September 14, 2013 | 1 – 6:45 pm

OBSERVATORY OF CHANGES Gdynia InfoBox | Świętojańska Str. 30

As part of the EU Projects Visitors’ Days – a series of events promoting European Union projects developed in Pomorskie Voivodeship – the Emigration Museum will familiarize you with the institution, present its headquarters in the Marine Station (currently under renovation) and share its plans for the future.

The Emigration Museum in Gdynia is an unusual undertaking, combining education, arts, and entertainment. The institution, which will be located in the restored and adapted, antique Marine Station, will focus its activities on a special chapter in Polish history.The investment is developed within the framework of the European Union’s JESSICA Initiative.

On September 14, we invite you to Gdynia InfoBox to participate in family workshops, as well as lectures and showcases for all citizens of the Tri-city.Creative activities will use craftsmanship to familiarize the younger ones with the Marine Station architecture and the construction of passenger ships, as well as to inspire them to create their own colorful vision for the seat of the institution in the future.The colorful Marine Station jigsaw puzzle, prepared especially for children, draws playfully on the ongoing restoration of the building to the fantastic look it had in the 30s.

Dr Marcin Szerle will describe the flow of emigration traffic in Gdynia during the days of the Second Polish Republic.He will also give you valuable insight to the history of the Marine Station, the Emigration Camp in Grabówek, and the Quarantine Hospital in Babie Doły. This demonstration of Gdynia’s emigration infrastructure is also a wonderful occasion to familiarize oneself with the future of the Emigration Museum and the vision of its development.

We will also present the Emigrant’s Archive – a unique project aimed at unveiling the stories of people who had to leave their homeland.We collect the stories and the fascinating tales of Poles who so merit the chance to be remembered and presented to a wider audience.We will also encourage you to share your own or your family’s story.

The program:

1 – 4 pm the Emigration Museum for the youngest – workshops

Build a Batory

Together with children we will assemble and creatively decorate a paper model of the most famous Polish ocean liner.Through play, we will get acquainted with the legend of the greatest Polish ship.

Colorful Marine Station

Here, we let our imagination run wild as we design the destroyed façade of the Marine Station – the upper left corner of the building. The Marine Station will appear before us in a completely new form – with a rooftop garden, an amusement park, or with an aquarium inhabited by colorful fish. The unusual, fairytale façade will encourage the youngest to learn more about the building.

The Emigration Museum step by step.

We invite children to play with puzzles building a model of the Emigration Museum. We have also prepared puzzle sets as a colorful present for the youngest.

4 – 5 pmThe Emigrant’s Archive – Stories Worthy of East & West

5 – 6.45 pm Lectures: History of Gdynia emigration infrastructure and the future of the Emigration Museum in Gdynia

Organized by: Dr Marcin Szerle

Lectures at: 5 – 5.45 pm and 6 – 6.45

Free entry