Fabumouse news for all Geronimo Stilton’s young fans:15 December, in worldwide exclusive, the children’s most loved mouse reporter arrives in the museums of Brescia for awhisker-twitching adventure! For the first time ever, Geronimo Stilton will be the protagonist of a museum game-app dedicated to children aged 6 and over entitledGeronimo Stilton. Brescia Museum Adventures, promoted byFondazione Brescia Museiin collaboration withAtlantyca Entertainmentand the support ofFondazione Cariplo.
This is the first time a cultural foundation, Fondazione Brescia Musei, ventures into the world ofgaming,partnering with Geronimo Stiltonto explore the complex museum networkof the Brescian foundation comprising four institutions:Museo di Santa Giulia, Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo, Brixia. Parco archeologico di Brescia Romana, and Museo “Luigi Marzoli”. Each museum venue features its own and specific museum itinerary, defined by the Fondazione Brescia Musei Education Services and Atlantyca Entertainment, and led by the Geronimo Stilton character – theglobal phenomenonthat has sold 175 million book copies around the world, and currently boasts three animation series co-produced with Rai Fiction and distributed in over 130 countries.
Invented by Elisabetta Dami, Geronimo (published in Italy by Edizioni Piemme – Mondadori Libri)steps into a museumfor the first timewith an innovative and across-the-border project based on public engagement in which Fondazione Brescia Musei has decided to invest to introduce its collection to young digital natives using devices that are familiar to them.
A smartphone or a tablet is all young visitors will need to take part in three exciting adventures atMuseo Santa Giulia – with its archaeological park and the newWinged Victorystatue display in the Capitolium –, at Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo, and at Museo “Luigi Marzoli”.Adventures they will experience with an exceptional companion: the mouse reporter who thanks to his intelligence, the help of his friends, and a bit of luck always manages to get out of trouble. With this app, young visitors will enjoy an even more stimulating and memorable museum experience improved by a high-quality, innovative and fresh digital experience, capable of communicating with children through devices they are at ease with. Wandering among amulets, amphorae, paintings and suits of armour, Geronimo will guide his young adventurers through the history of Brescian museums and collections, with augmented reality transforming some of the museum exhibits into explorable3D imagesthat can be observed, turned and enlarged even in their smallest details.
“With the launch of our first app-game, we are continuing along the path of digital innovation, a path we have been exploring for some time now with integrated educational projects, reconfirming our commitment to new generations of digital natives”, declaredFrancesca Bazoli, president of Fondazione Brescia Musei.We chose Geronimo Stilton as our heritage ambassador because of his extraordinary influence on children and the ease with which they identify with this character.”
The project –winner of Fondazione Cariplo’s “Per la cultura” call for post-health crisis projects to relaunch cultural activities– incorporates and experiments with contemporary languages through an interactive and fun educational application: an app inspired by the principles ofedutainmentandgamification, stimulating young visitors to learn actively through the language they know best, that of play.
“The objectives are manifold”,says Stefano Karadjov, Director of the Foundation, “In addition to heritage conservation and preservation, our aim is to encourage early and constant education around these collections, as part of a process of personal and collective cultural and civic growth towards a better quality of life, by stimulating imagination, creativity, and knowledge. The Foundation’s Education Services team has greatly contributed to this objective. Thanks to their experience, they played a fundamental role in the definition of the app content, in the artistic choices, and in the analysis and selection of museum materials”.
At Museo diSanta Giulia, the“Geronimo Stilton and the Search of the Lost Medallion” itinerary will engage children in a mission on behalf of Geronimo. The aim is to find a precious medallion inside the museum, but only after having discovered various other objects, following the footprints of the Director of theRodent’s Gazettemarking the start of the museum tour. Along the way, using smartphones and tablets like modern magnifying glasses, children will frame the cheese-shaped symbols unlocking hidden questions and riddles automatically appearing on their screens. By answering the questions correctly, winning the challenges, and finding the last mysterious object, each young museum visitor will win the title of “treasure discoverer” receiving a virtual “time explorer” hat as a prize. Geronimo will then invite the children to move on to theArchaeological Parkto end their experience by admiring the wonderfulWinged Victory, where our exceptional guide will reveal the secrets of this outstanding sculpture.
Another quest entitled“Geronimo Stilton, a Brushstroke Adventure”awaits the youngcheese nibletsatPinacoteca Tosio Martinengo: a thunderstorm ruined the painting Geronimo made for his office and it will be up to the children, with their app, to help him find those elements that he had included in his painting among the museum masterpieces. This app provides a fun and educational opportunity to explore the museum and admire its valuable paintings:Saint George and the Dragon, theSupper at Emmaus,Moretto’sPala Rovellio,Giacomo Ceruti’sPitocchi,Moroni’sPortrait of a Gentlemanand extraordinary sculptures such asThorvaldsen’sNightandFerrari’sLaocoon. When the “fountain pen” prize appears on the screen, it means the search has been successful and the game completed!
In the“Geronimo Stilton, a Day as a Knight”itinerary atMuseo “Luigi Marzoli”children travel back to the Middle Ages to help Geronimo find all the pieces of a suit of armour he needs to take part in a ring jousting competition. Walking through the halls of the Castle’s imposing Mastio Visconteo fortified tower, with their tablet at hand, children will discover all the parts of a suit of armour and how it was decorated, how knights could see through the small openings in their helmets, what trials a young man had to endure to become a knight, how horses were harnessed, and many other curious facts. The tour ends in the hall of parade suits of armour, where Geronimo finds a prestigious shield and each participant will have the opportunity to virtually decorate one shield to their liking.
Spending time together, and playing and interacting with others helps children from an early age to define their own identity and strengthen their sense of community, even in small group or class activities. Learning collectively in an enjoyable way, in a special place such as a museum, home to art and history,is the very purpose of this app, which can also be used at school. Using classroom interactive whiteboards, the app special contents are even be accessible from school, offering a taste of the experience children will enjoy in person after months of distance-learning. But there is more:Geronimo speaks English tooand the app can also be used for afabumouseEnglish lesson.
“Thanks to his ability to communicate positive values and educational content in a fun way, Geronimo Stilton has always been a spokesperson for projects and cultural initiatives specific to the world of children. Making subjects stimulating and accessible, Geronimo makes even the richest and most complex topics interesting, creating a valuable bridge between the world of adults and that of children. For this reason, this character is an ideal museum mediator, and in this case his mission is made even more special thanks to this highly innovative and unique app”, declaresClaudia Mazzucco, CEO of Atlantyca Entertainment, the company managing the international publishing, animation and licensing rights for the entire Geronimo Stilton world.
The application, developed in collaboration withWay Experience, isfreeand available on AppStore and PlayStore. The museum itineraries can be accessed through the visitors’ personal devices or using tablets and headsets provided free of charge by Fondazione Brescia Musei at the museum ticket offices (all devices are sanitized before and after use). The app is available in Italian, English, and with subtitles.
As Geronimo Stilton would say, afabumouseexperience,cheesy fun guaranteed.
