In celebration of the 39th Olympic Day of the Chinese Olympic Committee, the Beijing Olympic Museum held an Olympic legacy themed study programme on 21 June 2025. Revolving around the photo exhibition “Civilization Dialogue: Eternal Olympic Flame - From Ancient to Modern Olympic Games”, the programme featured educational activities with the theme of “Tracing the Origin of the Olympic Movement”, aimed at discovering and carrying forward the Olympic spirit. A total of 16 families participated in the event.

(Young participants show their works)

At the beginning of the event, the participants received pins, task cards and fridge magnet DIY kits dedicated to the Olympic Day.

(Olympic Day themed pins)

This event consisted of three sessions: exploring the exhibition, sharing findings and making crafts. In the last session, the participants were asked to design and make their own plaster fridge magnet modelled on the red hand-painted clay bottle discovered in Olympia, Greece. After receiving the materials, they first mixed the plaster powder with an appropriate amount of water, stirred the mixture evenly, then poured it into the plaster mold and left it to dry.

(Children pour the mixture into the mold)

While waiting for the plaster to dry, the participants took their task cards to the Tribute to the Champions area in the exhibition hall. In front of the photo exhibition “Civilization Dialogue: Eternal Olympic Flame - From Ancient to Modern Olympic Games”, they learned about the origin and development of the Olympic Movement. They acquired relevant information and explored the answers to the questions by listening to explanations, interpreting the photos and texts on display and watching a marathon-themed video. In this process, the participants gained a deeper understanding of the ancient and modern Olympic Games.

(A boy explores the answers at the exhibition)

(Children do their tasks)

(A girl does her tasks)

After the exploration session, the participants returned to the public education activity area and as indicated on the task cards, they shared what they had just learned about the Olympic Movement. Afterwards, the instructor imparted some knowledge about the ancient Olympic Games to the participants. They came to understand the active role of the Olympic Movement in facilitating the integration of different cultures, boosting the physical and mental well-being and development of human beings and promoting fair competition.

(Participants share what they have learned)

After the sharing session, the plaster solidified and the young participants and their parents removed the magnets from the mold. The fridge magnets began to take shape.

In the colouring process, the children gave full play to their artistic talents. With extraordinary imagination and creativity, they finished making their unique fridge magnets, some of which used traditional Greek black clay or terracotta colours while others featured classic medieval colours. The bold and vibrant colours are just like their colourful and lively childhood.

(Children paint the fridge magnets)

(A girl showcases her fridge magnet)

(A girl showcases her fridge magnet)

(A girl showcases her fridge magnet)

Through this event, the participants acquired knowledge about the Olympics in the process of independent exploration, and realised a bit more about the history of the Olympic Movement in Greece, one of the world’s greatest ancient civilizations. Plus, they made their own fridge magnets as unique keepsakes. Through a combination of exploring the exhibition, sharing findings and making crafts, the event enriched the form of Olympic education, making it more engaging and effective. The Beijing Olympic Museum will continue to design and conduct various educational activities in combination with exhibitions and develop more innovative and diverse Olympic education programmes.