I first contacted Markéta Brhlíková at the nationwide meeting Current Trends in Museum Education, which took place in Brno in 2022. At that time, she presented a great educational project called In the Skin of a Secret Agent, which I also reported on on our gallery blog. We also met at other educator meetings, and I always followed her and her colleagues' work from the Brno City Museum with interest. When our gallery closed due to reconstruction and I started preparing weekend trips with children, I immediately put Brno on the list. It meets our ideal conditions for visiting it. It is very well accessible by public transport, there are a large number of institutions that can be visited with children, and some also organize high-quality educational programs.

When I contacted Markéta, she was very accommodating and offered me a meeting directly at their Arnold Villa, where she invited me and the children for a Saturday trip. So I set off for Brno. The property is located in the wonderful company of the Löw-Beer and Tugendhat villas. Their publicly accessible gardens connect on the slope opposite Lužánky Park. Using one of them, I headed straight for the Art Nouveau Arnold Villa. Markéta also invited educator Bára Svátková to the meeting, whom I know from KEP (Chamber of Educational Workers). In addition to visiting the villa, she also offered me an educational program at Špilberk Castle. One very pleasant morning meeting turned into two visits to the Brno City Museum. On one of the Saturday trips with the children, we will go to Špilberk to see Bára, and during the holidays, as part of a day camp, to Arnold Villa. We also discussed the outline of both programs with our colleagues and talked about the usual content of our work.

After our meeting, I had the opportunity to tour the villa. I highly recommend a visit to both adults and children. They have a Code Game for them, which will take them from the ground floor to the attic with a view. On the way from the villa, I stopped to book lunch at a pizzeria that Markéta and Bára recommended to me, and then I slowly made my way back towards the bus station.

I am already looking forward to our visits to Brno with the children and thank both colleagues very much. It is a pleasure to work with you!

Pavlína Pitrová, February 11, 2025