3. ROK na Hušnjakovu

ROK at Hušnjakovo, the museum-educational program of the KNM intended for children and adults, took place this year from August 22 to 26. It included various interactive and creative workshops on the topic of prehistory, and since it was intended for children and their companions (parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.), it enabled quality spending of free time and creation of unforgettable memories together.

At the beginning of the program, the participants visited the permanent exhibition of the Krapina Neanderthal Museum, while on the 124th anniversary of the discovery of the Krapina Neanderthal, they also visited the Hušnjakovo site. Through art workshops, they learned about the evolution of life on Earth and geological periods, as well as the life of people in prehistory. In addition to making geological pillars and playing with pebbles, the children dug up fossils in the sandbox, and then, with their adult companions, made clay models of them.

On the third and fourth days of the program, minerals were studied and their properties were examined, dinosaurs were made and souvenirs were painted. Using geological equipment, participants also searched for fossils near the nearby Dolac Lake. Each of them went home carrying a bag full of works and pieces of rock containing traces of fossil shells.

The 3rd ROK at Hušnjakovo ended with a trip to the Veternica cave. The participants arrived by bus to Medvednica and then took a leisurely walk through the forest to the sixth longest cave in Croatia, the Veternica cave. There they were warmly welcomed by Andrea Kostelić, head of the promotion, education and interpretation department of the Medvednica Nature Park, who expertly guided them through Veternica and introduced them to the interesting facts and special features of the cave, which was named after the wind, the cold air that flows from it. Young and old ROK participants had the opportunity to explore the first 380 meters of the cave, whose total length is about 7 kilometers. They also met bats, whose International Day was celebrated on Saturday, August 26, and it is known that around 18 different species of these protected and useful small flying mammals live in Veternica. At a temperature of 10 degrees, they toured the cave, where Neanderthals also lived, who may have worshipped the cave bear cult here. In addition to the remains of the cave bear, the remains of a cave lion, leopard, cave hyena, rhinoceros, prehistoric animal and giant deer were also found in Veternica. It was interesting to see the shell fossils in the ceiling, the Stone Waterfall, the Concert Hall, and Andrea Kostelić, whom we thank for her excellent guidance, told us about many other interesting facts related to Veternica.

Thank you to all the ROK participants for the nice company, and see you again at Hušnjakovo next year!