Teachers notes
Exploring the history of their locality helps students develop a sense of identity and place in the world. Delving into the past can reveal fascinating stories of the people and events that shaped their area and their own lives, fostering pride in their roots and an awareness of what they can achieve.
Throughout history, people from all walks of life have impacted on our lives and shaped our worlds. Explorers, makers, innovators, artists, scientists, ordinary people whose thoughts, ideas, actions and experiences led to extraordinarychange and development.
The history of the Tees Valley is brimming with men and women who have made their mark on the region, Britain and the wider world. From Edward Pease who opened the first ever public railway, and the ‘iron men’ who dug millions of tons of ironstone from the local hills to build structures that stretched across the world; to renowned artists and designers like Christopher Dresser, and explorers like ‘Queen of the Desert’Gertrude Bell, expedition leader and master navigator Captain James Cook, and astronaut Dr Nicholas Patrick.
Today, capturing a ‘likeness’ of people and events and sharing it around the world can be done at the touch of a button.But for people of the past, the creation of a portrait was
reserved for the select few. These people made such a significant contribution to our lives that their portraits havebeen collected and put on show by museums and galleries around the world. They remind us of where we came from and the people who shaped our lives today.
Use the objects and classroom activities to explore different aspects of Tees Valley’s unique story and to make links with students’ lives today.
