The Island Council of Tenerife, through the Autonomous Organisation of Museums (OAMC), is joining in the celebration of International Museum Day on Thursday 18 May, with more than fifteen activities under the title Museum, sustainability and wellbeing. The activities will focus on the importance of the environment, health and wellbeing in everyday life.
The island’s Councillor for Museums, Concepción Rivero, explains that “the aim of this celebration is to highlight the importance of museum centres as motors of change to achieve a much more sustainable future with greater environmental awareness, as well as helping to disseminate the cultural and heritage wealth of the islands”.
Rivero also points out that “with this programme, Museums of Tenerife invites all citizens to participate in collective activities, through educational centres or associations, and individual activities, so that citizens can play an active part in the change towards a more sustainable and healthier future”. The councillor also stressed that “the initiatives are aimed at both children and adults, and include informative talks, interactive workshops, guided tours and special activities for the public to participate and learn in an enjoyable and simple way”.
Programme of activities
Among the activities organised for the public as part of this celebration, the bibliographic exhibition Biodiversity between pages, which can be enjoyed at the Canary Islands and America Documentation Centre (CEDOCAM), stands out.
On the other hand, the Cineforum will be held on Tuesday 16 May at 18.00 at the Museum of Nature and Archaeology (MUNA). At this event, attendees will take part in a talk entitled Mental health: an imperative need for the 21st century, given by Francisco Javier Castropone, lecturer at the Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria University School of Nursing, who will discuss mental health and social isolation. Linked to this lecture, the film Aftersun (2022) by the Scottish director Charlotte Wells, in which she turns her childhood memories into a holiday in Turkey suspended in time, will be screened.
Another of the activities is the Sustainable Coffee, which will take place on Wednesday 17 May at the MUNA, starting at 18.30 hours. This is a scientific discussion for all audiences, which will be guided by the authors of the podcast Palique Divulgativo, and will deal with museums and their curators.
Starting on Monday 22 May, the activity El Castillo Sitiado (The Besieged Castle) begins, which consists of participants solving a series of enigmas about the history of the Castillo de San Cristóbal that will allow them to leave the fort. If they manage to decipher them, they will discover aspects about the context of these ruins, their defensive architecture and their heritage value. This action is carried out independently by the visitors, with the help of the materials that will be handed out when they enter the Interpretation Centre.
In the case of the Museum of History and Anthropology, the activity Conversations around Anatomies of a Dependency is organised at its headquarters in Casa de Carta, offering the possibility of visiting it and talking to the museum’s technical staff about the theme and content of this exhibition.
The Museum of Science and the Cosmos (MCC) is offering an exhibition combining the best of theatre and science for families to enjoy in the performance of Artilogios. The times are Friday 19 May at 18.30 and Saturday 20 May at 16.30 and 18.30.
All the activities are free until full capacity is reached, so some of them require prior registration. Those interested in checking the programme, which will be completed over the next few days, can do so on the Museums of Tenerife website: https://www.museosdetenerife.org/blog/dim-2023/.
Activities for schools
Museums of Tenerife is also organising a programme for schools. The pupils will be able to enjoy two plays that combine theatre and science: “A Leap of Giant” and “Artilogios” at the Museum of Science and the Cosmos (MCC), the activity Cotaller ODS’s “Between Land and Sea” at the Museum of Nature and Archaeology (MUNA) and “La Museoneta comes to your college” at the museums themselves, among other programmed activities.
