Gas Natural Fenosa : Over 51,000 school students have taken part in the educational activities organised by the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation this year

• The Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation ends this school year with 30% more students who have participated in its educational programmes.

• In addition to the educational activities at the Gas Museum, the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation has added educational initiatives at the Bolarque Museum (Guadalajara), travelling exhibitions and the Energytruck touring exhibition.

Over 51,000 school students from around Spain have taken part in the educational activities organised by the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation during the 2016/2017 school year. The aim of this educational initiative is to bring museographic content on energy efficiency, environmental preservation and industrial heritage to the educational community, as an educational resource adapted to the school curriculum.

For the sixth consecutive year, this educational programme offers on-site activities at the Gas Museum in Sabadell, and this year it has also included a programme at the Bolarque Museum (Guadalajara) as well as educational workshops within the framework of travelling exhibitions and the touring Energytruck exhibition. According to Eva Buch, Director of the Gas Museum and Head of Heritage and Education at the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation, 'in the education sessions, using an education method which is aligned with new methodologies in the classroom, we provide tools to learn about the different types of energy and respect for the planet, which will both be essential for future generations. Additionally, we provide ongoing support to the educational community, which receives material to continue working on this content when back in the classroom'.

The Gas Museum and the Friendly School Programme

The Gas Museum's education activities programme has been granted the educational quality standard by the University of Barcelona's Institute of Education Sciences (ICE). The activities are centred around five main topics: sustainability, energy, technology, history and heritage. During the last school year, around 9,813 school students from all over Catalonia took part.

This year, the Gas Museum has incorporated the Programa Escuela Amiga (Friendly School Programme), with the aim of building a tailored, long-term relationship with education centres which take part in the education activities at the Gas Museum every year. Eva Buch, Director of the Gas Museum, said that through this action, 'the Museum wishes to open its doors and become a meeting place for education centres throughout the country, facilitating the work of teachers, families and students. We want the Friendly School Programme to provide access to educational resources on energy efficiency, sustainability and industrial heritage developed by the Gas Museum, and which have received recognition for their educational quality'.

The Bolarque Museum

Since the 2016/2017 school year, the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation has promoted significant refurbishment works at the Bolarque Hydropower Plant and Museum (Guadalajara), in order to reopen these facilities in autumn of 2017. The Bolarque Museum houses a permanent exhibition which reviews the history of energy through its technological advances and transformations in society and industry. Furthermore, it offers educational activities on energy, technology and history for primary and secondary school students. The workshops provide the essential tools for students to learn the secrets of energy in a dynamic, participative and contextualised way. In its first year of activities for schools, the Bolarque Museum received over 5,680 visits from school students.

The travelling exhibitions and the Energytruck touring exhibition

With the aim of raising awareness and teaching about energy, the environment, and industrial heritage beyond the confines of its offices in Sabadell, the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation carries out a number of cultural and educational activities throughout Spain. Thus, during the 2016/2017 school year, over 180 municipalities and 55,670 students were able to access the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation's travelling exhibitions and its touring exhibition Energytruck.

Furthermore, the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation's educational initiative was offered to over 7,000 users, through sponsored programmes, such as the Bioclimate Cases, promoted together with the Education Department of the Regional Government of Catalonia, the Barcelona Activa's Professional Life Project (ProVP) or the Region of Madrid's 4º ESO+Empresa programme, among others.

The Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation

Set up in 1992 by GAS NATURAL FENOSA and with a presence in every country where the company operates, the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation is tasked with educating, training and informing society, as well as raising awareness about energy and environmental issues, and developing business and academic programmes, such as the First Export Programme. It also develops Social Action programmes both nationally and internationally, by influencing particular initiatives aimed at alleviating energy vulnerability. It promotes initiatives in the cultural sphere, geared both at preserving and disseminating the historical heritage of the gas and electricity sector through the Gas Museum, the Bolarque Museum and the educational activities that it holds throughout Spain, as well as educating and stimulating society artistically through the multi-disciplinary space in the Museum of Contemporary Art.

The Gas Museum is a cultural centre combining a permanent exhibition with the organisation of temporary exhibitions and conferences, an educational programme for schools, activities for all audiences and film and music seasons.

Barcelona, 24 July 2017.

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