The Ministry of Public Education (MEP) in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Youth (MCJ), the National Museum of Costa Rica and the AyúdenosparaAyudar Foundation (FAPA) are pleased to share the scope of the “Museum Route” project, which in this 2024 edition has reached maturity, consolidating itself as a successful non-formal education initiative that contributes to the learning process of formal education.
This initiative is born from a cooperation agreement between the entities, which aims to bring the student population closer to museums, as part of their cultural rights and as a way to complement the content seen in the classrooms; this from the recognition of the possibilities that museums offer in education, cultural and natural heritage and research.
“Museum Route contributes to the comprehensive education that we are committed to offering to the people of Costa Rica. The student body and the country in general deserve a quality education. Furthermore, teachers may have more tools to strengthen methodological strategies to contribute with the skills they need and that this 21st century demands of us,” commented Anna Katharina Müller Castro, Minister of Public Education.
For his part, Jorge Rodríguez Vives, expressed: “The union of efforts between the MEP, the MCJ and the museums shows that together we have a greater impact.This project aims to enhance students’ knowledge in a fun and pleasant way, which they will probably always carry in their minds and hearts. “It fills us with satisfaction to know that this year there will be 14 thousand students who will benefit from this program and we hope that future editions can reach even more audiences.”
The “Museum Route” project seeks to integrate the museum experience into the educational curriculum, allowing students from different regions of Costa Rica to discover and explore the country’s cultural and artistic heritage. Through a series of visits, circuits and thematic tours, students will have the opportunity to learn in an interactive and dynamic way about history, art and science. In this edition, a new team of guides with knowledge of each museum and actors and actresses have been hired for theatrical visits.
Museum route 2
Formats: guided tours, circuits and thematic tours
Guided tours: This is a visit to a single museum, lasting around an hour and a half, where a specialist guides the group of students (in some cases the group of students is divided into two groups) to be able to give learn notable information about each museum, its rooms, exhibitions and spaces. This modality is done with the 14 museums.
Circuits: It is the visit that is made to two museums according to the proposed theme to cover the objectives of educational topics. The visit time in each museum lasts around an hour and a half (depending on the audience, since each circuit is designed for a different educational cycle). 10 museums participate in this format.
Thematic tours: It is a visit to a single museum, related to a specific theme organized by the museum, where the information shared is related to the exhibitions or educational content of the museum. The theme is defined by each museum and has objectives related to the educational content covered in the educational system. Each talk has a different duration depending on the population and the way it is addressed.
The “Museum Route” program began in 2019. Since then it has been strengthened to add, in this 2024 edition, years of experience and proposals for improvements to the project, which translate into more significant experiences, with greater coverage and impact. This year we have been working actively since January and are working with the three visit formats. Its implementation began last June and will be carried out until December 2024, covering the entire school year and allowing broad participation by educational centers.
It is important to highlight that, for this year, the project already has all the places reserved for the educational centers that will participate in it. Starting in 2025, registration in the program will open again at the beginning of the school year, but with an innovation that will allow teachers and students to approach this offer: at the close of the 2024 edition, a website will be ready, which, as detailed below, will be published at the beginning of 2025 and with this instrument educational centers interested in registering will be able to review in advance all the information and offers of the “Museum Route”
Number of students and participating regions. To date, 1,455 people have been served and it is projected that the project will serve more than 14,000 people with first, second, third cycle and diversified students throughout the year, who are already enrolled in the program. The participating students will come from all over the country, covering the 27 Regional Educational Directorates that the Ministry of Public Education has.
In addition to the number of student population benefited thanks to the consolidation of an offer that includes transportation from any point in the country to the museums, one of the achievements of the 2024 edition consists of offering many more teaching resources to students and teachers. Thus, in addition to the “Rimi and Laura on the Museum Route” series in which an approach is generated to the offer of each museum participating in the program, in 2024 an educational kit will be added that is delivered to students during scheduled visits.
Participating museums
For this 2024 edition, there is the participation of 14 museums, namely: National Museum, Children’s Museum, Penitentiary Museum, Dr. Rafael ÁngelCalderón Guardia Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, Museum of Costa Rican Art, Museum of Jade and Pre-Columbian Culture, Gold Museum of the Central Bank Museums, Historical and Technological Museum of the ICE Group, Museum of the Jewish Community, José FigueresFerrer Cultural and Historical Center, Juan Santa María Historical and Cultural Museum, Museum of Natural Sciences La Salle and this year the Museum of Pre-Columbian Chief Settlements with stone spheres from Diquís is added, which is part of the National Museum.
The work with the José FigueresFerrer Cultural and Historical Center, the Juan Santa María Historical and Cultural Museum and the Pre-Columbian Chief Settlements Museum with stone spheres from Diquís which is part of the National Museum will allow students outside the Greater Metropolitan Area to enjoy and learn from the cultural heritage offered by museums in the country’s regions, democratizing access to the heritage collection. thus contributing to the construction of a cultural democracy where culture is conceived as a human right.
Museum route 3
Launch of the website. With the aim of providing all the necessary information and facilitating the registration and planning of visits, the MEP, the MCJ, the National Museum and FAPA will launch a web page dedicated to the “Museum Route” program. The website will be available from the next school year 2025, and will offer educational resources, detailed information on visits and circuits, and an online reservation system for educational institutions. Currently the design of the site is in the pilot phase to test this page with the target population, particularly teachers who will make reservations.
