Searching for Sophie in the Náprstek Museum ****************************************************************************************** * Searching for Sophie in the Náprstek Museum: My Afternoon with some Czech Schoolchildren ****************************************************************************************** I visited the Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures at Betlémské náměstí charming group of Czech school children who were completing an interesting programme calle Sophie, created and supported by the Faculty of Arts at Charles University in Prague. I was pleasantly surprised that Charles University has such links with local schools and i offering the children greater opportunities and an insight into higher education and thoug for Sophie scheme consists of two groups each semester (winter/summer) of 25 youngsters wh of educational hotspots and sights of interest in Prague together, including the Náprstek programme is extremely popular and oversubscribed a teacher informed me, with the spaces b just one day, especially since it upgraded from a exclusive project for children of the sc only to one where all can apply. The children tally their visiting experiences through their special Searching for Sophie b especially for the scheme, and they mark each visit with a sweet blue owl stamp with “Hled it. The personalised aspect of doing this evidently gave the children a sense of individua and self-appreciation, and they all rushed to get their page stamped as our visit came to delighted to receive one myself on my iForum notebook. I met the children outside the museum in the hidden, cobbled streets of Bethlehem Square ( naměstí), a charismatic area near Old Town with many unique cafes and dainty shops. The mu a former famous winery and brewery, was tucked away before an brick archway and walls of c one of numerous secluded treasures in and around Prague. In 1826, the building was bought family as a distillery and brewery, marked by the script and symbols of wine-making encarv the entrance. Later, the son of the owners- explorer, ethnographer and Czech academic Vojt converted the building into a private museum when he brought back numerous indigenous item specific to Asian, African and Native American cultures from his travels. Inside, we were astounded at the richness and depth of the exhibitions now available to the public. Agains museums I have come across here in the Czech Republic, it is amongst the best and most und also inexpensive and largely written in English in addition to Czech, so I highly recommen must-see tourist attraction in Prague as well as a stimulating educational facility concer of anthropology, culturology, world history, war studies, politics and Czech history. The building itself is old and deceivably large inside, so there’s a beautiful contrast be classic exterior and modern refurbished interior. The museum possesses two huge permanent the Cultures of Australia and Oceania and America (although note this has been temporarily reinstallation) and the current Age of Discovery, which is due to remain until the end of extensive collection ranges from artefacts and models to videos and skeletons, which was e many floors and rooms individually dedicated to specific ethnicities and cultures, present key themes of this conflictual and colonial age to visitors including European conquests, scientific and geographical discovery through the artifacts recovered from the hands of co pirates, slaves, scientists, religious missionaries and natives. Amongst the most impressi display were the original maps and diagrams of a Medieval world, sea navigation compasses, and trinkets, totem poles, native weapons, tools and clothing and bones of the those decea and infections exchanged between European and non-European communities. For the children, interactive model globe illustrating the routes undertaken across the seven seas by Europe prototypes of pirate and explorer ships, samples of exploited spices that they had to gues their tour guide teacher escorting them from room to room to tell them exciting tales of t adventures. It goes without saying that Náprstek‘s original collection has since been greatly improved and you can now find glossy pictures, profiles and billboards depicting famous settlers su Columbus, John Capot and even Czech travellers and researchers such as Dr Pavel Durdík. I museum’s separate commemoration of Czech history and figures as this voice can be unfairly amidst that of general and Western European history, making the museum a great source of C and a safeguarder of its Czech patriot founder. The children were keen listeners and enthusiastic participators, asking many questions and best to answer those posed to them. The took an avid interest in the exhibition, the famed the sensory activities and I have to comment that I have rarely come across such a well-be respectful and eager group of young children- this is in contrast to my personal attendanc pupil and then as a prefect in secondary school and later a volunteer in schools, where Br would run havoc shouting and screaming from start to finish with their teachers losing aut control on numerous occasions… At the end of the tour, the children were handed a test to complete on what they’d seen (i which I completed with the help of translation!) and a mask tracing to decorate and show. experience I had of the Czech education system, I noticed prevailing values of self-accomp worth and individuality. I was additionally told that the kids receive a graduation ceremo of their school year hosted by Charles University, which furthered this impression I had a how much of a wonderful idea this was. I was interested by the maturity of the children an they had the opportunity to study in comparison to the UK, which they approached mutually with readiness and thought. Their teacher informed me that her motivations of taking the c place were to encourage worldly perspectives, to diminish the dogma that science is boring creative and individualistic potential and to learn about life and culture outside of Euro culture and thought. I thoroughly agreed that such a trip was one of numerous fantastic op for the children on the Searching for Sophie programme to step outsider of the classroom, understanding from a young age and have a balanced, inspiring experience of school life. S Sophie and this specific trip was an accurate depiction of this, a great insight into the to education and a progressive mean to increase knowledge and cultural awareness, giving c potential to grow as a generation with an international attitude devoid of prejudice. As we waved them goodbye, the children were asked what was the highlight of their afternoo including Klára, Julie and Jirka commented “all of it“, Lily said “the boomerang“ and we r see them in years to come at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University. Whatever they deci sure such positive schemes supported by our university, will amply encourage the budding C that I had the pleasure to meet. Poppy Gerrard-Abbott is an Erasmus student studying BA write for the iForum to build on her journalism skills Czech culture and life in Prague through attending loc Poppy saw the iForum as an exciting opportunity to pur experience that has brought some exciting opportunitie such placements to future students.