The Education Department

The Archaeological Museum of Istria is paying special attention to educational activities and that has been the case from as far back as 1955. It was then that the first director of the Museum, Prof. Boris Baćić, stated in a review of Istrian museal institutions that a museum “is in its role as a cultural institution responsible for the protection of monuments, representing at the same time a school for promoting cultural ideals to adults, and also playing a very important part in the education of youth”. Thus, from 1955 to 1968, within the framework of an educational program, field trips to the most important sites all over the Peninsula had been organized for students of Istrian schools, and lectures on archaeology in the homeland had been held for school children.

In 1969, an opening was created for a pedagogue curator, a museum professional whose task it was to promote the interests of all categories of museum visitors. This was a task that was in the past handled by a whole series of experts from our Museum, the likes of Boris Baćić, Vesna Girardi-Jurkić and Ljubica Širec.

In order to pay special attention to the visitors, a Pedagogical Service was established in 1985, which was later renamed as the Education Department in 2008. The main goal of this department is to bring the materials kept at the Museum closer to the visitors through the organization of lectures, exhibitions, workshops, guided tours of the permanent exhibition, and other projects. A special emphasis is placed on additional enrichment and promotion of the basic knowledge regarding the history of the region, which is obtained at school.

Since its establishment and up to the present, the Education Department realized various projects that included the participation of children of kindergarten and primary school levels, as well as elderly visitors. Some of these successfully completed projects are:

"Pamtimo povijest i kulturne običaje"(We remember history and our cultural heritage), "Iskrice iz muzeja" (Sparklets from the Museum)(in the course of which several thematic exhibitions were organized, such as "Kamena", "Metala Sarkofaga Vremena", etc.), "Tragovi u glini" (Traces in clay), "Histrići u potrazi za blagom Istre" (Little Histri in search of the Istrian treasure), "Gradska vrata Pule" (The city gates of Pula), "Pulski portali kroz stoljeća" (Pula’s portals through the centuries), "Magični instrumenti s pulskih spomenika" (Magical instruments from the monuments of Pula), "Magični likovi iz antičke prošlosti" (Magical characters from the Roman past), "Vitezovi" (Knights), "Kada su u Istri živjele polarne lisice" (When polar foxes lived in Istria), and "Pulski spomenici na starim razglednicama" (The monuments from Pula on old postcards).

These projects were realized either independently or in cooperation with various educational institutions from Pula, such as the Teacher Training College, the “Centar” kindergarten, the “Cipelići” kindergarten, the “Rin Tin Tin” Italian kindergarten, and the elementary schools “Stoja”, “Vidikovac”, “Giuseppina Martinuzzi”, “Kaštanjer”, “Šijana”, “Fažana” and “Vodnjan”.

The projects of the Education Department are traditionally presented through an exhibition organized to mark International Museum Day on May 18. Beginning from 2005, each exhibition was accompanied by its catalogue that is published on a regular basis within the framework of the catalogue series issued by the Pedagogical Service (nowadays the Education Department). The Department also publishes other teaching materials, such as books covering themes related to Istrian archaeology.

Whom to contact if you wish a professional guided tour through the Archaeological Museum of Istria?

If you would like to visit our Museum accompanied by a professional guide, please contact the Archaeological Museum of Istria by dialing 052/351-300 or 052/351-333, or call the head of the Education Department directly by dialing 098/982-6240.

Please book your professional guided tours as early as possible.

Literature:

CODACCI-TERLEVIĆ, G., Deset godina pedagoškog rada Arheološkog muzeja Istre, Zbornik radova IV. skupa muzejskih pedagoga Hrvatske s međunarodnim sudjelovanjem, Knin 11. - 14. listopada 2006., pp. 51-58.

HOOPER-GREENHILL, (ed.), The Educational Role of the Museums, Routledge, London & New York 1999.

JURKIĆ, V., Razvoj i rezultati muzejsko-pedagoške službe Arheološkog muzeja Istre u Puli,, Istra, no. 4, Pula 1975.

MAROEVIĆ, I., Uvod u muzeologiju, Zagreb, Zavod za informacijske znanosti, Filozofski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, 1993.

ŠIREC, LJ., Pedagoške aktivnosti Arheološkog muzeja Istre u Puli, Zbornik radova, I. skup muzejskih pedagoga Hrvatske s međunarodnim sudjelovanjem, Pula 14. - 16. lipnja 2001., Zagreb 2002.

Information, consultations and questions:

Giulia Codacci-Terlević, Senior Museum Pedagogue and Curator, Head of the Department
tel: 052/351-327
e-mail: giulia-codacci-terlevic(at)ami-pula.hr