Outreach

Toys

We have a range of toys for children to look at, play with, and consider the materials they are made of and the forces that make them work. They can also consider what childhood was like, as revealed by these toys, and particularly how much it, and childhood activities, have changed over time. This session can be used for the Victorians, Wartime, 1930’s, 1950’s, home life, and technology. Items include: zoetrope, wooden hoop, wool doll, pecking chickens, clockwork clown, rope quoits, five stones, slate and pencil, matchbox toys, dominos, toy guns, marbles, books, etc.

Victorians
The session focuses mainly on household items, and invites children to build up a picture of the family from the clues/objects. There are objects connected with men, women, and children, as well as kitchen and household goods, and clothes.
These artefacts can also be used with the study of any famous Victorian (e.g. Florence Nightingale) to provide some background context to the period.

Farming
The session aims to build up an understanding of farming processes via small items of equipment that would have been used on the farm. These are relevant to most periods of History, and children will not only be able to learn about how food was/is grown, but also understand more about the rigours of life on the farm. Items include: winnowing basket, bull leader, flail, riddle, corn measure, shears, root cleaner, pitchfork, scythe, etc.

Fenland Life
The objects in this session give an insight into a vanishing way of life, and are a must for schools in the area. Items include typical clothing, medicines and potions, children’s toys, equipment used for farming and eel-catching, and reminders of the spirit world which formed a backdrop to this unique landscape.

Wartime
This session looks at life on the home front, with occasional reminders of the war for soldiers. Children look at a range of items discovered in the attic of a house and use them to piece together the experiences of this family during the Second World War, including evacuation, bombing, rationing and the father who went off to war.

The 1950’s
Through a range of different objects from this period, children will use deductive skills to piece together the life of the family who owned them. They will look at objects connected with men, women and children, and use them to assess the values of life at the time, and in what ways, and how much, it has changed over time.

Washday
This is definitely a hands-on session, with children being presented with the old equipment, and invited to suggest how the different items might be used to do the housework. They will then have to participate in the washing process, as well as other aspects of housework, so that they gain an understanding of how hard life was. This session can fit equally well with Houses and Homes, the Victorians, the 1930’s.

Tudor Life
A lost chest of household objects and clothing from Tudor times contains a mystery. Who was the owner? What was he (or she) like? Why might he have abandoned the chest? Why did it contain these particular objects? Children can look at and handle the artefacts, not only to get an idea of what Tudor life was like but to use them as clues to piece together the life of the mystery owner.
These artefacts can also be used with the study of The Great Fire of London to provide some background context to the period.