At the activities offered by the Museum of Ceramics in Bolesławiec, participants created more than 70 wall hangings woven from recycled materials, nearly 90 commemorative ceramic magnets, more than 80 carnival masks, 40 clay figurines imitating original and fake archaeological finds, more than 20 scented candles made as gifts for Valentine’s Day, 35 trained candidates for knighthood, more than 20 beginner historians familiarized with the secrets of ancient Egypt, and more than 40 adventurers rewarded with a commemorative coin for completing the outdoor game “On the Trail of Rosalia von Bonin’s Treasure”.
In total, 30 hours of fun in the company of Bolesławiec museum professionals—that is how we can briefly summarize this year’s edition of “Winter Holidays at the Museum”: hard work for us, and educational and exciting for our guests.
The children taking part in activities at the Municipal Public Library – Centrum Wiedzy set off on a space journey with the intention of settling on the planet Mars. Each participant constructed a spacesuit to move safely through the Martian atmosphere; then everyone began work on a project for a city of the future in space.
The workshops also included ways to improve one’s mood. To introduce the children to various emotions, they listened to the book “What Feelings Do” by Tina Oziewicz and Aleksandra Zając and considered what their own island of happiness might look like. They captured the results in artwork. The stories from the book “Basia. The Big Book About Feelings” by Zofia Stanecka and “The Colour Monster” by Anna Llenas also stirred many emotions.
Participants in the “It’s Scary to Be Afraid” activities created works depicting what causes them anxiety, fear or terror, and then hid them deep inside a box.
Participants also learned more about two planets, Venus and Mars, and made models of planets and space rockets. The next stop on their space journey was the Moon. The constellations and zodiac signs were an interesting topic for the workshop participants.
On the last day of the winter holidays, workshop participants took part in the quiz “What Do You Know About Copernicus?”, testing their knowledge of the eminent astronomer. The prizes for participating in the competition were tickets to the Planetarium and the Exhibition at the Copernicus Science Centre, funded by the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw as part of the Discovery, Imagination and Activity Zones initiative.
The “SOWA – Discovery, Imagination and Activity Zone” initiative is financed through a grant from the Minister of Education and Science, under Agreement No. 1/CNK-SOWA/2021 of 2 March 2021 concerning the launch by the Copernicus Science Centre of 32 local Discovery, Imagination and Activity Zones (SOWA) in 2021–2025.
Winter holidays with the Municipal Sports and Recreation Centre meant two weeks of exciting sports and recreational activities. Participants could take part in the tourism and recreation orienteering event “In the Footsteps of Famous Europeans” around Bolesławiec, “Get Fit” at the Thermal Baths, and swimming activities at the Bolesławiec Water Park “Orka”. In the sports room at the Thermal Baths and in the sports hall at Primary School No. 1, activities included “Building Character” and “Strong Kids”, team sports, and additional sessions led by instructors from the Rugby Club Bolesławiec sports club.
At the Bolesławiec Water Park “Orka”, qualified instructors from the Dive Salvare Water and Diving Search and Rescue Group conducted diving lessons.
At the sports hall by Primary School No. 1, participants could attend “The World of Games” and team sports, as well as the tourism and recreation orienteering event “Around the Market Square and the Old Town”, paper activities including building paper aeroplanes, a timed and distance-throwing competition, and “egg” games—that is, TAG rugby.
Zumba combined with gymnastics and balloon games, general fitness activities, the “Discovering Bolesławiec’s Natural Monuments” orienteering event, individual and team recreational and sports competitions—these were some of MOSiR’s proposals. A shared bonfire for all participants in the MOSiR holidays, together with the presentation of prizes and participation certificates, brought their time together to a close.
Winter did not deliver, bringing snow only after the holidays. Fortunately, the Bolesławiec Cultural Centre – International Ceramics Centre prepared holidays without boredom. Although they have (unfortunately) already ended, they offered plenty of attractions. The children attending BOK-MCC began them with dance. The “In the Rhythm of Dance” activities were the most popular. With the energy of flamenco, contemporary, oriental or hip-hop styles, everyone found something for themselves.
In addition, the youngest participants could try their hand at making “ceramic wonders”, singing (because music is good for everything), and drawing. As if that were not enough, we also offered theatre workshops. Everything took place under the supervision of our wonderful and experienced instructors from the Amateur Artistic Movement.
The meetings left unforgettable impressions and (we hope) will inspire new passions, perhaps even future stars of the stage, theatre boards and art galleries.
And what about young film fans? FORUM had a fantastic offer for them, at a promotional—lower—price. Adventure, animated and social films—for whole families. Holidays at FORUM Cinema are always at the highest level. See you next year!