The Valais Teacher Training College, working alongside the Crans-Montana 2027 Alpine World Ski Championships, has launched a wooden educational kit called the “Hexabox” to teach students about mountain environments. The resource uses illustrated cards and collaborative tasks to link winter sports, local industries, and alpine ecology across compulsory schooling levels.
Wooden Box and Card System
The Hexabox takes the form of an hexagonal box crafted from local timber. Inside, students find a hundred illustrated cards touching on physical education, nutrition, history and geography. Working in groups, learners tackle specific inquiry questions by sorting cards, debating options, and sharing findings. They then build a collective mural that connects winter sports, local professions, regional inhabitants, tourism, infrastructure, natural resources, and mountain ecosystems.
Development Timeline and Committee Goals
Organizers spent three years shaping the pedagogical concept. Didier Défago, director of the Crans-Montana 2027 committee, explained during a press conference in Sion that the initiative aims to connect sport with its local environment and heritage so the world championships leave a concrete legacy for regional students. Fabio Di Giacomo of the HEP based in St-Maurice, noted that the kit’s primary strength is its simplicity and adaptability across age groups.
Curriculum Themes and Ski History Additions
Instructors can use the Hexabox framework to cover a wide variety of subjects, including resort infrastructure in geography courses, ski origins in history lessons, athletic training routines, or nutrition tailored for alpine sports performance. In addition to the hexagonal kit, a course covering the history of skiing in Valais was developed for students from 1H to 11CO, tracing how practices, resorts, and tourism have transformed the alpine landscape over time.
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