The concept of #ErasmusDays, which is a global celebration, is to spread awareness of European values, the advantages of mobility, and the accomplishments of Erasmus+ projects. Esplora Interactive Science Centre have also benefitted from the Erasmus programmes and through it, various Esplora staff members had the opportunity to attend training mobilities to enhance their science communication and 21st century skill sets. Hereunder, you can read more on the various experiences written by some of the participants of these programmes:
Elaine Manicaro
I had the opportunity to attend the Ecsite conference as part of an Erasmus+ Mobility. It was a learning opportunity to meet people working in the science centre industry, get to know more about projects they are working on and discuss similar problems encountered. The keynote speeches were inspirational. Various businesses were also showcasing their latest products and explored additional exhibits that could be included in our exhibition spaces.
It was also particularly valuable to attend this conference since we will be hosting the Ecsite conference in Malta next year.
Ylenia Montebello
Forming part of the Malta Ecsite Committee I was chosen to attend this year’s conference to experience what Ecsite is all about, since Esplora will be hosting this conference in 2023. Since I am handling, together with other colleagues, most of the logistical aspects and catering for the conference, gathering intel about these aspects was crucial.
Throughout my attendance at Ecsite I visited the business bistro every day to mingle with attendees whom a lot of will be present next year. I also attended all the social events and I have to say that the Nocturne event was one of the highlights for me. Seeing so many people in the science centre, enjoying the exhibits and each other’s company was lovely. Of course, I cannot not mention the incredible planetarium that Experimenta have! The little teaser they demonstrated at the Nocturne event of what their planetarium has to offer was incredible.
Clayton Cutajar
The ECSITE mobility in Germany was truly a fruitful experience. Not only were we exposed to best practices and experiences in the field of VET non-formal Science Education and Communication, but we got the chance to network and make new contacts. Such an experience will leave a great legacy since we can count on our German counterparts (and vice versa) for any questions, advice and recommendations required. I strongly suggest entities and people to embark on such mobilities as they are truly a holistic learning experience in terms of fostering knowledge, skills, competencies and attitudes.
Eriksson Deguara
This training was very useful for me since I took a clear idea of how different science centres work. As I am in charge of science communication and activities development, I really found this experience helpful, because they have a different strategy of how they work and a different way of how to interact with visitors. I could also compare the explainers work since I am part of the explainer’s team. Their way of how to work with schools is totally different to ours. With schools they do not tour them around the centre, they just let them roam freely.
Kurt Demanuele
The skills I gained from this course are invaluable to Esplora, as my job requires to host people of different ages, from kindergarten pupils to adults and seniors, on daily basis. Nowadays, it is critical that we pique the interest of our customers in scientific basics. The outcomes of this training provided me with experiences of the best possible sharing of practices and experiences to meet Esplora’s current demands as a result of such encounters.
Before this training, I never had the chance to visit another science centre, and this was my first time participating in job shadowing and hence, I believe that this training mobility aided my personal development, as well as provided a boost to my abilities and a full integration into my job as a Science Communicator. This will leave beneficial results to Esplora Science Centre.
Sarah Ebejer
Going to Ciência Viva was an experience I will always remember. At Ciência Viva they have lots of events, one that amazed me was having a lights off event, where they invited visitors to go to the centre at night, however all the exhibits and lights would be switched off. There was little light, and the visitors were told to bring flashlights and they had various activities in that environment. One thing about Ciência Viva that I will always remember is their mascot, Viva. Viva is a robot that greets you at the entrance, she is very popular with children as she is an interactive robot that gives kisses and even dances!
Ciência Viva has a lot to offer. What I liked the most was that they have temporary exhibitions that they replace every year. This way, the visitors are motivated to come and discover new exhibits. Throughout our training event, the temporary exhibition was about water. This makes one realize how much water we spend on a day-to-day basis and raises awareness on the importance to use water efficiently.
Ciência Viva offers workshops for children related to food. We attended a workshop where they teach the children what are the names of vegetables and in which category they fall. After this the children have an opportunity to make a vegetarian pizza and then eat it!
Ciência Viva was an opportunity to always remember, and I am very grateful for it.
Katrina Debono
In November of 2021, I was given the opportunity to visit a science centre in Barcelona, Spain called Cosmo Caixa. Thanks to the job shadowing experience offered through an Erasmus+ project, a few of my colleagues and I spent a week learning about the history of the museum, their permanent exhibition, science shows, workshops and even a temporary exhibition about Nikola Tesla. It was fascinating to see such an impeccably curated science museum with impressive exhibits on a much larger scale than we are used to. The experience was one which was greatly beneficial as it reignited my passion for science communication while also inspiring me with new ideas we could use to improve our own science centre here in Malta.
Sabrine Borg
I was always interested in Erasmus+ mobility experiences but I was never lucky enough to go due to many different reasons. When the Barcelona experience came out, I was very excited to apply since I’ve never been to Spain and to my luck, I was chosen to go with 5 of my colleagues.
The mobility training was set in Cosmo Caixa, a science centre in Catalonia very similar to Esplora. We spent 3 days in the centre were we were able to see and speak to all the different departments that make up the science centre.
One memory which I will never forget is the small rain forest featured in the science centre, a forest that rains every 15 minutes and has many different animals inhabiting it: including many fish, birds and even a capybara. I also loved the Arctic photo exhibit and the penguins (I secretly thought they were real penguins; you can imagine how sad I was when I realised they were just figures).
David Cilia
Aside from being enjoyable, my experience at CosmoCaixa as part of an Erasmus project was instructional and very useful as regards my professional development as a science communicator. Together with my colleagues, I attended sessions detailing everything from funding and management to the setting up of temporary displays for special events, all against the magnificent backdrop of the science centre itself, which features several noteworthy exhibits that are sure to evoke curiosity and enchantment. The training equipped me with specialized insights and skills that will continue to be of benefit for years to come.
