I wanted the children to live through the experience of being involved with the roles of a museum so that when they came to using it in the classroom they could continue to build on their language that they had learned there. The best role play areas are always the ones that the children can relate to and are familiar with.
A Museum of Old Things at Westgarth Primary
We visited Westgarth Primary to see the Museum of Old things that was set up in their Reception classroom. Find out what the teacher said below.
Why Did you want your class to take part in the Museum of Old things?
What happened when you visited Kirkleatham Museum?
The children were given a friendly welcome and introduction.
They were then informed about what was going to happen throughout the visit which helped the children and the supporting adults.
The children took part in a carousel of activities around the museum. The worked at the front desk, helped to tidy up the galleries. They took on the role of the security staff checking for objects. They even had a chance to create their own gallery of pictures which we brough back to school for our own museum.
The children loved the activities, and especially doing the “real jobs.” It helped them to understand more about museums, and inspired many conversations even when we got back to school.
How did the children make their own class museum?
The children were inspired to recreate the jobs that they had done on their visit to KIrkleatham Museum.
We had a loan box from Kirkleatham museum to support our seaside theme and we used the objects from the loans box to make our own museum.
The children were encouraged to wite labels for the objects in the displays. We were able to use the additional museum of old things resources such as the label holders to make their museum more realistic.
How did the play museum support children's learning?
The children were allowed to build on the knowledge that they had learned from the museum and put it into a role play context. It helped with their personal and social skills as well as helping them get creative when making their own exhibitions.
What Early Learning Goals did you cover as part of this experience?
They represent their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role-play and stories.
Children are confident to try new activities, and say why they like some activities more than others.
They give their attention to what others say and respond appropriately, while engaged in another activity.
Children follow instructions involving several ideas or actions. They answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions about their experiences and in response to stories or events.
What would you say to anyone thinking of setting up a Museum of Old Things in their EYFS setting?
The whole process was well thought out and had the children’s learning at the forefront of the visit which was superb.
Let the children help you to create the role playing areas and let them suggest ideas about logistics and design. Also, bringing adults to the museum in the classroom was a great way to give the children ownership and make them feel like they actually had their own museum.