Bibliovaligia – A Suitcase full of Stories (2023 – )
Since its first edition in 2023, Mudesc has participated in Bibliovaligia, an event organised by the NPL network in collaboration with the Municipality of Macerata. The initiative offers shared reading sessions of quality books for children aged 0 to 6, as well as their parents and grandparents. These sessions will take place in the city’s main cultural sites and museums, including the Civic Museums of Palazzo Buonaccorsi, the University of Macerata Museum, the Civic Museum of Natural History and the Ecomuseum of Villa Ficana. New additions to the programme include the Lauro Rossi Theatre and the Helvia Recina archaeological site. Nati per Leggere (Born to Read) is a national programme that encourages reading aloud to children from birth. Regularly reading to infant children, including audiobooks that encourage activity and familiarity with sounds and instruments, has a positive influence on their intellectual, linguistic, emotional and relational development, with significant effects throughout adulthood.
Macerata Festival of the Humanities (2023 – )
Since its first edition in 2023, MUDESC has participated in the Festival delle Humanities organized by the University of Macerata with the patronage of the Marche Region, the Municipality of Macerata, and with the contribution of Bper Banca, Simonelli Group, and Cucine Lube. The event is part of the dissemination activities of the “Vitality” Ecosystem Project, financed with specific funds from the Pnrr.
“Macerata Racconta” Book Festival (2016- )
Since 2016, the museum has been a permanent partner of the ‘Macerata Racconta’ festival (https://www.macerataracconta.it/), a book festival created and organised by the conTESTO cultural association in collaboration with the events department of the municipality of Macerata, with the support of the Marche region and the patronage of the university of Macerata, the Marche chamber of commerce and the province of Macerata. As an example, for the 12th edition dedicated to the theme of ‘Monsters’, the museum took part in the programme of initiatives aimed at training teachers and educators, as well as organising events for children, such as interactive readings.
Unimc for Inclusion (2017- )
Since 2017, the School Museum has participated in initiatives at the University of Macerata’s ‘Inclusion 3.0’ festival. During the first edition, the workshop ‘A school lesson in the dark’ was offered to raise awareness among future teachers of the importance of an inclusive school environment for visually impaired students. During Inclusion Week 2023, Fabio Targhetta and Marta Brunelli presented a lecture-workshop on museum accessibility and the tools designed and implemented at Mudesc by Unimc L1-L15 degree programme students and museum trainees: Chiara Racanelli, Federica Fabi, and Hasia D’Amico.
European Researchers’ Nigth
Mudesc participates in Researchers’ Night by offering interactive workshops, themed events, and guided tours of the museum. At the 2023 event, for example, Mudesc presented the interactive workshop for families entitled “But this is unfair!”, focusing on the representation of gender roles in schools, both past and present.
“I2-Identity and Innovation”
MUDESC is a partner of the European project “Identity and Innovation”, co-financed by the European Union under the Erasmus Plus Key Action 227: Partnerships for Creativity programme. Led by the Heilig Hartinstituut Pedagogische Humaniora of Haverlee (Belgium), the project sees the participation of six partners from Belgium, the United Kingdom and Italy (Cultureel Erfgoed Annuntiaten Heverlee vzw, BE; The Thomas Cowley High School, UK; European Historic Houses, BE; Photoconsortium , IT; Harlaxton College, UK).
The aim of the project is the exchange and implementation of good educational practices based on school heritage, including monumental ones (school built heritage), creating innovative environments and practices for schools, also based on the innovative and creative use of new technologies. In this project, the main focus was on developing new skills in education experts and teachers; at the same time, the project made it possible to explore the potential of the school heritage, making it more visible and usable in school curricula, finally enhancing it in the processes of building the identity of the school community.