Transylvania Trust

Activities / Industrial Heritage day for children

Bucharest
The child from Bucharest participated at the Industrial Archaeology Workshop for Children, organised by Association for Industrial Archaeology / AIR. The children with the members of AIR visited the National Museum of Techniques “Dimitrie Leonida”. Looking at the Museum exhibits the child was familiarized with the concept of industrial archaeology and industrial heritage. There where numerous references associated with their general knowledge about heritage, science and technique. Also were presented industrial heritage objectives from Bucharest – Electrical Plant Filaret, Bragadiru Breweries, Filaret Railway-station and Antrepozite Customs for stimulating their interest for these industrial ensembles, important for their technical, historical and architectural values, and in term of their cultural significance.

Maramures county
The Industrial Heritage Day for children in Baia Mare was organised in the Maramures County Museum of History and Archaeology, the former Mint, a listed and representative building in the town and in the Maramures County. There were 28 pupils present from the “George Coşbuc” School of the town with their teacher, Maria Dragoş.
The aim of this event was the meeting of the specialists with the children, assuring a link between the rigorous world of the research and the children by introducing them to a new field of science, the “industrial archaeology”.
In the first part of the activity, the pupils were familiarized with the terms of industrial archaeology and heritage and with the importance of its conservation, restoration and valorization. The theoretical information was supported by pictures from a Power Point slide-show, representing buildings from Maramures County which could be part of industrial built heritage: the “Logolda” in Cavnic, the actual building of the Museum of Art, the “Baia Mare Artistic Center”, the Mining Center in Baia Sprie, the Păr Plast Factory in Sighetu Marmatiei, etc.

In the second part of the day, the child undertook a test with five questions related to the new knowledge, and they completed this test in an interactive way, lead by the trainer and the teacher. The educative aim of this event was completed by a special visit to the exhibitions of the Museum representing the architectural ensemble where functioned the former Mint from Baia Mare. The implementation of this activity was coordinated by the Maramures County Museum of History and Archaeology in partnership with the Democrat Association of Hungarian Youth – MADISZ from Baia Sprie.

Cluj county
Educating the young generation is extremely important, because it will be their task to protect the industrial heritage in the future and for that is important to give them a full understanding about this heritage and to encourage them to participate in community actions to protect this heritage.
On each of the four Industrial Heritage days held during 2010, there were present 25-25 children from urban and rural schools of Cluj County.
The extra curricula teaching was interactive; the industrial history was revived with theatrical scenes played by children, with anecdotes, by using buildings, evoking professions and personalities of this subject. The trainers projected contemporary images, pictures and photos of industrial heritage. The children were asked to draw a building which was part of industrial heritage. Through this, the trainers had the possibility to verify whether the children fully understood the concept of industrial heritage through this new teaching medium; to evaluate their sensibility for the historical environment, for protection of industrial heritage and for participation in this type of event. The day was further enriched with a renaissance play and dance. At the same time, the children had the opportunity to reflect and comment about the program by completing a test about the organization of this event, the scientific contents and their relevance, the attitude of trainers, adding their personal remarks and impressions about a special day spent at the Bánffy Castle in Bonţida.

Sibiu county
The children of the School no. 7 from Mediaş were guests of the Industrial Heritage Day organised in Sibiu County, held on 25 October 2010.
29 children participated at this extra-school event. They visited the town of Copşa Mică, situated at a distance of 12 km from Mediaş, where the Mayor of the town presented the exploitation area of the natural gases. The children viewed the industrial colossus of the site, and its state of degradation. After the visit at the Centre for Documentation and Information in Natural Gas Mediaş they were familiarized with the concept of industrial built heritage. The multimedia presentations reflected the importance and valorisation of this heritage in foreign countries and in Romania, and the touristic potential of this area. Through this the children have enriched their knowledge about the region where they live, and about the history of the exploitation of the gas in the area, for example, how the gas was discovered in this region. By completing a test, the children were able to present their knowledge on the theme, and could express their interest about new sits with industrial values, naming them in the test or drawing them. The trainers were able verify the efficiency of introducing the children to this specialized knowledge and themes, and the organization of this extra-school event received a positive feed-back from the professors of this child.