A FLOWER IS NEEDED
(Period of performance: SPRING)
Designed for living the Garden of Memories
Such a lab is designed to give your kids a day in the outdoors, appreciating the garden and presenting it as the place where natural food is produced, to let them play outdoors in the green spaces of the garden, to snack with healthy and homemade products and to show them that inside a reused object you can plant a seed, which then will give its fruit as a result of the hands of the children themselves.
The laboratory foresees, a tour of the farm to discover the Garden of Memories, the Gardens and the Orchard, to see the favorite flower or vegetable.
After having had a snack in the Garden of Memories, the little visitor passes into the Leisure Lounge to assist a laboratory demonstration on how to plant the seed that then will give us the flower or the fruit desired.
The demonstration provides a description of the types of seed the little guest chooses, an explanation of the reasons for planting it in a specific season and information on how to plant it, using the components of a gadget that will be donated to the guests’ kids (the gadget consists of: an Easter egg surprise container, a bag of Earth, seeds and instructions on paper). The demo also introduces the topic of the importance of recycling things.
At the end of the demonstration, the gadgets are left to the kids to take home and use in the right season.
The container is made of recycled materials …. (Cocoons of the Easter egg surprises, the earth is that of our garden and the seeds are those of the Garden of Memories – the laboratory tour can last from 3 to 4 hours.
(This project was realized with the school students of St. Marco School)
A TRIP INTO A BOTTLE OF “SETTE FRATI” EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL:
(Period of performance: AUTUMN – WINTER)
Laboratory designed to know the production of Oil
This lab has been designed to let children know where the olive oil, used every day in the kitchen, comes from; to show them the healthy work of the countryside and the work that lays behind an oil droplet; to sensitize the child to think about the whole world behind things.
The laboratory foresees a welcome gathering of the little guests on the large lawn / car parking in front of the Abbazia Sette Frati, from there they are accompanied for a walk on the way towards the olive grove, which is just a few meters away. In the olive grove, the children can see the trees from which the olives are harvested and all the equipment needed to harvest this fruit.
From the olive grove, we head back towards the Abbey, where the they will attend a small tour inside the mill where the olives are transformed into oil; then it goes through the bottling process where the oil is put into the bottles. Here they will attend a presentation explaining in great detail the importance of what a label tells us.
From the bottling area, they are invited to go to the cloister where one of these bottles will be opened, and the oil poured on slices of bread, which will be served as a snack to the children, accompanied by apple juice made in a neighboring farm. After the snack, it’s time for free games in the garden.
– The tour can last from 3 to 4 hours.
(Project performed with the school students of St. Marco School)
A TASTE OF SAFFRON:
(Period of performance: AUTUMN)
Laboratory path thought of to further the visitor knowledge of the production of saffron
This workshop is designed to let children live a day in a small farm, in the midst of nature, simple agricultural practices and to put “hands in the dough”.
The day is divided as follows: arrival at the Abbey, small tour from the farmhouse to the saffron plantation. There the little guests will receive a presentation on the cultivation of saffron and the objects used to harvest the flower will be shown to them. Then they are invited into the cloister where we will find everything they need to pick the flowers of Saffron. After a brief explanation, they will go upstairs to the great kitchen of the farmhouse Recreational Lounge where they will be instructed on how to make a cake with the magic spice. After having put the cake in the oven, the children will receive a small scroll with the written recipe containing the instructions on how to prepare the sweet to bring home.
Finally, they will descend to the ground floor, in the cloister, where they can enjoy a snack with the cake prepared before.
- The tour can take about 3 hours.
FLOWER, LEAVE AND VEGETABLE DESIGNING:
(Period of performance: SUMMER)
Thought to make the garden and garden produce better known to the little guests
This workshop is designed to stimulate children’s creativity by using unconventional things to create a design.
This workshop foresees the welcoming of the children in the Garden of Memories. There they will be taught that Nature can provide us with unexpected creative means, and that these means must be found looking carefully around themselves. After that, we distribute small baskets to the children. They will leave for a short walk through the garden that will allow us to collect flowers, leaves and vegetables all together. With the collected material, we will head to the Recreational Lounge where the children will find watercolors and sheets of paper for drawing. Leaves, flowers and vegetables will serve as molds to create beautiful designs. At the end of this creative activity, the designs will be put to dry and in the meantime, before their departure, a short leisure time at the ground floor will be entertained.
- The tour can take about 3 or 4 hours.