The educational value of the museum is nowadays unquestionable since they constitute places of education and learning where knowledge is spread in a pleasant, illustrative way. With its selections of rare samples of Greek fauna and minerals, the Museum is yet another tool which significantly helps both the pupil and the teacher in studying the environment.
Exhibits
The Museum includes rare collections of butterflies, fowl on Greek land (approximately 65 species), crocodiles, snakes, tortoises, rocks, minerals, shells and fossils. It is worth mentioning specific species which are under threat of extinction such as: the Athens owl, the Tyto alba, the sea turtle Caretta-Caretta, the lammergeyer, the pelican onocrotalus, the sea eagle etc.
The assortment of minerals and rocks include: bauxite, malachite, azurite, iron pyrites, perlite, lignite, asbestos, aragonite, mineral salt, gypsum(parquet stone), stalactite, quartz in various forms, crystal plating, amethyst, pink quartz, etc.
In another section of the Museum there are fossiled sea creatures or not like corals, sea flowers, sea urchins, gasteropoda. Some of the fossils that one can admire include fossil leaves, corals, fossil roots, fossil palm tree, fossil stump, fossil fish as well as a 350-year-old Actionella.
Educational Programmes
In the Museum, apart from guided tours, there are educational programmes for every class of the primary school according to the cognitive level. The organization of the programmes was based on the material covered in the lesson “Studying the Environment” and on the exhibits of the Museum.
The following educational programmes are mentioned as a characteristic example:
For Pre-Primary School there is a programme in which young children talk about the animals they see exhibited in the Museum, they learn about the animals’ habitat, listen to narrations about the animals and receive a printed form especially made for their age.
For the First Grade of Primary School there is a programme entitled “Come to meet the Animals”. The pupils get to know and observe night birds, small mammals, reptiles, insects and take part in projects concerning these animals and fill in answer sheets.
For the Second Grade of the Primary School there are the following programmes:
- “Observing the Animals” where the pupils themselves search on the spot to find the animals which fly, crawl, walk and then they describe them and they classify them as domestic or wild, etc., with the aid of a creative activity and an answer sheet.
- “Let’s get acquainted with the birds” in which young pupils find and observe the birds in the Museum, become familiar with their distinct characteristics and learn about the way of their life.
For the Fifth and the Sixth Grade of the Primary School run the following programmes:
- A. “Exploring the secrets of the Earth” in which one can get information about the Earth’s core, different groups of rocks, the formation of volcanoes and the creation of earthquakes. Pupils learn to identify the basic characteristic of the minerals and try to find their name. Finally, there is a presentation on how one should react in the event of an earthquake.
- B. The programme called “Getting to know fossils”. In this programme pupils are acquainted with the way fossils were formed, the evolution of organisms and the age of the Earth. It is accompanied by a short video projection concerning the process of fossilization as well as the different stages the findings go through from the moment they are discovered in the wild to their transportation to the laboratory and finally to a museum. It also includes a worksheet and an activity during which pupils shape moulds made of clay and observe their method of fossilization.
- C. “Seeking the Animals”. A research for the pupils of the Fifth and the Sixth Grade in the Museum. They have the opportunity to identify and classify the animals through an educational, entertaining game.
- “Let’s learn about earthquakes” for fifth grade pupils
- “Renewable Sources of Energy in Our Life” for pupils from third grade and onwards
- “Learning Geographical terms” for pupils in the third grade
- “Getting to know my Country-Parnitha” and “Getting to know my Country-Penteli” as part of the unit on “My Country” in the lesson “Studying the Environment” in the fourth grade of Primary School.
- The Farmland of the Canal of Korinthos. A Journey from the past into the present” (museum model)
- “With a Map’s Help…”
- “Knowing Plants in my School’s Garden”
“The Geology of the Iberian Peninsula” for the Middle School pupils
“The Weather- The Climate”
“Recycling batteries”
“Asopos River-Water Contamination”
The duration of each educational programme is 1h 30 min. At the end of each programme pupils occupy themselves with an activity related to the programme they have taken part in, such as projects through leaflets, crafts, painting, clay, etc.
In order to visit the Museum of Filekpaideftiki Etaireia it is necessary to communicate and make arrangements with the person in charge: Mrs. Fani Tripolitsioti.
For further information and reservations: 210 6755107 ex.280/fax 210 6756225
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Natural History Museum
E-mail: museum@arsakeio.gr
