A local treasure, the exhibit dedicated to the “Gioconda” mobile open-air school in Este.
At the Museum of Education, we preserve some of the “backpack” desks made between the 1920s and 1930s for the “Gioconda” mobile open-air school in Este. The “Gioconda”, established in 1922, was a mobile school, desks, blackboard, flag were “backpack” and transportable from one place to another depending on the weather, seasons, but also the teacher’s educational needs.
Two panels tell part of the story of this unique experience. The first panel illustrates a booklet published in 1928 with instructions for setting up and dismantling the class: these were real outdoor gymnastic exercises!
In the second panel are reproduced some photos of the students of the “Gioconda” during the 1950s. The photographs depict some classroom lessons and field trips of the students.
The experience of this open-air school, pioneering and unique in the national territory for its mobile nature, is now a valuable part of the museum’s display and the exhibition, which has been set up starting from November 2024, titled ‘The ‘Gioconda’ Mobile Open-Air School in Este: An Experience Ahead of Its Time.‘