An Experience of Science Theatre to Introduce Earth Interior and Natural Hazards to Children

Abstract

The present paper describes an experience of science theatre addressed to children of primary and secondary school, with the main purpose of making them acquainted with a topic, the interior of the Earth, largely underestimated in compulsory school curricula worldwide. A not less important task was to encourage a positive attitude towards natural hazards that are here presented as an expression of our planet vitality. We conducted the experience with the help of a theatrical company specialized in shows for children, trying to merge scientific accuracy, entertainment and ethical issues. Several performances have been reiterated in different context, giving us the opportunity of conducting a preliminary survey with a public of different ages, skills and expectations. Results suggest that science theatre, while relying on creativity and emotional learning has the potential to raise children interest on the process of making science, on natural phenomena and may trigger a positive attitude on natural disasters reduction best practices.

From children to seniors: is culture accessible to everyone?

“…When it comes to children, it can be noticed that the ratings for all the above categories are relatively low, below 4, which indicates that the residents generally think that cultural contents are not fully adapted to meet the needs of children. However, places like children's theatres (Eluyefa, 2017;Musacchio et al, 2015) and museums (Birch, 2018) are good examples of cultural content that is entirely compatible with the needs of children. Cultural organizations could also make some changes in content interpretation and apply, for instance, a variety of digital tools and devices (Jung et al, 2018), mobile applications and games that can be used both in the museum/gallery and at home (Iskandarova et al, 2019).…”

“…In addition, previous studies have focused on the importance of creating programs in cultural institutions for one specific target group of visitors and developing approaches for their engagement. For example, those aimed at people with some kind of disability such as Alzheimer's disease or dementia (Camic et al, 2016;Rosenberg, 2009;Windle et al, 2018), ethnic minority groups (Le and Fujimoto, 2011), different age groups including children (Birch, 2018;Song et al, 2017;Eluyefa, 2017;Musacchio et al, 2015;Curtis and Chavez, 2013;Jung et al, 2018;Andre et al, 2017;Kalumpahaiti, 2018), teenagers and young adults (Ces ario et al, 2018;Lattarulo et al, 2017;Shrapnel, 2012;Fors, 2013;Tajt akov a and Arias-Aranda, 2008) and seniors (Traboulsi et al, 2018;Bernard and Rickett, 2017;Avellino, 2016). However, there are no studies that compare the compatibility of cultural offer with the needs of different age groups, noticed by Boži c et al (2018), where the authors propose more research on the cultural needs and preferences of different age groups of cultural visitors in Serbia.…”

A Literature Review on Teaching Ethical Creativity in Primary Education

“…It is also apparent that researchers discuss ethical questions from different standpoints, for example, how to teach students about ethics, ethical issues arising from working with particular teaching methods, and questions about teacher ethics. However, several teaching strategies were identified: 1) multimedia engagement with digital imagery and audio/video tools (Ormiston et al, 2017), 2) art-related teaching and learning via theatre (Musacchio et al, 2015), 3) reading fiction as a way to initiate discussions about ethical questions and dilemmas (Serriere et al, 2017), 4) tackling real-world problems outside the classroom (Beghetto, 2017), preferably with enquiry-based learning, and 5) rule exploration through the invention of new physical games, which promotes ethical discussions about how game rules may include or exclude students (Butler, 2013). In addition to these didactic models, there were numerous articles discussing obstacles to working with creativity from an ethical point of view.…”

Cultural interventions through children's literature and arts-based practices in times of disaster: A case study of reading mediators' response to the Mexican earthquakes (September 2017)

“…Individuals need and seek the company of others to ensure new resources for personal and collective strength; they need places which allow them to make sense of their past, present and insecure future and they can find solace in familial and cultural traditions to support them moving forward [15; p. 170]. Cultural interventions can encompass a wide range of practices and forms, from storytelling and drama to poetry, music, arts and crafts, dance and photography [ 17 , 18 ].…”