Children’s history, culture books online

A new website featuring books on culture and history for children has been launched.

Icon and Miranda publishers have launched the portal Teżori Maltin at www.tezorimaltin.com aimed at bringing history and culture closer to children through technology.

The informative, bilingual site is part of a project that has interactive education as its main aim.

This online resource is designed to complement two books published by Miranda Publishers which are being freely distributed to approximately 53,000 children in government, private and church schools.

The books, one aimed at primary schoolchildren and another for teens in secondary schools, are mirrored in the two main sections of the new site.

Through these books and interactive portal, Miranda Publishers is bringing a cross-section of its library of images related to history and culture, closer to the children, giving them the opportunity to download and use them in their educational projects.

As the portal is primarily aimed at such a young audience, Icon has incorporated colourful designs, including characters the young users can move around, as well as a watercolour motif running through the site.

These features are designed to encourage high user involvement, and are supplemented with several games related to historical facts. Users may also connect with Teżori Maltin on social media. Icon has integrated Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and the blog onto the new site.

The site also has resources for school projects. Both of the sections aimed at the two age groups boast downloadable photographs of iconic Maltese locations, as well as a graphic timeline split into eras in Maltese history and historic places related to them.

One is also presented with the possibility of building one’s own personalised library of sources around the site.

In the interest of parents and adults, the site contains features such as educational tips related to health, internet safety and the environment, an insightful blog, a periodic newsletter as well as help for parents, educating them on the correct use of online resources for education.