ESC: Volunteering in the communication of a butterfly house

Farfalle nella Testa is a cooperative society that deals with communication of science. It was born in 2013, bringing together various fields of professionalism (management, scientific advice, research, exhibitions, educational projects, technology, communication) with a great experience in scientific museums, science centres, zoos, aquariums, research groups and/or experienced in the dissemination. The idea behind the birth of the cooperative was to have in one working group all the skills needed to create, implement and/or manage exhibitions and didactic paths with live animals and plants. Farfalle nella Testa since 2015 has been managing the House of Butterflies in Bordano (UD), the biggest structure of this kind in Italy, owned by the Municipality of Bordano. The cooperative has also designed, created and managed the Naturama Science Center in Martignacco (UD), a model of a scientific museum new for Italy, located within the City Trade Fair area (Città Fiera). The activities of Farfalle nella Testa cover many different areas, but they are focused in three specific fields. - Greenhouses and animals: The cooperative is one of few realities in Italy which specializes in the realization and management of open-air exhibitions with live animals. It deals with every aspect of the process, from the choice and supply of structures (mobile or fixed), to the design and installation of interior (plants and animals), to the training of technical and scientific staff, to the didactic offer for children, young people and adults. It can act as a management entity or a consultant for the entire process or specific phases. - Exhibitions: It deals with the creation of temporary or permanent exhibitions on scientific themes, with particular expertise in the field of natural sciences. In this case too, it can take care of the whole process, from the initial idea to the inauguration and management, marketing and promotion, or it can be a consultant on specific aspects: exhibition concept, executive design, content writing (texts, images, videos), suppliers and partners selection, communication campaign management, design and implementation of multimedia software. - Didactics: It designs and implements didactic activities for the general public or on specific targets (children and teenagers in various school cycles, people with disabilities, elderly people). The offer mainly covers the fields of earth sciences, natural sciences, biology, chemistry and physics. The cooperative proposes thematic demonstrations, informal talks, laboratory activities, lessons in the field, front lessons, conferences, educational and entertainment activities. It provides complete packages, specific interventions or consulting activities. Farfalle nella Testa collaborates with several museums and many zoological gardens in Italy. Every year at the House of Butterflies in Bordano there are about 40,000 people, 8/9,000 of whom are groups of students, a considerable percentage of them is foreigners; in fact, the exhibitions and didactic activities are done in Italian, English and German languages and a great part of the staff speaks at least two languages.