More than 45 children took part in the three-week educational program “One day at Abritus” of the Regional History Museum in Razgrad, which ended today.

“We are conducting the program for the second year in a row, and the feedback from both the children and their parents reinforces the feeling of a good and successfully implemented practice by us. Some are already asking if they will be able to visit us again next year,” says the director of the museum, Tanya Todorova. And she announces in advance that in the summer of 2024 this will be possible for a whole month.

“The program “One day at Abritus” is unique for the country. Our idea is to use modern tools, interactive classes, attractive sports and board games and workshops to emphasize Razgrad’s ancient past and for children to learn about it without effort, but in the form of pleasant activities and entertainment”, adds Tanya Todorova.

She especially thanked all the museum workers who actively participated in the implementation of the ambitious project, and the parents – for the trust they showed for the second year in a row in the Regional History Museum.

“True to the maxim that one learns for life, we managed to raise the level of the program quite a bit. The themed days and the days dedicated to crafts and professions definitely appealed to the children and they had the opportunity to show their ingenuity and dexterity in making applications, objects and dishes, and to reincarnate themselves in the role of archaeologists”, assesses what she and her colleagues have achieved, the chief tour guide at the museum, Slavyana Yankova-Tsoneva.

At the farewell ceremony today, the children participating in the program received a certificate and a cup with the museum’s logo. There was also a common photo as a keepsake.

“A day at Abritus” this year was for girls and boys from 1st to 5th grade. The idea was to use the “time machine” to transport the curious little ones to ancient Rome.

The museum specialists led the classes on the territory of the “Abritus” Archaeological Reserve. Each day of the three weeks was themed. The program included educational talks, films, workshops, ancient sports and board games, organizing and visiting an antique market, parade with antique clothing, archaeological excavations. And the treasure hunt was entirely under new rules.

The children touched the art of laying a Roman mosaic. They worked clay, made helmets, swords, shields, and models of the ancient Abritus, which they took home. They shot with a bow and spear, threw a discus, built their own catapults. And in the final days, they immersed themselves in the beliefs and rituals of that time. The children already know what the “Saturnalia” ritual is, what a legion is, and they could “fight” with real maps of ancient Rome.

In the three-week program “A day at Abritus”, the children were personally cared for by Slavyana Yankova-Tsoneva, Hristo Hristov, Silvia Anastasova, Victoria Valcheva, Pavel Rusev, Jemal Ali, Zeyneb Fikret, Polina Nedelcheva and – “behind the scenes” – all the other museum specialists and interns from the Economics High School, with whose support the initiative won many new friends and promises to meet again next year.

See more photos on the facebook page of RHM – Razgrad.