The project “Museum on Wheels”, implemented by the Lithuanian Museum of the History of Education, will create a mobile exposition to operate in small, remote areas in Lithuanian regions, where there is a lack of cultural activities and no museums. The mobile exhibition will introduce local children and young people to the history of education, highlighting Lithuania’s multi-ethnic heritage from different perspectives – social and ethnic groups, cultures and gender equality.
In cooperation with project partners Newschool from Norway and software company UAB Indeform (Lithuania), an innovative, visually appealing and user-friendly educational programme will be developed to enrich the knowledge of Lithuanian history and history of education.
A team of educational guides will invite children and young people to take part in educational activities that will allow them not only to acquire deeper knowledge, but also to perceive their own educational experience as part of the historical process, to interact with and learn from the older generation.
Amount of project expenditure: €194 046.24.
Project implementation period: 31 August 2021 – 31 March 2024
The aim of the project is to provide high quality cultural education to young people in remote areas of Lithuania by promoting access to cultural and educational activities.
The project plans to:
To create an innovative travelling exhibition (travelling bus “Museum on Wheels”) based on the collection of the Lithuanian Museum of History of Education. The mobile exhibition will be able to reach areas of Lithuania that are remote from cultural centres, and the educational activities that complement the exhibition will increase its cultural and historical value;
Visit 200 settlements in all regions of Lithuania, focusing on counties where there are currently no museums: Šalčininkai, Alytus, Kalvarija, Kazlų ruda, Pakruojis and Visaginas;
Involve over 4000 young people aged 12-29 – pupils and students from schools, colleges and other educational institutions.
The project is funded by the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism under the Culture Programme. The programme aims to strengthen socio-economic development through cultural cooperation, cultural entrepreneurship and cultural heritage management. In order to reduce social exclusion and discrimination, the Programme aims to eliminate existing territorial inequalities in Lithuania in terms of access to high quality cultural products and services.
PROJECT RESULTS
During the pandemic, travel planning habits have changed, as well as long–term unevenness in the availability of cultural services in the regions of Lithuania, have highlighted the problem of insufficient public involvement in cultural life. The Lithuanian Museum of Education, which has accumulated one hundred years of experience, aims to become an active participant in the dissemination of culture in the regions of Lithuania by implementing the first mobile museum project in Lithuania. With the help of video technology and interactive product development professionals Indeform (Lithuania) and Newschool (Norway), creators of modern educational programs, today the museum presents to the public exceptional events in the history of education in Lithuania that have influenced the social, cultural and political changes of the country.
An unusual solution was chosen for the implementation of the project activities – a city bus that turned into a mobile exposition. Using the latest technologies, the bus is equipped with an interactive exposition illustrating the development of education in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 16th–17th centuries. The participants of the virtual tour, playing a strategic game, are introduced to the development of the network of schools, printing houses, churches, as well as the struggle for influence in the ruling layers of the society of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
In September 2023, the bus, which embarked on its first trips to the outermost towns of Lithuania, will visit as many as 200 different locations by the end of the project. Lithuanian regional schools that have already participated in the project activities are happy with the visits of the team of the Lithuanian Education Museum and the opportunity to embark on a virtual journey through the centuries of the history of Lithuanian education in the public space: “We received a lot of useful information. Good consolidation and verification of knowledge. We are really very happy that we had the opportunity to participate,” Audronė Baronienė, Deputy Director for Education at Kazlų Rūda Kazys Grinius Gymnasium, shared her impressions. Meanwhile, Lina Kazakaitienė, a teacher at Mykolas Antanaitis Gymnasium in Krekenava, was glad that the visit to the exposition “Museum on Wheels“ provided a great opportunity to try out interactive teaching tools.
In order to present the project activities not only to Lithuanian school communities, but also to the general public, the Lithuanian Education Museum organized three events to present the project – one each in the county, district and eldership centers. At the presentation events, the representatives of the museum introduced the museum, which is counting the second century of its activity, the theatrical journey through the centuries of the history of education by the improvisation troupe “Impro Kaunas” did not leave anyone indifferent, and at the end of the event, the participants were able to participate in the educational game of the bus “Museum on Wheels”.
The unique "Museum on Wheels" travels through Lithuania / Photo by Lithuanian Education Museum
