The School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering and the Mineralogical Museum gaio-ORAMA, continued a beautiful tradition that began in 2018, celebrating the European Museum Night on Saturday, 20.05.2023, by organizing a “Journey to the magical world of minerals for our little friends” for children aged 4-8 years, faculty members and staff of NTUA.
At the beginning of the event, the Director of the Mineralogical Museum, Maria Perraki, together with the enthusiastic support team, consisting of Despoina Psarraki PhD student, Spyros Cheliotis Phd student, Dr. Panagiotis Papazotos, Dr. Eleni Vassiliou, laboratorial teaching staff, Dr. Efi Lykoudi, laboratorial teaching staff, Stavroula Dragoumani and Lyberis Tsambras, laboratorial technical staff, welcomed the children. After a short introductory game, they started the “journey” into the world of minerals. During their two-hour “journey”, our little friends, equipped with helmet, hammer, flashlight and compass, made the structure of the Earth with plasticine, examined minerals in the stereoscope, oriented themselves using the compass, examined a frozen volcano under the microscope, discovered precious metals in the sand and much more. Finally, they encountered animal and plant species that lived millions of years ago and learned about the role climate change plays in their extinction. Throughout the program, the young “travellers” surprised us with their knowledge, stimulated us with their questions, and delighted us with their enthusiasm.
And while our little friends “travelled” to the world of minerals, the Dean of the Mining and Metallurgical School, Dimitrios Kaliampakos, welcomed the parents and the accompanying persons and, together with Assistant Professor Stavros Triantaphyllides, guided them through the museum. Afterwards, they all had the opportunity for a relaxed conversation over wine and treats in the outdoor area of the museum until the 40 little miners showed up singing the little-miner song.
Judging by the enthusiasm of the children and the impressions of the visitors recorded on the event evaluation sheet, it was a wonderful experience for young and old alike. We know that we could not satisfy all people who wanted to participate in the event, as the places were filled within a few hours, but we promise that we will organise it again!
[The development of the training materials was carried out as part of the RM @Schools ESEE and RISBriefcase WSL projects with funding from EIT Raw Materials. Photo and video recordings of the children were made with the consent of the parents]