From the Tikal National Park to the Popol Vuh Museum, there are multiple history and culture sites that can be visited by public and private sector students under the project “My school travels to the museum”. This plan combines the learning of Guatemalan identity with the exploration of cultural wealth impregnated with history.
Through guided tours at least 44 historical museums and 12 archaeological sites of the countryThe authorities seek to promote a pedagogical reinforcement that fosters an innovative education through the experience of observing cultural wealth directly.
The cultural exploration will be destined for the country’s departments, which students from public schools, by cooperative, municipal and private, throughout the year. In addition, they can move to other departments where the site of their choice is located.
Archaeological sites such as CEIBAL, Uaxactún, Tayasal or Tikal may be visited at no cost by public sector students, to whom the Ministry of Education will allocate funds to cover entry and transport from and from and to the educational center.
In the case of private or cooperative centers, MINEDUC and the Ministry of Culture will offer the reserve of parks and tourist guidelines.
The Minister of Education, Anabella Giracca, commented that the creation of the program “My school travels to the museum” is part of an interministerial alliance with the Ministry of Culture and Sports. The project will allow 100% of public sector students to visit museums in the country, as part of a pedagogical effort to promote innovative education.
“We are looking for children not only to memorize content, but also learn to feel. Visiting a museum is fundamental because it is linked to the national base curriculum,” said the head of Education.
He added that the museums enrolled in the program will send didactic material prior to the visit, which will enrich learning and link the experience to the knowledge acquired in class, through experiences related to the country’s culture.
The Minister of Culture and Sports, Liwy Grazioso, added: “We want visits to be playful experiences, not as before, when students only wrote what they saw. Now they must live and enjoy culture and art, integrate them into their training as citizens.”
There will be 12 departments that will be available to make visits, both archaeological sites and history museums, public and private.
Among the archaeological sites are Iximché, Kaminaljuyú, Tak’alik Ab’aj, Zaculeu, Tikal and Quiriguá National Park. As for the museums, the Cultural Center of Spain in Guatemala, the Ixchel Museum of the indigenous suit, the National Museum of Art of Guatemala (Munag), the house of Quetzal and La Marimba are included.
Also read: 5 museums in Guatemala to visit with children and family
Registration and logistics process
To make these trips, the ministries have enabled the platform miescuelaviaja.minedu.gob.gtwhere the directors of each institution must register the educational center and the groups, and request the visit dates. Completed the steps, confirmation by the Ministry of Education must be expected.
Regarding public educational centers, they must request the authorization of school excursions and funds for transport and entering places. In this case, there is no geographical limitation for visits.
For the project, both institutions have an assigned budget of Q10 million. Giracca stressed that it is sought, with this initiative, to provide everyone with the opportunity to know and live experiences that mark the life of students.
Museum situation in Guatemala
Grazious acknowledged that the physical conditions of museums and archaeological sites require mostly improvements. “Culture has been abandoned for years, but we are working to restore and improve spaces so that they are in optimal conditions in the shortest possible time,” he said.
Currently, there are about 15 museums and 20 enabled archaeological zones, and the list will be extended progressively. National museums are free access for students.
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