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Museum Inclusive Project “Lasorics. Towards the Sun”

Project “Lazoriki. Towards the Sun” was created in the Sholokhov Museum-Reserve with the goal of organizing an accessible environment, cultural leisure for children with special needs. Currently, museum stays are adapted for children with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) and other mental disorders. They include interactive classes and excursions, master classes that contribute to the social adaptation of the child, increase interest in the cultural environment, improve the quality of life of families with special children through their inclusion in the museum space. We also work on the adaptation of the museum programs for other categories of visitors with special needs. 

Since October 2018 classes have been held weekly at one of the objects of the Sholokhov Museum-Reserve: in the People’s House, in the pottery workshop, at the stable, in the children's museum center (101 Sholokhov St.), in the Sholokhov’s outhouse. The children and their parents attend these classes with a great interest. Cooperation and co-creation define the joint activities of the museum tutors and children during the master classes. To evoke approval, a smile, interest, a desire to make small and big discoveries in a child are the most important goals of each lesson. 

Here there are adapted classes and master classes for children with ASD and other mental disorders:

“Rainbow-arc”, “I draw with my fingers”, “World of floristry” (teacher A. Sivtsova)

“Cossacks are musical people”, “Touch the antiquity” (teachers V. Antipov, I. Soldatov)

"Pottery workshop" (teacher D. Vostrikov)

“Miracles from clay” (teacher A. Tyapkin)

“Magic Pencil” (teacher M. Popova)

“Visiting the mother-stove” (teacher A. Tsytsura)

“Hello pony, hello horses”, “My black horse” (teachers E. Sukharukova, S. Biryulin)

“We are going to the theater” (teacher O. Kargina)

“On the Don, every Cossack is a fisherman” (teacher L. Slyusarenko) 

In the Sholokhov-Center, Rostov-on-Don, master classes and interactive classes have also been adapted for “special” visitors (teacher Kuropatkina E.N.). 

Museum educators have completed training courses on interacting with children with health limitations. They have certificates, and are constantly working on improving methods for interacting with visitors with special needs. A team of museum specialists takes part in organizing and conducting annual events on the Day of Inclusion, the Day of the dissemination of information about autism. 

The project “Inclusive Museum” of the Russian Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM of Russia), aimed at introducing the best practices of socialization and creative rehabilitation of people with disabilities by museum means, makes a significant contribution to the development and successful functioning of the inclusive direction. Guidelines, training videos and webinars presented by the ICOM project significantly improve the quality of the museum staff interaction with visitors with disabilities, help expand the scope of activities, and make it possible to use the valuable experience of colleagues from other museums. 

You can sign up for an inclusive lesson, get advice on the program “Inclusion in the museum. Interaction with children with health limitations”, and get the information about the children's project “Lazoriki. Towards the Sun” by phone:

+7 (86353) 24-5-14; +7 (950) 8400860; e-mail: lida_nik86@mail.ru

Lydia Slyusarenko, coordinator of the program
“Inclusion in the museum. Interaction with children with health limitations"