular entertainment for youth and adult populations.
It can be said that Kivunim is actually one of the largest culture production and management companies in Israel.
“Along the way,” Kivunim finds time also to manage the youth, community, sports, immigration, and culture departments, as well as the performing arts center, the youth center, the department of municipal events, the Negev Museum of Art, the Negev Artist' Home, the Ethiopian Art Center, and more.
Amongst Kivunim’s many activities, you can also find projects and establishments that involve varied worlds of content:
> Cultural Events and Festivals
Kivunim produces dozens of cultural events and festivals each year, such as the Purim carnival, the White Night events, the family festival during Passover, summer events, the Wine Festival, Sukkot festivals, Athena (march for female athletes), the Be'er Sheva sport navigation championship, and additional large, cultural events that have become a tradition and that draw hundreds of visitors from all over Israel.
> The Performing Arts Center
A modern center with two sophisticated halls of 400 and 800 seats that hosts a series of theatre and classical music performances, pop and rock shows from Israel and abroad, and more.
> The Center for Youth – A Home for Local Artists
“The Center for Youth” in the Old City enables young musicians the opportunity to record and perform. The center provides the young people an advanced recording and television studio, as well as a performance hall. In recent years, the center has become a home for cultural, artistic, and musical events initiated by local and visiting artists from all over the country.
> The Negev Art Museum
The Negev Art Museum exhibits the best of Israeli artists.
> Fringe Theatre
The new Fringe Theatre in the Old City presents fringe theatre at its best. Many original theatre pieces that have received much praise and prestigious prizes are performed there every year.
> The Municipal Podium
The Be'er Sheva Podium is an educational, cultural, and social institution that offers every knowledge and cultural advocate the opportunity to take part in the wide and fascinating array of activities that include courses, trips, lectures, classes, concerts, dance performances, opera and theatre performances, and more.
> Sportive–Gym
The Sportive is an attractive gym that includes three studio halls with a variety of modern aerobic equipment and workout machines, weights, workshops, and a wide range of aerobic classes for women. In addition, the club offers expansive professional support that includes personal trainers, coaches, and dieticians that help promote a healthy lifestyle.
> Community Centers
In Be'er Sheva, there are 30 community centers that run a rich array of activities. More than 3,500 children and adults take part in the activities offered by the community centers. Last year, new and modern community centers that meet the highest standards joined the existing ones. Heading the community centers is the community department manager who is responsible, amongst other things, for the municipal summer day camps.
Alongside the community centers operate initiatives and enrichment programs for special populations and independent departments, amongst them the departments for Jewish and religious culture. Both these departments operate amongst the religious and orthodox populations, offering them activities that suit their lifestyle.
There are also three daycare centers in the Kivunim “children’s” network and dozens of afternoon childcare facilities that cater to thousands of children from preschool age to third grade, offering enrichment programs that include theatre shows and performances at subsidized prices.
> Startup Center
Startup is an empowerment center for young adults under the age of 35. The center works towards keeping the young people in town and preventing emigration away from Be'er Sheva. The center offers assistance and support in the fields of advanced studies, employment, and career building.
> Excellence Centers
Kivunim runs two excellence centers that encourage excellence from preschool to high-school in different areas, such as sports, physical education, leadership and social involvement, theatre, and the arts.
> Youth Movements
In the city, there are 13 youth movements that host an array of content and world perspectives. Twenty-eight branches operate in neighborhoods Alef, Bet, Gimel, Dalet, Hey, Vav, Tet, Yud Alef, Nachal Ashan, Nachal Beka, Neve Zeev, and Ramot. Altogether, more than 3,000 children and teenagers from 4th to 12th grade are active in the youth movements. Youth movement members are trained to be future youth movement guides.
In addition, there are groups of “shinshinim” in the city—young high school graduates that do their national service in the city and are active in the community and in the youth movements.
> The Center for Meaningful Service
Based on Zionistic principles that encourage enlisting in the IDF and national service, Kivunim established “The Center for Meaningful Service” that accompanies adolescents that plan to enlist to the army or national service.
> Sports
The city is developing, and with it, the quantity of sports facilities available to residents is also growing. Fitness parks and sports grounds are available for both training and pleasure. New training grounds offer sports groups and unions a professional place to practice. Unique sports facilities have been opened for the benefit of the residents, amongst them the Skate Park, the “Kunchia” Sports Hall, and the Toto Turner Soccer Stadium.
In addition, sports programs continue to be integrated into schools, including sports enterprises, sports trustees, different sports tournaments, and more. The center for excellence in sports and physical education is also expanding. The expansion of popular sports activities can be seen also in activities such as the Ikea Night Run and Athena, the sports week, the pensioner march, and more.
> Immigration
The Olim Department of Be'er Sheva helps absorb immigrants from all over the world who come to Be'er Sheva, their adopted, Israeli home. The department assists with the physical absorption of the immigrants—housing, employment, education, and more. It also helps these new immigrants to preserve their traditions through cultural events, classes, and enrichment activities. The department helps immigrants in a variety of areas, standing by them throughout the whole process of their absorption and integration
Kivunim offers many more activities and services.
We invite you to explore our site and find the best activity for you.
> Midbarium
The Midbarium, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mendel animal park, is a first of its kind space which offers a unique experience between the visitor and animals.
That’s achieved by: ● Diverse desert tour experiences ● Interactive playing experience. ● Direct encounter with the animals. ● Various innovative teaching methods.
At Midbarium, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mendel animal park, you'll be able to meet around 100 animal species. The animals in Midbarium are desert adapted species which are accustomed to the climate in Beer Sheva.
Midbarium is divided into four desert habitats: the canyon, the desert plains, the oasis and the savanna. In addition to a fifth area, the khan, which exhibits the connection point between people and the desert.
The animals park offers a special desert experience; presents the huge diversity of desert animals, their incredible adaptations to the different habitats and to the extreme desert conditions.
Midbarium advocates for learning through experiences, exploration and curiosity. The educational message of the park will focus on three ideas and will encourage taking personal responsibility: ● Desert Secrets ● Wildlife wonders ● The Environment and Myself
These topics were carefully chosen out of a desire to give our visitors a complete picture of the desert challenges, the climate crisis and their effect on wildlife and all of earth’s creatures. The chosen fields support the study programs of the Ministry of Education from kindergarten to high school.
Midbarium is a wildlife sanctuary. The animal park works in cooperation with the Nature and Parks Authority – the park’s clinic receives and treats injured wildlife found in the area by INPA rangers and good citizens. Animals that make a full recovery are released back into the wild and those that do not fully recover and have low chances of surviving in the wild are given a warm home in the Madbarium.
Midbarium is a member of the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA) and the Israeli Association of Zoos and has set itself the goal of being a leading park that works to protect wildlife and is committed to leading environmental change. The animal exhibits in the park were designed with maximum consideration of their needs and out of a desire to allow maximum proximity between the visitors and the animals – this while taking into account the required safety limits. The park joins the conservation programs led by the EAZA, out of a desire to preserve the biological diversity found in the desert.
The worldview of the park is based on the integration of populations and the creation of local communities and content. We believe that cooperation with content communities (nationally and internationally), dealing with the climate crisis and the importance of biological diversity, is significant in spreading the vision of Midbarium.
The park covers an area of 140 dunams and it offers a whole day recreation experience for all ages and sectors, including people with disabilities. 250 million NIS were invested in the park, and it constitutes the highest standard today in Israel for an educational experiential animal park.