Art and culture education program
Pay up, you Gaul!
This four-session, turnkey programme — taking place at the museum and in the classroom — invites pupils to discover not only the lives of the Gauls, but also how money was managed and trade conducted in ancient times.
From Year 3 to Year 7
€30 per pupil
Session 1
Discovering the Gauls
September – November 2026
At the museum
Full-day session (3 hours)
The class tours the museum and learns about the daily life of the Gauls before the Gallic Wars, followed by the siege of Alesia. To complement the tour, the cultural guide discusses clothing styles in antiquity and demonstrates the technique used to make fibulae — the precursors to the brooch. Each pupil makes their own fibula and crafts a small pouch to keep it in.
Session 2
Gallic shopping
December 2026 – January 2027
At school/secondary school
2 hours
The cultural educator visits the classroom and presents objects from the daily lives of ancient peoples. Through short workshops, pupils explore Gallic trade, the routes taken by objects that were bought, made and exchanged, and consider whether they could be recycled – a surprisingly modern question.
Session 3
Secrets of Gallic Coins
February – March 2027
At the museum
Full-day session (3h)
Pupils return to the museum for an in-depth exploration of the world of Gallic coins, with a particular focus on those from the Laignes Hoard. After learning about the techniques used to make them, they analyse the coins in the hoard — inscriptions, designs, symbols — before creating their own model out of clay.
Session 4
On your marks, get set, play!
April – June 2027
At school/secondary school
2 hours
To round off the project, pupils put their newly acquired knowledge into practice by creating their own board game inspired by “La Bonne Paye”: “Paye ton Gaulois!”. They design the cards, then compete against each other, trying to accumulate the most money to win the game.
Gallic Coins
This turnkey project, comprising three sessions — at the museum and in the classroom — invites pupils to explore Gallic art and the influence it had on a major 20th-century movement: Surrealism. An invitation to go beyond the representation of reality, led by visual artist Adeline Piovoso.
Suitable for Year 7 and above
€30 per pupil
Session 1
The Gauls from A to Z
February–March 2027
At the museum
Full day (4 hours)
Through the permanent exhibition and the temporary exhibition dedicated to the Laignes Treasure, pupils discover the coins of ancient Gaul. They identify the manufacturing techniques and learn about coin minting.
Session 2
Gallic Figures
March 2027 – April 2027
At secondary school
2 hours
The cultural educator visits the classroom with large-format reproductions of coins from the Laignes Treasure. Through a series of workshops, pupils learn to interpret the coins: inscriptions, motifs and symbols — all of which provide insights into the Gallic world.
Session 3
The Art of the Gauls!
April – May 2027
At the museum
Full day (5 hours)
With Adeline Piovoso, pupils create a coin design whilst learning the technique of engraving. They then trace their design onto wax and cast it in clay.
All the designs engraved by the pupils are cast and displayed at the school as part of an exhibition.
“The educational programmes offered by the Muséoparc Alésia are ready-to-use and enable teachers to work with pupils throughout the school year on enriching projects that draw on a wide range of knowledge and skills covered in class and/or help them acquire new ones. As a teacher, I can’t imagine not using them now – the feedback from the pupils has been so positive!”
Secondary school pupils at the Gallo-Roman table!
At the Alésia archaeological site, excavations have revealed valuable insights into the daily diet of the Gallo-Romans. Through this ready-made programme comprising four sessions, pupils explore the dietary customs of antiquity and compare them with our own habits today. Fully engaged from start to finish, they prepare ancient recipes and share their experience with other pupils at their school.
From Year 6 onwards
€30 per pupil
Session 1
A Journey into Gallo-Roman Life
September – November 2026
Gallo-Roman town and museum
Full day (3 hours)
The class visits the ancient town of Alesia and discovers the daily life of its inhabitants. The cultural guide explores the themes of Romanisation, citizenship and urban planning. The day continues with an escape game set in a triclinium — the dining room of wealthy homes.
Session 2
Get cooking, secondary school pupils!
December 2026 – February 2027
At the secondary school
2 to 3 hours
The cultural facilitator visits the classroom to present eating habits in ancient Rome. The pupils then get behind the stove and prepare a dish inspired by the ancient recipes of Apicius (with or without cooking).
Session 3
Archaeo Top Chef: who will be the best cook?
March – April 2027
At the museum
Full day (4 hours)
Pupils visit the museum to discover the kitchen utensils of the Gallo-Romans, then get stuck in to become the best coqqus (“cook” in Latin)!
Session 4
Let’s eat!
April – June 2027
At the secondary school
To round off the project, pupils invite their classmates to take part in the “Battle of the Chefs”, a quiz on ancient and contemporary cuisine. A collaboration with the school canteen could be organised to prepare an “ancient-style” lunch and share the fruits of their discoveries with the whole school community.