EXARC at the Festival of Prehistory of Montevarchi (Italy)
On Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 October, the PaleoFest – Festival of Prehistory took place in Montevarchi (Italy). The event was organized by the Paleontological Museum of Montevarchi and the Accademia Valdarnese del Poggio, the institution that owns the museum.
PaleoFest was first launched in 2017 with the aim of promoting the museum’s paleontological and archaeological collections and presenting them to diverse audiences through events held in the squares of Montevarchi and excursions throughout the surrounding area. The festival’s multiple venues correspond to a wide range of formats: exhibitions, scientific talks, installations, theatrical and musical performances, educational activities, sensory experiences, storytelling sessions, animated readings, scientific book fairs, guided tours, focus groups, themed gastronomic experiences, and more.
The initiative involves numerous partners and professionals, including universities, cultural institutions, cooperatives, museums, experimental archaeologists, paleontologists, and museum educators.
EXARC participated in the event on Sunday, 5 October, with a stand dedicated to two educational workshops on Prehistory. EXARC’s contribution took place within the ScienzAttiva Area, where from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, Federico Cappadona, Communications Manager of EXARC, and Vittoria Faga, educator and museum guide, ran two hands-on workshops inspired by prehistory. These workshops, designed specifically for children at the museum’s request, also attracted parents, university students, and adults.
The first workshop, Sounds from Prehistory, focused on the theme of sound production in the past. It began with an introduction about the role of sound in hunter-gatherer societies and the materials and tools available for producing it. Participants created simple whistles from dried hazelnuts, which were hollowed out and opened at the base. The activity demonstrated how such a simple instrument could produce high-pitched sounds, illustrating the variety of functions materials can take on in different contexts through simple modification processes, carried out with tools of varying complexity.
The second workshop, Painting for All, focused on Paleolithic art. Participants were invited to trace the outlines of animals typical of the Ice Age megafauna onto large sheets of packing paper. The available shapes included mammoths, giant deer, cave bears, and penguins, the latter inspired by the depictions found in the Cosquer Cave. During the activity, participants learned about the materials used at the time, such as ochre, plant-based pigments, and charcoal, along with their functions and applications. After coloring the outlines with non-toxic pigments (charcoal and chalks), the final step was to crumple and reopen the sheets to create a textured effect reminiscent of cave walls. Children were then invited to take their drawings home and observe them in the dark, using a torch or candlelight, to see how the light altered and distorted the shapes of the animals on the uneven paper surface, just as firelight once animated cave walls.
Both workshops combined moments of explanation and hands-on practice, concluding with a body painting session where the youngest participants received “prehistoric” face paint made from non-toxic pigments.
EXARC’s participation in the event aligns with its mission to promote and disseminate experimental archaeology and knowledge through a “learning by doing” approach. This collaboration was particularly significant as PaleoFest emphasizes accessibility and openness in sharing the museum’s heritage, an especially important challenge given that the Paleolithic past can feel distant and unfamiliar to many audiences.