Ecomusei come proposta educativa per i più piccoli tra potenziale e strumenti di comunicazione | Ecomuseums as an educational proposal for children through potential and communication tools

The article analyzes the educational and didactic features of the ecomuseums, highlighting how these institutions can be central “active educational mediators” for preschool children. The ecomuseums allow children from an early age to enjoy and learn through immersive experiences in the local cultural heritage, enabling their upcoming commitment to protect and enhance it. Based on the national and international literature concerning the development and learning processes of children between 3 and 6 years old, the authors have identified the constituent elements of ecomuseums that best respond to those children. The valuable ecomuseums heritage can be expressed only by spreading their value to their main users, namely teachers and families. The institutional websites of ecomuseums can accomplish this aim properly. The second part of the article investigates how the Piedmont ecomuseums websites represent their educational value to produce a functional mapping to understand the evolution of the ecomuseums educational services aimed at children and the ecomuseums role within educational communities.