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Story cube – a new educational tool

Together with the Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów and the Italian non-governmental organisation Stazione Utopia, we exchange knowledge and experiences as well as train and teach how to encourage local communities gathered around museums to engage in voluntary work and how to talk about cultural, natural and historical heritage in an interesting manner. Together with our colleagues from Hungary and Italy, we have created a publicly available educational tool – the story cube that supports volunteers and educators in learning how to build a unique story, organise arguments, build independent judgments about the object or phenomenon in question, while incorporating their own stories and experiences. Activities implemented as part of the project: International Learning, Teaching, Training (LTT) meetings, during which a group of experts from Wilanów, Gödöllő and Florence selected in the programme exchanges good practice and then trains one another in areas such as working with volunteers and immigrants as well as creating an engaged community around institutions. Four meetings: two in Warsaw and two in Florence and Gödöllő, respectively, have been held during the course of the project. Transnational Project Meetings (TPMs) in each of the participating organisations help us implement our planned activities effectively. Developing an educational tool, known as the story cube. The tool supports the adult education personnel in contacting the local community and engaging it in activities related to the voluntary programme. An online seminar to discuss the experiences we have gained and disseminate the educational tool we have developed is to be held in January 2023. Writing a series of articles on informal adult education and engaging the local community in the activities of institutions. Feel free to check out the materials on the Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe (EPALE): Local community engagement in museum programs: practices, experiences and challenges and Też tak chcę! Story cube – a new educational tool   As part of the Erasmus+ project, “Museum of Communities”, along with our partners from the Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów and the non-governmental organisation Stazione Utopia in Florence, we have created a new publicly available educational tool.The story cube supports our work with volunteers in terms of creating engaging and unique stories about museum items. We have designed not one but two cubes: senses cube, to support the process of experiencing objects through our senses; mind cube, to encourage users to think and reflect critically. Story cubes allow the users to ask questions about heritage objects and look at them in a new manner, inspiring them to learn collectively and have a discussion. The tool may be used with both beginners and advanced storytellers. Story cubes are a universal solution to be used in adult education. The project has been co-financed by the European Commission from the Erasmus+ programme supporting strategic partnerships at a European level. Projects related to education and training promote the development of knowledge in Europe and make it possible to achieve the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy – sustainable development and social inclusion. Download the detailed instructions and a graphic template for the story cubes: Erasmus+ Storycube black and white Erasmus+ Storycube color Erasmus+ Mindcube black and white Erasmus+ Mindcube color Instructions

News release: Highlights of the Schönbrunn Collection

Elisabeth Wittelsbach was undoubtedly one of the most interesting European historical figures of the 19th century, whose worldwide popularity has been growing steadily since. Therefore, the upcoming exhibition at the Royal Palace of Gödöllő is dedicated to Queen Elisabeth, displaying unique personal belongings of the Queen and her immediate family members. On 18 July in Vienna, dr Tamás Ujváry, managing director of the Royal Palace of Gödöllő and Mag. Klaus Panholzer, managing director of Schönbrunn Group signed the contract that officially gave the green light to the Sisi on Tour exhibition. For the very first time, a selection of the most fascinating and Sisi-related items of the incredible collection of Schönbrunn will be shown outside of Vienna, and the first stop is Gödöllő. The exhibition, which will open on 8 September, is the result of years of outstanding collaborative work of the two Palaces. The two most important Sisi cult places – both members of the European Royal Residences Association – can respectfully commemorate the 125th anniversary of Queen Elisabeth’s death with a joint seasonal exhibition. What makes this exhibition exceptional is that the Royal Palace of Gödöllő has never housed an exhibition owned and arranged by a foreign museum. Furthermore, the art objects arriving at the tourist centre are not only special but hold an immense value. Thanks to the cooperation of the cult places, visitors can learn about the personality and myths of the Queen as never before. After the successful opening of the Sisi Museum at the Hofburg in Vienna in 2004, the collection strategy of the Schloss Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H. (Schönbrunn Group for short) shifted the focus onto the expansion of the “Empress Elisabeth” collection. Today, the ever-growing assemblage consists of more than 1000 pieces, thus making it the biggest “Sisi-collection” in the world. The Viennese experts have arranged a travelling exhibition showcasing the most intriguing pieces that will debut at the Royal Palace of Gödöllő. The exhibition will display more than 200 art pieces of this collection. The exhibition will show, for instance, the little silk gown and bonnet that Elisabeth wore at her christening. This cream-coloured, frilly dress is decorated with lace and floral embroidery. Visitors can also view a small, gilded container that is decorated with the imperial motto and the Holy Crown of Hungary. The item also contains soil from the ‘coronation hill’ of 8 June 1867. A small locket in which the photographs of Gisela and Rudolf lay was also made of gold. According to the engraving (“Mama 24. Dez. 1885”), the jewellery was given for the Queen’s birthday/Christmas by her children. As Queen Elisabeth was becoming more and more reclusive and tended to withdraw from the public eye, she started to wear lace veil and held a fan or an umbrella to hide her face from the prying eyes of onlookers and photographers. Hence, a special accessory, a black, lace-decorated, silk parasol that can be folded down to a length of 25 cm, will be shown as well. A painting by Lipót Horovitz will be on display in the last room of the exhibition. After the death of the Queen, he was commission by Franz Joseph to paint the portrait. The Queen is standing in front of a neutral background, she is wearing a black day dress, holding a fan in the painting. Besides the portraits of the members of the imperial house, documents (e.g.: the beauty regimens of the Queen), porcelain (e.g.: a porcelain set from Achilleion Palace, Corfu), textiles (e.g.: the gymnastic trousers of the Queen, the hunting vest of Crown Prince Rudolf), engravings and etchings can also be seen. The seasonal exhibition will be open between 8 September 2023 and 28 January 2024. The curator is Michael Wohlfart, Queen Elisabeth expert of the Sisi Museum, Vienna.

The queen's furniture has returned home!

The queen's furniture has returned home! Queen Elizabeth's personal furniture, dressing table and glass showcase arrived at the Royal Castle in Gödöllő   Dr. Tamás Ujváry, the managing director of the Royal Palace of Gödöllő Public Benefit Nonprofit Ltd., reminded that the castle operates as a real Sisi cult place. The building also celebrates its anniversary, as it was abandoned by the Soviet army thirty years ago and then opened in 1996, albeit only in part, to visitors in 1996. The anniversary is also connected with the arrival of the two special pieces of furniture, which were successfully repurchased with the help of the National Castle Program and the NÖF, said Dr. Tamás Ujváry. Speaking about the National Castle Program and the National Castle Program, which he supervised as a ministerial commissioner, Zsolt Virág said that they are aimed not only at the restoration of the buildings, but also at their mental rehabilitation. This includes returning any former furnishings to the walls, he noted. According to him, Queen Elizabeth's former dressing table and glazed display case appeared at an auction in Germany, where they were bought back at a starting price, and from Friday the public can meet the artefacts in the castle's permanent exhibition in the queen's dressing room.