We are opening the Museum of Communism for Children! On August 23, 2022, between 10:00 and 19:00, we mark the European Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Totalitarian Regimes by opening a new museum, dedicated to children and teenagers. The Museum of Communism for Children is the only museum of its kind in the world, a museum where the history of communism is presented in a way that the youngest visitors can understand. The museum is located in a wing of the Pitesti Prison Memorial, a museum dedicated to the history of the infamous Pitesti Prison. Entry is free and children can visit accompanied by their families.
On August 23, we especially invite the youngest visitors to explore the first two of the museum’s 6 rooms (the next 4 rooms will open in 2023) and participate in the scheduled workshops and debates. Within the museum, the book “My diary of the history of communism in Romania” will also be available, a workbook with information, games, and drawings that the young ones can fill out and take home.
“A museum that tries to present the communist regime in Romania and its related horrors in a way children can understand needs people with patience. The visit cannot be one of the types «I went on a trip, how cool!», but must have a real impact on the little ones who could really understand some important things.” (V., 9th grade, National College “Spiru Haret”, Bucharest)
Follow us on Instagram, where we communicate in English, to keep up to date with our activity: https://www.instagram.com/museumofcommunismchildren/
What is the Museum of Communism for Children?
The Museum of Communism for Children is a complex project dedicated to children and teenagers, which aims to inform them about the communist regime in an interactive and creative way, through which they can discover the realities of the regime themselves, participating, at the same time, in the creation of the museum. The museum is a project created by Pitesti Prison Memorial. Children under the age of 12 cannot visit the Memorial because of the extremely violent subject, so we wanted to make the subject accessible to the younger public, thinking of a project centered on the needs of children. At the beginning of 2022, we obtained funding from the Administration of the National Cultural Fund for 2 of the 6 rooms of the Museum of Communism for Children, a digital textbook for students and teachers, and a journal/workbook for students.
From April 2022 we started working on the project with a small but involved team: historian Lucian Vasile was responsible for the historical research, Ioana Hașu (historian) and Iulia Iordan (museum educator) created and conducted pilot workshops at schools in Recea and Bucharest, Maria Axinte (museographer) and Cătălina Bocanu (guide) continued to hold workshops at Pitești Prison Memorial and in several schools in Argeș county during the months of May and June. The idea of the workshops was to learn as much as possible about what children know about communism, but also to involve them in the creation of this museum. The children drew plans of the museum, in their vision, and gave us ideas for themes and games for the future museum. In the following months, we completed the texts and graphics for a textbook on communist history, the diary, and the museum.
In July we also started producing the exhibition for the first two rooms of the museum,
which will be opened on August 23. In 2023 we will continue to work on the opening of the next rooms in the museum.
Museum themes and project materials
The themes in the museum and related materials are in correlation with the school curriculum. The visitors will learn about the communist dictatorship through the themes: introduction to communism and propaganda, nationalization, collectivization, detention/resistance, daily life, and the debate room.
The exhibition in the museum is completed and articulated by a series of elements such as:
- Educational workshops aim to encourage children’s involvement in the process of creating the exhibition and the museum discourse, but also to help children better understand the themes in the museum by addressing specific topics. The workshops help children manage the emotions they feel during their visit and our educators will assist the young ones in understanding difficult or violent topics.
- The digital History of Communism textbook (History of Communism for children and teenagers) includes all the topics in the museum and will serve as support material in understanding the museum discourse (through information additions, biographies, images, and illustrations), and it can be used by teachers and pupils during school courses. The manual will be available in digital format for remote access so that children, parents, and teachers can easily use it.
- The workbook comes in the form of a personalized diary (My diary of the history of communism in Romania, Manuscris Publishing House) to motivate children to express themselves creatively through drawings and texts that they can add to certain pages, but also to relate critically to information through interviews, practical exercises or research undertaken by them themselves and noted in the workbook. The diary will be available in printed form in the museum and will be used as support material in the workshops.
- The guided tours complete the activities in the project and encourage dialogue between group members, while also being a tool for obtaining feedback in real-time and directly from the children.
Team:
Concept and coordination:
Maria Axinte Historical research: Lucian Vasile
Texts and text adaptation:
Maria Axinte
Ioana Hașu-Georgiev Iulia Iordan
Lucian Vasile
Cătălina Bocanu
Text adaptation and games:
Nastasie Ilinca Isabelle Bodea Irina Răducu Eliza Coman Șerban Vișineanu Mihai Caval
Museum elements concept design: Constantin Goagea și Justin Baroncea
Project graphic design: Asign Digital
Project Co-financed by AFCN
The project is hosted and coordinated by Memorialul Închisoarea Pitești
Partners:
Ajungem Mari, Radio Guerrilla, Fundația Culturală Memoria, Modernism.ro , Editura Manuscris
Liceul Tehnologic „Constantin Brâncuși”, Pitești, Liceul de Arte „Dinu Lipatti”, Pitești, Școala
Gimnazială „Matei Basarab”, Colegiul Național „Spiru Haret”, București, Școala Gimnazială Recea, Școala Gimnazială „Virgil Calotescu”, Bascov, Școala Gimnazială „Liviu Rebreanu”, Mioveni, Liceul Tehnologic „Dinu Brătianu”, Ștefănești, Școala Gimnazială „Mihai Eminescu”, Pitești, Școala
Gimnazială „Tudor Vladimirescu”, Pitești, Liceul Tehnologic „Barbu A. Stirbey”, Buftea, Școala Gimnazială nr. 1, Buftea, Școala Gimnazială Dărmănești, Școala Gimnazială „Iordache Păcescu”, Coșești, Asociația OST Cultural Events
