Man assigns the characters of his inner world to animals, and when he cannot find a suitable animal to express a certain part of himself or his world, he invents one on purpose. Inherited from archaic cultures, unicorns, sirens, satyrs, phoenixes, basilisks, dragons, winged horses, griffins and many other fantastic animals populate literature and iconography from classical to modern times. From Homer to Pliny, from medieval bestiaries to the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, all the way to Harry Potter, their presence demonstrates the human need to fill the real with superior beings, who reassure by concretising and embodying the forces of Nature.

Through the study and observation of fantastic animals and the discovery of the multiple values and meanings they have in visual representations, symbols, ancient and contemporary literature, fairy tales and everyday life, both in simple cultures and in Western culture, the ‘Fantastic Animals’ project invited children to a deep reflection on the topic. In addition to the usual didactic tools, the starting point for the work were some of the MUSEC’s ethnic art works on display: Singa, a hybridised mythological primordial animal (lion, snake, buffalo and lizard) of the Batak people of Sumatra; Harimaung, a mythological ancestor and mythical warrior from southern Borneo; and finally the bünüts, a memorial pole configured in the shape of a crocodile, which leads the souls of the Asmat people (New Guinea) into the realm of the dead. The visit to MUSEC was also a special opportunity for children to learn about fairy tales, myths and traditions relating to fantastic animals in the cultures documented by the Museum. The Cantonal Museum of Natural History joined the project by contributing to the activities proposed to the classes.