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Andi Andezit. Education and networking through mascot characters
Published on 03 July 2018
Romania
Vest
Cristian Ciobanu
Heritage Manager
About this good practice
Andi Andezit is the result of 4 years of the Geopark involvement in the community. The bases are the geosites showing traces of volcanic eruptions and the Tethys sea from Cretaceous – 70 mil years ago.
In order to interpret these geosites but also to develop the local community, the Geopark created, through a local NGO, an interpretation point – House of Volcanoes, educational programs and, finally a mascot – Andi Andezit.
Originally a real piece of andesite, Andi was created by the geopark volunteers and then transformed into a plush toy. With the help of a grant from MOL Romania and the Partnership Foundation through the Green Spaces program, Andi was sent so far to 30 UNESCO Global Geoparks on 4 continents and to 10 ecotourism destinations in Romania.
Andi is a gamification tool used to address serious scientific facts in a playful way. It is very difficult to teach abstract things about geology and tectonics when the geosites are just traces of volcanoes. So a mascot can be a catalist for interpretation and transmitting values and information
Andi is also connecting geoparks from the Global Network bringing territories and people together. Surprisingly, this was not only successful for children, but for adults too.
Andi is also an example of a successful geoproduct, a marketable product which has an added value being produced locally and having a strong connexion to the territory.
In order to interpret these geosites but also to develop the local community, the Geopark created, through a local NGO, an interpretation point – House of Volcanoes, educational programs and, finally a mascot – Andi Andezit.
Originally a real piece of andesite, Andi was created by the geopark volunteers and then transformed into a plush toy. With the help of a grant from MOL Romania and the Partnership Foundation through the Green Spaces program, Andi was sent so far to 30 UNESCO Global Geoparks on 4 continents and to 10 ecotourism destinations in Romania.
Andi is a gamification tool used to address serious scientific facts in a playful way. It is very difficult to teach abstract things about geology and tectonics when the geosites are just traces of volcanoes. So a mascot can be a catalist for interpretation and transmitting values and information
Andi is also connecting geoparks from the Global Network bringing territories and people together. Surprisingly, this was not only successful for children, but for adults too.
Andi is also an example of a successful geoproduct, a marketable product which has an added value being produced locally and having a strong connexion to the territory.
Resources needed
about 4000 euros
a lot of imagination and creativity
a lot of imagination and creativity
Evidence of success
It is a simple solution to interpretation of otherwise difficult concepts. It is a very successful method to promote values in an accessible playful way.
It can be applied anywhere and on any topic, the steps required are:
- identifying an interesting fact
- creating a character and a personality for him
- promoting constantly
- using the character to ”get across”
It can be applied anywhere and on any topic, the steps required are:
- identifying an interesting fact
- creating a character and a personality for him
- promoting constantly
- using the character to ”get across”
Potential for learning or transfer
Andi is already a star. More and more Geoparks invite Andi to visit them and to tell his followers about their values.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
Organisation
Hateg Country UNESCO Global Geopark
Romania
Vest
Contact
Cristian Ciobanu
Heritage Manager