Current

Press Releases

30/06/2008

This summer, the Santa María Cathedral Foundation will be running a series of workshops for children about art, history and architecture

The courses last between 1.5 and 2 hours and will be taking place between 7th and 31st July

Vitoria-Gasteiz, 30th June 2008.- With the arrival of the school holidays, the Santa María Cathedral Foundation will once again be running children’s workshops throughout the month of July. Over four weeks, children will find out about the art, history and architecture surrounding the Gothic Cathedral in these fun enjoyable workshops.
Once again, the month of July is dedicated to children. This year, the Santa María Cathedral Foundation will be running four different workshops so children can feel like archaeologists, artists and artisans for a day. The courses aim to show children aged from 6 to 11 the restoration work taking place at the Cathedral, since there is no specific guided tour for this age group and school children who visit the Cathedral are all over the age of 10.
The programme designed for this year includes four workshops in Spanish and Basque between the 7th and 31st July. Each workshop will last between an hour and a half and two hours, and participants can choose between the following sessions: 10 a.m., 12 p.m. and 4.30 p.m. Each workshop will cost €5 per child, although children can take part in all four workshops for just €10. There will be special discount prices for groups.
To sign up, you can book a place on any of the workshops at the Cathedral of Santa María Visitors’ Centre, or by calling 945 255 135.
Summer workshops 2008

Dates Workshop
7th – 11th July Veo, veo la catedral – Ikusi makusi katedrala!
(I spy the Cathedral)
14th – 18th July La ciudad de bolsillo – Poltsikoko hiria
(Pocket city)
21st – 24th July Érase una vez Vitoria-Gasteiz – Ba zen behin Gasteiz
(Once upon a time in Vitoria-Gasteiz)
28th – 31st July Arqueólogo por un día – Egun batez arqueologoa (Archaeologist for the day)

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the workshops will be held in Basque, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Spanish.
‘Veo, veo la catedral’ – Ikusi makusi katedrala! (ages 6-11) (I spy the Cathedral)

This workshop provides a simple and educational overview of gothic architecture, the style that defines Santa María. The monitors will explain and show the characteristic features of this style, such as pointed arches, vaults and especially the stained glass windows. Children will find out how stained glass windows were used to tell stories and learn the techniques used to create them. In the workshop, the participants create a picture that tells a story, which they will later turn into a stained glass window.
La ciudad de bolsillo – Poltsikoko hiria (ages 6-11) (Pocket city)
The guided tour included in this workshop aims to introduce children to the past of Vitoria-Gasteiz and the Cathedral, and the churches before Santa María. The children can see models and archaeological digs. In the workshop itself, the children will make a plasticine model of one of the elements they have seen.
Érase una vez Vitoria-Gasteiz – Ba zen behin Gasteiz (ages 6-11) (Once upon a time in Vitoria-Gasteiz)

The children will make cardboard figures to recreate a 3D model of a settlement or town similar to Gasteiz between the 8th and 10th centuries. The tour will explain the evolution of the city since the conquest of Alfonso VIII and the creation of the church-fortress of Santa María. Children will learn about the figures and guilds that populated the city, their way of life and the types of buildings that existed.
Arqueólogo por un día – Egun batez arqueologoa (ages 7-12) (Archaeologist for the day)
And in this last workshop, the guided tour will focus not only on the archaeological digs but also the methodology used. The children will be given a simple introduction to stratigraphy, excavation methods and the tools used, and will see how everything found provides archaeologists with clues so they can become detectives and discover the functions of the places or elements that existed. In the workshop itself, the children will put this knowledge into practice through a mini archaeological dig as they register and document everything they find.