Fà la cosa giusta! Exhibition: an opportunity to create synergies between schools, museums and our heritage.

Organised by publisher Terre di Mezzo Fa’ la cosa giusta! has taken place for the last 16 years in Milan and has become the largest national exhibition on ethical consumption and sustainable lifestyles. Over the years the exhibition has kept a particular focus on cultural and educational processes. For the past 2 years, together with the teachers of Officine Scuola we have dedicated part of the exhibition to a project called Sfide la scuola di tutti (Challenges-a school for everyone) which has promoted training sessions for teachers, students and their families to explore the role of schools and the education system and its potential for innovation. This year within the Sfide project, in collaboration with the Department of Human Science, University of Milano-Bicocca, we introduced a new format to present educational and training opportunities that resulted from a collaboration between schools and museums. Over 2 days we proposed morning round table style conversations where 12 museum representatives and teachers presented signifcant educational projects designed to explore and make use of museum resources. Common traits between the diferent projects were: inclusivity, cross curricular approach, collaboration between schools and museums, innovative education methods. During the afternoons a few of the most original and experimental projects were showcased and a workshop area provided, where museum education officers and teachers could meet, exchange experiences and start collaborations. The exhibition took place from 8th to 10th March 2019 in 32.000 mq of Fieramilanocity and welcomed 65.000 visitors, 700 exhibitors, hosted 450 meetings as part of its cultural programme, employed 200 volunteers and 100 students on job experience. 2.400 participants and 150 speakers took part in the 110 meetings organised within the Sfide-la scuola di tutti project. Our intention is to explore potential collaborations between schools and museums in such an informal setting as that provided by an exhibition. And our experience shows that an exhibition can become the place where ideas, projects and conversations are shared among museum representatives, teachers and a diverse public of participants.