An enriching experience opens its doors in Havana’s historic centre

The Classroom Museums of Old Havana, located in the oldest part of the capital, are once again opening their doors to the city’s children for the 2023-2024 school year, on Calle de Madera in the Plaza de Armas, around the former Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, now the Museo de la Ciudad (Museum of the City).

This was also the beginning of a tribute to the 81st birthday of Dr Eusebio Leal, the creator of these spaces in the historic centre more than twenty years ago, and a continuation of his ideas.

In this valuable project, primary school children visit the cultural centres and museums of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana (OHCH).  Their stay in classrooms set up in museums, protected residences and the ecological garden is an opportunity for growth for the children, who receive their lessons in conjunction with a heritage education programme.

The experience is a hallmark of the OHCH’s management model because of its innovative nature from a pedagogical point of view and the benefits it has brought to the children and the community in general.

Through the classroom-museums, the future heritage guides acquire more knowledge and skills, in addition to recreation. It also influences the formation of qualities, as it is a place that they have to take care of so that others can enjoy it, according to the teachers interviewed about this project.

The results of this pedagogical experience are beneficial, as they influence the development of values, norms and disciplines of coexistence in these centres, improving indicators such as academic performance and learning.

In this way, Dr Eusebio Leal is not absent, he accompanies the children and asks them once again for their commitment to study and to the heritage that has been placed in their hands.

Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez