Museo Laboratorio della Civilta Contadina Cultural Association
One of the interesting case studies collected by Materahub based in Italy is the Museo Laboratorio della Civilta Contadina Cultural Association in Matera (Basilicata, south of Italy) created by Donato Cascione managing the museum through ONLUS, a cultural association of which he is the director.
This association is a good example of a museum trying to link culture with the community and moving beyond its cultural purpose to have a social impact. Here, visitors can learn about the local past and traditions through guided visits helping them to discover a selection of ancient tools and artifacts that belonged to the farmers and land workers of Matera. However, the museum is not just a repository place, it also offers workshops to young people during which they can learn about the ancient trades.
The innovative element of this museum is that it provides a space for young people to learn in a more interactive and sensorial way about a part of their history. The offer of labs and workshops is an alternative to classic learning and is not only focused on learning a part of history but also on developing soft skills (creativity, design thinking), as well as reinforcing the well-being of the young people (by feeling a sense of belonging).
In fact, the “lab” experiences, workshops and didactic itineraries offered by the museum are organised between the schools and the museum, under the supervision of the teachers and include lab “I paint and scratch tuff”, clay workshop, workshop on decoration of terracotta and on papier-mache, sensory route, lab “Me, little anthropologist” and thematic teaching workshops.
