Educational Service: a Differentiated Experience

Today, it is increasingly unthinkable to create a cultural space without considering the dimension of cultural mediation with its visitors, and the Educational Service ends up reflecting this purpose with great expressiveness.

Indeed, Educational Services become one of the ways to establish greater involvement and connection with diverse audiences and communities that cultural entities work with. The clear objective is to propose a series of different and adapted dynamics and activities that combine the act of learning with entertainment, leisure, and fun.

Visiting a museum as part of an annual plan of activities for an educational institution (not limited here to compulsory education) can and should be an opportunity for a differentiated experience, assuming a format and an approach that stand out from the routine and patterns that are usually reproduced in classrooms. It couldn't be otherwise because visiting a museum/cultural space allows for an approach to a very particular reality/theme; contact with a distinct environment; a context that fosters dialogue, critical thinking, reflection on the world in which we live and of which we are an integral part; direct interaction and participation; an invitation to do, to touch, to experiment, to listen, to share, to feel.

As cultural mediators and teams that receive people and groups of such different origins and characteristics every day, the main intention is not to convey knowledge about the represented themes, but rather to open new doors, new paths, so that together with those who visit us, we can learn more, sharpen our desire, curiosity, and a connection that should be mutual. To achieve this, it is necessary to foster an attitude that knows how to welcome the unexpected, that integrates and gives voice in a spirit of freedom, flexibility, and constant (re)adaptation.

In WOW Porto, a Cultural Quarter with six Thematic Museums, this mission takes on even more evident relevance. Our Museums speak about Wine(s), Cork, Chocolate, the history of Porto and the Region where Porto is located, the history of humanity told through the ritual of drinking. These are all themes that are part of our heritage, that speak to our identity and the umbilical relationship between humans and nature, that connect us with our common stories and past.

In this context, an Educational Service acquires an almost limitless potential to intersect various areas of knowledge and moments that can be very enriching on both sides. With activity proposals for all ages in each of our Museums, we challenge ourselves and those who seek us out to look at our Museums - and the themes that bring them to life - far beyond the obvious. It is also in line with this approach that this section in the blog emerges, with the aim of presenting aspects, small stories, curiosities, and perspectives about our Museums and the underlying concepts.

However, more important than the educational program we present and suggest, which is actually open to any adjustments that we feel make sense, considering the needs and contributions of those who visit us, what we really want is to provide an experience: a moment that is truly lived, not indifferent to any of the participants (to those who come, to those who accompany).

We are at the beginning of this journey, but this is the path we will seek to follow. And it wouldn't make sense to go alone, so thank you to those who, from today, have arrived here, have come to us.