Exciting workshops for children at fort Brockhurst
| Published: 27th March 2008 17:32 |
English Heritage makes history fun at Fort Brockhurst in Gosport.
A team of education volunteers at the Victorian Fort have developed four interactive Discovery Visits, in which children can create their own tantalising tessellation or handle a real 2000-year-old Roman pot with porridge still in it!
Fort Brockhurst was built in the 1860s to protect Portsmouth and its vital harbour. Largely unaltered, the parade ground, gun ramps and moated keep can all be viewed. The fort currently stores a treasure trove of objects from English Heritage's extensive reserve collections. The objects on display have been excavated from sites in the South East and South West and include stonework, textiles, jewellery, and furniture from many periods.
English Heritage Curator Pam Braddock, who taught the volunteers how to handle the collection, said:
"Education volunteers are providing a whole new perspective on the collections and how they are used and understood. The collections resource centre has the potential to awaken a whole generation of children to the excitement of finding out about the past, through handling and learning about archaeological and historical objects."
The workshops, being run every Wednesday, are all aimed at Key Stage 1 - 2 (age five to eleven) and allow children to learn through handling original artefacts and objects. Children can discover lighting throughout history, from the Romans to the present day, investigate containers through the ages, spend the day learning in a Victorian schoolroom, or discover how the construction of homes has changed over time.
Kate Davies, English Heritage Education Volunteers Manager, explains why these workshops are proving to be such a success:
"The sessions available at Fort Brockhurst give education groups a unique opportunity to access precious objects from English Heritage's vast collections, not normally on public display, and relate this directly to a number of National Curriculum subjects. This is a great opportunity for local schools."
Volunteers are central to English Heritage's education programmes. English Heritage Head of Education Tina Corri said:
"Education volunteering helps us to work more closely with our local communities, as well as offering opportunities for people to get involved with what's happening on their doorsteps. By having volunteers at Fort Brockhurst we are now able to offer these education programmes to schools at this site - something we were unable to do before!
She continued: "The benefits are real and long lasting - we can expand our learning programmes to more and more visitors, offer volunteers new experiences whilst capturing their skills and enthusiasm, as well as creating a network for like minded people."
Fort Brockhurst is located off the A32, in Gunner's Way, Elson; on the North side of Gosport.
To find out more about English Heritage's Learning department please visit http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/education
To make a booking or for further information, please call Vicki Blatchford or Helen Wigginton on 01483 252013. Alternatively, you can email educ.se@english-heritage.org.uk.
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