Hubs working in partnership Title of the projects: Time Travelling Tudors & World War Two for One Institute leading the projects: The Historic Dockyard Chatham Funding: Renaissance 1) Time Travelling Tudors Project summary Time Travelling Tudors is a schools outreach project presented jointly between the Historic Dockyard Chatham and Maidstone Museum. They offer an immersive Tudor experience for Key Stage Two pupils that takes place within the school. The project utilises the historic dockyard s resources and expertise in costumed interpretation with the museum s handling collections. Project aims Increase the capacity of both sites for education by working in partnership Combine the resources of both sites to create a much stronger offer to Key Stage 2 students, one that combines costumed interpretation with object handling Share ideas and expertise between the two sites Fill identified gaps in the schools offer at both sites Explore outreach possibilities Target audience Key Stage 2 school groups Process With the opportunity of Renaissance funding, the Learning Director at the Historic Dockyard Chatham was keen to explore ways to work with other museums in the hub to improve the offer to schools, particularly outreach programmes. She recognised that the historic dockyard had a growing expertise in costumed interpretation, especially the Tudor period, but it lacked the kind of objects that could be used for handling or outreach sessions. The historic dockyard s objects are things like warships, air raid shelters and submarines, facilitating an experiential visit, but not tactile sessions. She began to contact other museums with a view to finding a partner with compatible handling collections. Her contacts led her to Maidstone Museum which had Tudor objects and a series of school programmes, although uptake for the Tudor programme needed boosting. Together the two sites developed a curriculum-linked outreach programme which built on both their strengths. It is offered as a two hour, half day or full day programme, and takes place in the school, so keeping costs to a minimum. They created a storyline based on Elizabeth I and the Spanish Armada. The children take on the role of servants who have 1
been employed to prepare a banquet for the queen in celebration of defeating the Armada. As well as banquet preparation, the children also have to learn a dance to perform in front of the queen. Pupils get to handle Tudor artefacts, discover how life was different for rich and poor people and learn how the English fleet defeated the Spanish Armada. A second version of the programme has been developed for children with special needs. The Historic Dockyard supplies the costumes for Queen Elizabeth, her waiting women and all the pupils (who dress as servants); the museum provides the Tudor food-related objects. An important part of the process was to plug any gaps in the skills of the staff involved. So reciprocal professional development sessions were organised; object handling for staff from the dockyard, and costumed interpretation for the museum s staff. The Historic Dockyard takes on the role of promoting the programme, taking bookings and organising the visits. With its more limited staff capacity, Maidstone Museum would find it difficult to offer the programme without this administrative support. Key achievements The formation of a curriculum-linked school outreach programme which is informative, engaging, memorable and fun for participants and sustainable for the two sites. The two sites have explored ways in which museums can work together, building on strengths, and fulfilling needs. Their experience can be used to formulate similar programmes and inspire other organisations. Staff at both sites have undergone professional development. It demonstrates to schools that museums can offer imaginative programmes targeted to the needs of teachers and pupils. Evaluation In the early stages of development, a pilot session was run at several schools. The programme was then refined and modified before it was offered to the wider community. All the sessions are evaluated by the teachers. In addition, three pupils of differing abilities are selected from each group and asked to give feedback from their perspective. The results are analysed and kept for future reference. Lessons learned A key part of the programme is that it takes place at the schools, making it an attractive package for schools in terms of money and transport. However, this has implications for the interpreters from the two sites. Despite the fact that the pre-visit information states that certain conditions are needed in order to deliver the programme a large room with no distractions, a place for the interpreters to dress, time for on-site preparations - these things are often not provided. The room set aside for the event has sometimes been a thoroughfare or a hall where other activities were also taking place (both of which can break the suspension of disbelief and atmosphere). On occasions, there has been no area for the interpreters to get changed or set up. The team realised that no matter how much initial preparation was done, they could not guarantee the venue would be well suited to the performances. Hence part of the training for the interpreters involves how to take a flexible approach, and how to modify the programme according to needs. There is a contingency plan for situations such as the room being too small. Above all, staff are trained to expect the unexpected and be prepared. 2
Another issue was how to ensure that the interpreters from both sites turned up at the right time with the necessary costumes/objects, and knowing how to deliver the programme jointly. The project leader has therefore set down written expectations for both sites, clearly defining roles and responsibilities. Regular liaison is undertaken to ensure that everyone is aware of what is required of them and that quality is maintained. 2) World War Two for the Price of One Project summary World War Two for the Price of One is a join initiative between the Historic Dockyard Chatham and the Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham. It offers a whole day visit for Key Stage 3 and 4 students, split across the two sites. Project aims Increase the capacity of both sites for education by working in partnership Combine the resources of both sites to create a much stronger WW2 experience with object handling Provide a varied offer which would justify a full day out for schools, as well as help stimulate pupils to pursue history at KS4 Share ideas and expertise between the two sites Fill identified gaps in the schools offer at both sites Target audience Key Stage 3 and 4 school groups Process Research into secondary school visits to the Historic Dockyard Chatham showed that teachers wanted more variety in the offer in order to justify a whole day out. The Historic Dockyard s Director of Learning recognised that they could supply a powerful WW2 experience, complete with sights, sounds and smells for example via the warships and air-raid shelter but they lacked the kind of objects that could be used for handling sessions or that encouraged different kinds of historic interpretation. She began to look for a partner within the hub that could offer a different but complementary WW2 experience. This led her to the Royal Engineers Museum, which had handling objects and wartime documents, but was struggling to attract KS3 visits. Together they developed a full day programme the morning at the historic dockyard and afternoon at the museum. The Historic Dockyard visit includes a tour of the Doodlebug exhibition, underground air raid shelter and the last surviving WW2 destroyer. The museum visit involves handling sessions with some of the artefacts used by WW2 soldiers, as well as wartime reports and documents. Pupils are encouraged to compare and contrast both sites, considering what they learned at each and how the two experiences can be used to explore and interpret history. Crucially, a staff member from the historic dockyard accompanies the group to the museum to ensure consistency of theme and approach. The programme has been advertised with minimum support just printed flyers, phone calls to schools, and representatives attending relevant schools meetings in the region. The administration, including bookings, is carried out by the Historic Dockyard because the museum has limited capacity to handle this work. 3
Key achievements The formation of a curriculum-linked school programme which gives a broad WW2 experience while encouraging pupils to consider the different means that can be used to explore and interpret history. The two sites have found mutually-beneficial ways to work together, building on strengths and fulfilling needs. Staff at both sites have learned from each other and deepened their understanding of what schools require. The Royal Engineers Museum has seen a considerable increase in school visits. The programme is sustainable and has already generated interest from schools which hadn t previously visited the sites. The programme has attracted interest from other audiences such as further education groups and apprentices, and is being developed for teacher Inset days. Lessons learned It was realised at an early stage that the initiative could only work as a whole if the two visits were devised specifically for the purpose rather than by simply welding together two existing programmes. In order to ensure consistency and quality, staff members from the morning session need to stay with the school for the afternoon. This helps facilitate ongoing conversations and prevents the afternoon programme from slipping off theme. Evaluation The site visits are evaluated by teachers, and the feedback is analysed and stored. How the project is being developed New brochures are being prepared to advertise the programme to secondary schools this is the first time that the sites have developed strategic programmes for KS4. A separate programme for the Cold War is being devised, building on the lessons learned from the WW2 initiative. Contact Sandra Delahoy, Education Officer, The Historic Dockyard Chatham Tel: 01634 823800 Email: sdelahoy@chdt.org.uk Images overleaf 4
Time Travelling Tudors at the Historic Dockyard Chatham. Historic Dockyard Chatham 5
WW2 secondary school visit to the Historic Dockyard Chatham. Roddy Paine Photographic Studios 6