Slovenian National Museum brings history to life with costumed guides

Slovenia's National Museum is transforming its visitor experience with immersive tours featuring costumed guides. These unique offerings allow visitors to explore diverse collections, which include precious artifacts spanning various historical periods.

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A guided tour with a costumed guide can be very immersive, as it brings history, art, or the museum's theme closer to visitors more vividly. It is important that the costume, manner of speaking, and story give visitors the feeling that they have stepped into another era, another world, and other roles.

The museum has introduced three distinct characters to lead these tours: Detective Ana Ostrovidka, Mrs. Adelajda Muzejska, and Countess Kresnica. Behind these costumes are the museum's pedagogical curators, adding an engaging layer to the traditional museum visit. This innovative approach was developed after careful consideration.

"A guided tour with a costumed guide can be very immersive, as it brings history, art, or the museum's theme closer to visitors more vividly. It is important that the costume, manner of speaking, and story give visitors the feeling that they have stepped into another era, another world, and other roles," explained Andreja Breznik, one of the curators.

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She is characterized by an exceptional eye for detail, sharp logical thinking, and an incredible ability to quickly solve puzzles that would leave many without an answer.

Detective Ana Ostrovidka is portrayed as a fearless investigator who tackles museum thieves and fraudsters with keen observation and logical reasoning. She also acts as a passionate researcher of the past, uncovering stories from hidden treasures and mysterious fates. Currently, she leads tours of the "Sparks from the Past" exhibition at Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana, and will later operate within the museum's main building.

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It is an interesting and immersive exhibition that opens doors to the world of past stories, mysteries, and discoveries, captivating both younger and older visitors.

Mrs. Adelajda Muzejska, a curator and educator from the 19th century, finds herself astonished after awakening 200 years later in the museum. She encounters familiar objects from her youth, including Slovenia's only ancient Egyptian mummy, donated in 1846. Countess Kresnica, another persona, embodies a curator and educator who specializes in the 17th and 18th centuries, focusing on the Baroque and Rococo periods. Her tours highlight valuable artworks that reveal the spirit of the Enlightenment era.

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The greatest surprise is the only ancient Egyptian mummy in Slovenia, which was donated to the museum in 1846 by Anton noble Lavrin, an Austrian consul of Slovenian roots from Vipava.