Educational activities

Programme

Primary Schools, children 6-11 years *The French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici has begun its educational activities with a package containing  different categories of tours for classes of primary school for children aged 6-11 years.  In order to begin to learn about Villa Medici, its areas and treasures, classes are invited to take part in a  first “Discovery  Route” consisting of a visit and a creative workshop. The “Discovery Route” investigates the great historical milestones marking the important evolutionary phases of the site, the palace, its gardens and the institution of the Academy of France in Rome.  The visit represents a first essential approach, which may be intensified during subsequent visits with more specific objectives.Indeed, each year the French Academy in Rome – Villa Medici will propose several routes with special themes, the “Thematic Explorations”. Object of these visits is to permit children to explore some of the  characteristic  aspects of the heritage and history of the Villa more in depth, as well as to stimulate their curiosity concerning specific topics such as botany, mythology, portrait painting, or the art of copying. Each year the offer of Thematic Explorations will be renewed and adapted to the level of each individual class.Finally, the “Knowing Art” routes will permit the classes who so desire to explore the temporary exhibitions. The visits are conceived in function of an annual program and will be presented in detailed brochures. These visits have not been conceived as traditional ‘guided tours’, but rather as interactive paths characterized by a dynamic exchange between the mediators and the children. Each visit is followed up by a plastic creative workshop corresponding to the themes treated during the visit. The workshop represents a ludic moment when the children can put into practice the content of the themes, experiment with  artistic techniques, thus re-elaborating and reflecting on the concepts they had acquired during their visit.