an educational kit to raise awareness among adolescents about artistic professions

It is 2 p.m. and instructions are being given at the Notre-Dame de Paris construction site base camp. “You have a contract and you must order materials to restore Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, namely stone and wood.” Are these instructions from a project owner? No. They are instructions integrated into an educational game and addressed to young people between the ages of 12 and 17.

As the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris approaches on December 8, 2024, Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris, the project owner for the restoration project, has created this educational kit for teenagers. “The goal is to introduce the cathedral and especially the restoration work carried out,” explains Camille Rogé, programming and cultural mediation officer of the public institution in charge of the project. “We want to highlight the professions at work,” she explains.

Learn while having fun with the Notre-Dame de Paris educational kit

The case offers thirteen activities divided into four thematic workshops. These range from securing to restoring the decor, including restoring the structure. Depending on the activities, the player discovers the professions of carpenter, mason, stonemason, master glassmaker, organ builder… More than twenty specialties are represented!

The game includes an introduction to give teenagers some pointers. “There is a big difference between knowing the Middle Ages and knowing when the first stone of Notre-Dame de Paris was laid. We want to give them the keys to having fun with the activities and never telling themselves that they don’t know, but rather that they are having fun and learning without realizing it,” says Camille Rogé.

Thanks to all these elements, there is no need to be a visual arts teacher or a history teacher to supervise a group of teenagers. You simply have to let yourself be guided and possibly refer to the additional resources provided by the game, such as the vocabulary chart if you do not understand a word.

Who is this case for?

The game continues and proves instructive even for adults: “The gargoyles date from the Middle Ages while the chimeras are additions by Viollet-le-Duc,” says Camille Rogé. “But unlike the gargoyles, the chimeras are simply decorative and have no function,” qualifies Domitille, a colleague of Camille.

This is also the interest of these activities: the question-and-answer game allows you to bounce back and learn by listening to the other players. “The young people play independently, which leaves room for the teacher to distribute 30 students to different activities and thus be able to supervise a full class,” explains Camille Rogé.

To obtain this kit, the structure, welcoming young people from 12 to 17 years old, simply needs to fill out a form available on the Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris website. The educational tool mainly concerns middle schools and high schools, with its missions related to education, but not only. The request can also be made by media libraries as well as establishments linked to leisure and professional integration. One kit will be distributed per request.

More than 1,300 games have already been distributed throughout France, including the overseas departments and regions. And for those who live in Paris and would like to have their teenagers test the educational kit, it will be possible to play it during the European Heritage Days, on September 21 and 22, 2024, in the construction site village installed on the forecourt of Notre-Dame de Paris. An initiative that could well inspire vocations. In any case, this is the public institution’s bet.