The ‘Dimitrie Gusti’ national village museum in Bucharest is
\namong the must-see objectives in Romania’s capital city. This green spot on
\nBucharest’s map is renowned for its fresh air and village households dating
\nback to the 17th-18th centuries. In recent years the
\nmuseum has played venue for numerous cultural events, from photo and painting
\nexhibitions to concerts and various workshops for children. An association
\nentitled ‘SOS Save the Danube Delta’s flora and fauna’ has been staging
\nworkshops for children on the museum premises for a year. These workshops allow
\nchildren to learn everything about the Delta and its wildlife. Here is Delia
\nPopescu, project coordinator with the aforementioned association with more on
\nthe issue.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
We have been present here on a
\nweekly basis staging children events on Saturdays. Through these activities we
\nhave been trying to teach them about the Delta, about what this delta means for
\nRomania and for us as a people and why we need to preserve its wildlife. All
\nthese events have been tailored as games and playing activities for a better
\nassimilation of knowledge. We are glad that kids are attending these events on
\na constant weekly basis. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Delia Popescu has further elaborated on the children activities
\nand workshops staged here at the Village Museum.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Today, as the year is drawing
\nto an end, our games are inspired by holidays in Dobrogea; we are making a
\ntraditional doll, which is wearing a traditional costume that children can take
\nat home. So kids can get acquainted with traditional folk costumes specific to
\nDobrogea and also have a toy to play with.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
According to Delia Popescu, these workshops have been constantly
\nattended by a good number of children. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Each workshop has been attended
\nby 5-15 children. We’ve had pottery workshops, during which we’ve built animals
\nand birds from the Danube Delta. By using straws, wood and clay we have tried
\nto build dioramas illustrating various parts of the delta. Children have been
\ntaught to build traditional households from the delta and windmills as the
\nregion is renowned for its windmills. We post these activities on our webpage
\nat ‘www.sosdelta.ro’ or on the museum site and children submit their online
\napplications for the workshops, where they can join free of charge. Parents
\nwill pay only the entrance fee to the museum.
\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
According to Delia Popescu, children’s happiness is the most
\nimportant thing. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Kids are happy and that’s the
\nmost important thing for us. They are excited because these activities are
\ninteractive, different from what they do in front of a computer or a smartphone.
\nThey work, they are making stuff and last but not least they get valuable
\ninformation about the delta and its wildlife, which will eventually come in
\nhandy in their adult life. There are kids who have been attending these
\nworkshops on a weekly basis and we encourage them to learn about ecology,
\nenvironment issues and things. They read books and we have round table talks on
\ncertain issues in our next workshops.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Maria is 7 years old and has attended almost all workshops with
\ndelight.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
I am
\nloving it, as I am always doing new things. Today I am making dolls. I first
\nmade a boy doll and haven’t finished his clothes yet, so I don’t know how he is
\ngoing to look like in the end. Last time I made a diorama entitled ‘Fishing in
\nthe Delta’ when I made a pelican out of cardboard. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Delia Popescu has told us how the first
\nworkshop organised in February has grown into what we see today: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Parents always stand by their children and proof of this is also the
\nworkshop we’ve organised today. Parents and children alike worked shoulder to
\nshoulder. It’s been more difficult at the start of the year, because people
\nwere unaware of our weekly activities here, but now they know and are deeply
\ninvolved in our actions, as we want to spend quality time with our children.
\nEven though the weather is not really fine outside, the Village Museum is a
\nspectacular museum and it is beautiful all the year around. Now, in winter, we
\ncarry out our activities indoors, but when the weather is fine, we spend the
\nentire time outdoors. We try to carry out many activities in the open because
\nmost parents do not have enough spare time and keep their children indoors. And
\nchildren should learn to spend time in the open. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
It’s worth mentioning that the Save
\nthe Flora and Fauna in the Danube Delta Association was founded in 2007, at the
\ninitiative of a group of friends, out of their wish to protect this unique
\nregion in Europe and the world: the Danube Delta. In time, the Association has
\nenriched its activities included in the initial project, such as protecting the
\nfauna and flora by identifying the species on the brink of extinction, cleaning
\nup the areas affected by pollution, promoting ecological tourism and this
\neducational component at an early age, a warranty to instil real values in the
\nyoung generation. <\/p>\n
(Translated by D. Bilt & D. Vijeu)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A very successful education project<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":135541,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42520],"tags":[43079,36005,43166,43165],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-135540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inside-romania","tag-dimitrie-gusti-village-museum","tag-danube-delta","tag-delia-popescu","tag-sos-save-the-danube-deltas-flora-and-fauna-association"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n