The Ethnographic Chest

Year-Round Program | designed for: Primary School Students

program duration: 45–90 minutes

admission: 30 CZK per student (free for accompanying teachers)

This program introduces students to the ethnography of the Uherský Brod region, focusing on the lives of their ancestors, the furnishings of traditional households, and the richness of local folk costumes. Students will explore the differences between rural and urban clothing, as well as between village and town living, while learning about daily life in the countryside.

The program covers: folk architecture; photographs of folk buildings and clothing from around 1900; paintings, ceramics, furniture, and rural rooms; embroidery, traditional costumes, and period clothing from the region.

Students will gain insight into the life of their ancestors, from birth to the end of life, including the tools, crafts, and everyday objects they used. They will learn how mugs and jugs were made, see traditional musical instruments, and discover how harvested crops like grain were processed, illustrated by a unique miniature model of a large mill. The program also includes displays of tools and equipment used in traditional crafts and agriculture.

Hands-on experiences include: trying on and learning how to wear various costume pieces; creating simple embroidery; weaving on a small handloom; folding traditional skirts; and matching costumes to their appropriate localities and architecture. Students will also learn about traditional material processing, such as flax, hemp, and sheep wool, and will get to try: combing fleece; spinning wool on a spinning wheel or spindle; folding skirts; knitting bags; and crafting winter gloves using special tools; as well as dyeing wool with a dry method.

Optional: Students can watch a 20-minute award-winning documentary produced by the museum, The Bride of Březová, which showcases the bride’s traditional costume from Březová and its reconstruction, overseen by exhibition curator Veronika Provodovská.