Families
Parents and caregivers have the opportunity to play with their children through our family programs in order to learn something new for themselves and their relationship, to be "lost" in the game of discovery away from the distractions of everyday life.
At Exploration Children's Museum we recognize the value of the family and enhance learning between the child and the adult, by creating transformational memorable family learning experiences across the sciences, arts and humanities that promote family engagement through the use of real objects, immersive environments, and live interpretation.
School Groups
Educational Programs for School Groups
Exploration offers teachers and students the opportunity to explore and discover the Museum’s collections and exhibits directly within their own space: the school.
Our educational programs are designed for all grades of Primary Education (Kindergarten through Elementary) and are crafted by scientifically trained staff. In these programs, children play a leading role in their learning journey. With the Museum's collections and mobile exhibits as tools, children actively participate by exploring, discovering, experimenting, researching, working in groups, and taking initiatives—all through the engaging process of play.
We approach a wide range of topics related to everyday life and society using both interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary methods. The goal is to enhance the school experience for both students and teachers. The themes of our educational programs also align with the philosophy behind the new “Skills Workshops,” offering children the foundational tools to develop essential skills such as: critical thinking, social awareness, environmental and cultural heritage, mental and emotional health, collaboration and creativity.
These core skills are also the fundamental principles of our educational philosophy, and we are committed to helping children build these skills in a way that is both enjoyable and meaningful.
Arrange a School Visit
For more information about organizing a Museum experience at your school, please fill out the contact form here. The ECM Education Department will get in touch with you to plan an enjoyable and enriching museum experience tailored to your students.
Culture Walking Tours
Exploration Children’s Museum offers a unique opportunity for families from around the world to walk through the history of Heraklion. As you explore the city’s imposing Venetian Walls, Heraklion transforms into a lively, open-air museum for children.
Our cultural walking tour are specially designed educational programs that take place outdoors, guiding visitors through monuments, natural landscapes, and culturally significant sites. These tours invite participants to discover the city’s rich heritage in an interactive and engaging way.
Explore with Us
We read maps and old stories, explore monuments and public buildings, solve puzzles, and decipher secrets. Walking through the streets of Heraklion, we embark on a journey to discover its natural and cultural heritage while encountering fascinating characters from the past and present.
Choose the tour that piques your interest and join us to uncover the hidden stories, people, and landmarks of our city and nature!
Our Tours
City Tours: How well do we really know our city? What secrets does it hold? With Heraklion itself as our guide, we will explore its monuments and recognize the history behind them. Along the way, we will discover the stories of heroes, kings, gods, and people from the past who have shaped our city’s identity.
Water Tours: Where is water around us? What stories does it whisper? Join us as we stroll through the streets of water, discovering its cultural significance and unveiling the hidden stories woven into the city’s monuments.
Nature Tours: What are the "monuments" of nature? What treasures lie in the natural world? In this treasure hunt-style tour, children and parents alike will explore Heraklion’s natural landscapes, uncovering both small and grand secrets of the wonderful world of nature.
Let Exploration Begin!
Step into history, nature, and stories with us - explore, discover, and learn through the power of walking tours!
Your museum
Play with our #collections!
Did you know that you can discover Exploration’s collections from your… own home?
20 artifacts from our Museum get out of their boxes and pose in front of our camera!
Are you ready for #exploration? Because the game of #1440 minutes is starting… now!
An online game with Exploration’s collections waits you from March 25th until May 28th, 2020. Watch out for Museum’s posts in social media (Facebook and Instagram), until you see a photo of an object’s detail. The game’s purpose? To discover the object hiding in the photo!
How will you discover it? In each post you can read tips that will help you with your exploration! The main rule is to search everywhere you want (books, maps, websites, cyclopedia, movies) and ask everyone you want from you family (you can use your phone also!) Don’t forget to compare the Museum’s photo with your own objects at home. Once you complete your research, write your answer as a comment below the photo (your parents could help you!).
How much time you have for all this? Of course, it’s # 1440 minutes from the moment the Museum’s photo is posted! As soon as the #1440 minutes have passed ... the answer will be revealed!
What can you do after the answer is revealed? Find similar items you have at home, take pictures and send them to Exploration in order to make all together our own digital children's museum!
In the photos below, discover the collections we have already made with items our visitors sent us!
The game has just begun! Are you ready?
Exploration in the city
Did you know that you can explore your city from you own… home?
One of the main features of Exploration Children's Museum is walking tours! Through various routes, the Museum gives its visitors from all over the world the opportunity to "walk" through the history of our city of Heraklion, discovering its natural and cultural heritage, meeting people of the past and the present.
Although we #stayhome, Exploration invites you to get familiar with Heraklion city from your own home! Every week we will explore different areas of the island of Crete, we will read stories and discover traditional customs through play.
The project "#Exploration in the city!" is a collaboration with the tourist guide This Is Crete. This Is Crete was founded in 2010 to promote the beautiful and historic island of Crete. Let’s explore the seaside and the mountains, museums and monuments, canyons and churches, cities and villages through their photos. Join us on a journey to the wonderful island of Crete.
Ready for exploration?
Let’s be tourists in our city!
Black History Month
What springs to mind when you hear the word “history”? What springs to mind when you hear the word “black”?
What stories do you believe that “Black History” tells?
February is the "Black History Month" and at Exploration, we uncover the important African-Americans who made significant contributions to society, science, politics, entertainment, and sports. Choose the person you'd like to learn about and discover their story through photos, books, videos, artifacts, and historical facts, all while engaging in play!
A few words about “Black History Month”:
“Black History Month” is an annual observance that originated in the United States, where it is also known as African-American History Month. The month has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada, and in more recent years, it has been observed in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
It started as a way to remember and honor significant people and events in the history of the African diaspora. It is celebrated every February in the United States and Canada, while in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, it is observed in October.
The roots of Black History Month trace back to 1926 in the United States when historian Carter Woodson (1875–1950) and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced that the second week of February would be Negro History Week. Fifty years later, in 1976, it was decided that this celebration would extend for the entire month.
MONTH OF REVOLUTION 1821-2021
This year we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the Greek Revolution of 1821 and March comes full of revolution at Exploration Children's Museum!
What springs to mind when you hear the word "revolution"?
Which hero of the Greek Revolution do you admire? What historic battle took place in your area?
Let's become a historic researcher to explore Greek regions historically! Together we will read maps and books, we will observe paintings and photographs, we will discover monuments and objects. Come with us to meet heroes, historical events and important battles that defined the Greek Revolution. And how would we do all this? But of course, through play!
Every week we will discover a new event about the Greek Revolution! What will it be each time?
Month of Revolution | 1821-2021
This year we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the Greek Revolution of 1821 and March comes full of revolution at Exploration Children's Museum!
What springs to mind when you hear the word "revolution"?
Which hero of the Greek Revolution do you admire?
What historic battle took place in your area?
Let's become a historic researcher to explore Greek regions historically! Together we will read maps and books, we will observe paintings and photographs, we will discover monuments and objects. Come with us to meet heroes, historical events and important battles that defined the Greek Revolution. And how would we do all this? But of course, through play!
If you want to become one of our Museum’s historical researcher, then all you have to do is to visit Museum's website at www.exploration.gr and to follow us on our social media. And don’t forget! A little surprise will be waiting for you to discover it every week! We are waiting for you!
Playful Clicks | Children's Photo Exhibition
What is your favorite toy?
How do you play with your family at home? What games do you prefer to play with your friends?
Play is your favorite pastime, and we are sure you know everything about it! So, we decided to reveal its secrets with your help. How? But of course through our… "Playful Clicks"!
Play is an essential element in a child's development, being an integral part of their daily life. It is, after all, the fundamental basis of the philosophy of our Museum: through play we explore, discover, experiment, get to know ourselves and understand everything around us. Play is a child's job, and our job too!
The new educational program of Exploration Children's Museum is full of games, photography and art! Exploration invites all children to become photographers on a special mission: to capture their daily play moments with their camera lens. Our target: to create a digital photo exhibition that will tell our own toy stories!
TOYS COME ALIVE
Group photography exhibition of the children who participated in the educational program "Playful Clicks"
grand Opening: Wednesday 5 May 2021 | Duration: Summer 2021
Exhibition Production | Photographers | Curators:
Gioula, Maro, Orpheus-Angelos, Argyro, Maria, Andreas, Vassilis, Socrates, Zoi, Areti, Vassilis,
Manos, Stathis, Lena, Christos, Eleni, Myrto, Danai, Angeliki L., Marianthi, Melina, Dimitris, Angeliki T.
Contributors to the Exhibition: Exploration Children’s Museum
Program Coordinator | Director: Ioanna Anagianni, Art and Cultural Mediation / Education
We would like to thank the parents of the children and the Kindergarten "Babyland" for their active participation in the program.
We warmly thank our dear friends of Exploration Children's Museum who honored us with their photo on the wall of our guests.
Exploration Children's Museum © Playful Clicks 2021