Activity 3: Kaleidoscopic Portrait – Presenting Oneself through Heritage
Overview of the activity
The ‘kaleidoscopic portrait’ uses concrete objects/places to help people introduce themselves and get to know others (e.g. ‘If I were a book, I’d be…’; ‘If I were a city, I’d be…’). This exercise uses elements of cultural heritage and historical figures.
Objectives
- Introduce oneself.
- Get to know each other.
- Mobilize what we know about cultural heritage in a playful, subjective way.
- Become aware of the subjective/emotional component of cultural heritage.
| Duration (in minutes) | Min/max number of participants | Room/space requirements |
| 10 minutes | Recommended: any number of participants works, as you will create small groups
Minimum: 3
Maximum: no limit, as you will create small groups |
The activity can be carried out face to face or online. If face to face, you need a space large enough to allow the groups of three to be separated somewhat from each other. If online, use the breakout room function creating groups of three. |
| Minimum knowledge requirements from participants | Materials needed | Preparation |
| This is a verbal activity, so it helps if participants have a common language and they possess the vocabulary needed (concept of monument, history, heritage, etc.) | No materials – objects in this activity come from the knowledge and imagination of participants. Depending on the context, you could also ask participants to bring objects with them. | No preparation is required in advance, unless you wish to ask participants to prepare their objects in advance. |
Instructions
Create groups of three, preferably of people who don’t know each other.
Ask each group to answer the three questions below, with each member answering the first question, then the second question and finally the third.
The questions are:
If you were a monument, what monument would you be? (This can be a real or an invented monument)
If you could travel to a historical period/assist in a great historic event, where would you go? (No geographical limit, but here encourage real events, not imagined)
If you could meet a historical figure, who would it be? (Again, it may be more interesting to focus on real figures as opposed to imagined figures)
Depending on time availability, encourage participants to ask each other questions about their answers in order to get to know each other better.
Learning outcomes evidence / collected
Evaluation
This is a simple icebreaker/introduction activity, no need for an evaluation.
To check on how participants engaged with it you might ask the group whether they learnt something about the other participants, whether they found something surprising, whether they found common points or differences.
Teaching tips, stories and experiences during piloting
Encourage participants to share their ideas without censorship: there are no good or bad answers here, they should just say what they feel is true for themselves.
Make sure that it is clear to participants that they do not need to evaluate the other participants’ choices, just welcome them.