For schools
2023 program and rates
New workshops on offer! Find out more at the bottom of the page about the History of Cinema Workshop and the Heraldry Workshop!
Here are the workshops available for a Discovery Day at the Château for schools and colleges.
You can find all the information you need by downloading the leaflet (in pdf format) on the castle's activities for schoolchildren.
To register for the Discovery Workshops, simply return the form corresponding to your choice to the following address: accueil@chateau-ainaylevieil.fr
Château d'Ainay-le-Vieil discovery tour

Price: €6 per pupil (guided tour, free access to the park and gardens)
For classes wishing to take part in the proposed activities without visiting the château, we charge a flat fee of €50 per class of 20 to 25 pupils.
Discovery day, a visit and a choice of workshops
This tour has two points of interest:
The château and its gardens
A 13th-century fortified castle with its seigniorial dwelling and 15th-century Renaissance dwelling. The main feature of this site is theomnipresence of water, both for defensive purposes when it surrounds the château and for pleasure when it flows around the gardens.
Musical staging and, for kindergartners, princess and knight costumes.
The Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions
It immerses visitors in village life in Ainay-le-Vieil in 1914. Children will discover the rural world, its customs, daily life and the wealth of trades that existed at the time.
Circus workshop

Fixed price: €150 per 1/2 day
Maximum 30 students
Website : www.animationstoutazimut.com
E-mail : veroniquerichard18340@gmail.com
Discovery of a multi-faceted discipline adapted to all levels: nursery, primary and secondary school.
Juggling
It is to allow the child to perfect his skill, his touch, the control of his gestures. (balls, scarves, diabolos, devil's club, plates, clubs...).
Gym & balance
They will complement motor learning with a focus on self-control (2 wheels, 4 wheels, unicycle, ball, wire, American roller...).
Clown mimes
They will develop an aspect of communication through expression techniques.
Clown tricks, facial expression and gestures.
Baby circus: introduction to the circus for young children
Animation proposed by a qualified youth and sport instructor (B.E.A.T.E.P and B.E.E.S.A.P.T)
Animation Middle Ages

Fixed price: €180 per 1/2 day
Cycle 1 and 2 pupils: PS>CE2
Maximum 30 pupils
Website : www.animationstoutazimut.com
E-mail : veroniquerichard18340@gmail.com
Become a rider on our mechanical horses to participate in the castle tournament
Role-playing workshops
Dressed in costume, you'll relive the high points of the knights' time.
Discover the handling of weapons through different games (sword, crossbow, spear).
Art workshop
You can build your own castle and create your own coat of arms.
Discover how to handle weapons through different games (sword, crossbow, spear).
Games and history workshop

This animation allows you to discover a wide range of traditional games, enriched with their history and context.
"Play and you will become serious" Aristotle
Discover the history of games from antiquity to the present day.
Through a variety of games, iconography, quotations and anecdotes, we'll trace the origins of games and their evolution. There will be a special focus on the Middle Ages.
Playing: about twenty games from different periods are proposed.
Through various techniques, the children will be asked for their skills (physical, strategic, relational).
Workshop on the words of the vegetable garden in music

145 per 1/2 day
Maximum 25-30 students (kindergarten>primary)
Facebook page: Lalyrepourlire
E-mail / brigitte.gayaud@orange.fr
Musical awakening
Vegetable garden words (kindergarten - 1st - 2nd - 3rd grade)
Based on a story, children will discover and play with the lyre, a 4-stringed instrument. They'll create their own score and form a little show orchestra.
Brigitte will demonstrate how the radish becomes a trumpet and the apple a percussion instrument.
Medieval walk (CM1 - CM2)
Children will discover and play with the lyre. They'll play the tones and rhythms of a medieval ballad. Formation of a show orchestra, "Les Troubadours du château".
Nature activities in the park and gardens

Fixed price: €150 per 1/2 day
Maximum 25-30 students (kindergarten>primary>college)
Website : www.bertrand-lambertot.eklablog.com
E-mail : bertrand@ecolieurosieres.fr
The Lhyns Dhë Lhunn Company
Activities in the park and gardens, focusing on the hidden life of the château
Through games, observation, stories and anecdotes, children will discover the flora and fauna of the region, and learn about the links between man and nature.
Bring clothing suited to the environment and the weather (closed shoes, boots, raincoat), as well as water bottles.
Film history workshop

Fixed price: €180 per 1/2 day
Maximum 30 students (primary>secondary)
Website : www.animationstoutazimut.com
E-mail : veroniquerichard18340@gmail.com
A 3-stage workshop
Discover the history of cinema
Through the manipulation of optical games: magic lantern, zoetrope, praxinoscope, phenakistiscope, folioscope and more. This phase will enable you tograsp the illusion and decomposition of movement to understand how a drawing can come to life and be immortalized on film.
"Build your own Thaumatrope
Each student creates his or her own optical toy.
Heraldry workshop

Package: €180 per 1/2 day
Maximum 25-30 students (primary>college)
Website : www.bertrand-lambertot.eklablog.com
E-mail : bertrand@ecolieurosieres.fr
The Lhyns Dhë Lhunn company presents: discovering the science and art of heraldry & creating your own coat of arms
The history of the coat of arms from the Middle Ages to the present day
What is a coat of arms? What is it used for? Who can have a coat of arms?
Explanation of the rules
But also science, language, symbolism & heraldic art with a visual: a small painted wooden coat of arms + photos + drawings (an essential step in creating a coat of arms).
Setting up and creating a personalized coat of arms
The children imagine and make their own coat of arms, taking into account the information they have received (paper & paint technique).