We are continuing the “Museum of Communities” project, co-financed by the Erasmus + programme of the European Union.
Together with the Gödöllő Royal Palace and the Italian non-governmental organisation Stazione Utopia, we exchange knowledge and experiences as well as train and teach how to encourage local communities gathered around museums to engage in voluntary work and how to talk about cultural, natural and historical heritage in an interesting manner. Together with our colleagues from Hungary and Italy, we have created a publicly available educational tool – the story cube that supports volunteers and educators in learning how to build a unique story, organise arguments, build independent judgments about the object or phenomenon in question, while incorporating their own stories and experiences.
Activities implemented as part of the project:
- International Learning, Teaching, Training (LTT) meetings, during which a group of experts from Wilanów, Gödöllő and Florence selected in the programme exchanges good practice and then trains one another in areas such as working with volunteers and immigrants as well as creating an engaged community around institutions. Four meetings: two in Warsaw and two in Florence and Gödöllő, respectively, have been held during the course of the project.
- Transnational Project Meetings (TPMs) in each of the participating organisations help us implement our planned activities effectively.
- Developing an educational tool, known as the story cube. The tool supports the adult education personnel in contacting the local community and engaging it in activities related to the voluntary programme.
- An online seminar to discuss the experiences we have gained and disseminate the educational tool we have developed is to be held in January 2023.
- Writing a series of articles on informal adult education and engaging the local community in the activities of institutions. Feel free to check out the materials on the Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe (EPALE): Local community engagement in museum programs: practices, experiences and challenges and Też tak chcę!
Story cube – a new educational tool
As part of the Erasmus+ project, “Museum of Communities”, along with our partners from the Gödöllő Royal Palace and the non-governmental organisation Stazione Utopia in Florence, we have created a new publicly available educational tool.
The story cube supports our work with volunteers in terms of creating engaging and unique stories about museum items.
We have designed not one but two cubes:
- senses cube, to support the process of experiencing objects through our senses;
- mind cube, to encourage users to think and reflect critically.
Story cubes allow the users to ask questions about heritage objects and look at them in a new manner, inspiring them to learn collectively and have a discussion. The tool may be used with both beginners and advanced storytellers. Story cubes are a universal solution to be used in adult education.
Download the detailed instructions and a graphic template for the story cubes:
The project has been co-financed by the European Commission from the Erasmus+ programme supporting strategic partnerships at a European level. Projects related to education and training promote the development of knowledge in Europe and make it possible to achieve the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy – sustainable development and social inclusion.
Project duration: December 2020 – March 2023
Project leader: Museum of King Jan III’s Palace in Wilanów
Project partners: Gödöllő Royal Palace, Non-governmental organisation Stazione Utopia
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