Report by Mrs Ogilvie
Everyone was very excited about going to the museum. They began with a workshop on toys from the past and had lots of goes with different toys as well as comparing them to modern versions. The old toys were very popular with the whole class, who declared that they wouldn’t get bored with them! There were a few splendid moments where the children were so focussed on winding up spinning tops etc. that a delightful hush fell across the room. Everyone engaged well with the workshop but Autumn was particularly amazing at answering questions.
After that they each got to make a peg doll toy of their own choosing. There were lovely princess dolls with layered dresses and skirts, a pirate and soldier and some great animals. Lewis was determined to make a dinosaur (his absolute favourite animal) and with a little help from Mrs Samuel (better known as Janet to the After Care children) he proudly succeeded.
After lunch it was time to tour the museum. The Regimental gallery was very popular, especially after all the talk in school about Remembrance Day and History Day. The costume gallery allowed everyone to dress up and it was great to see the boys having so much fun as well, teetering in high heels and long dresses! There was even an animal costume which delighted Lewis.
Then they carefully climbed up to the Dinosaur & Fossil gallery, where a few of the class were a little alarmed by the models and dinosaur sounds! However, they were soon distracted by all the artefacts.
Next they moved onto the Natural History gallery and tried to identify lots of the stuffed animals. There was also a microscope to experience, which Jack was particularly fascinated with operating, a little sand fossil dig to play in, pictures to colour and a super collection of dinosaur books. Lewis settled straight down to read, hoping to look through every book!
There was a whirlwind tour of old paintings, with more appreciation for the giant bean bag sats than the pictures! The life-sized statue of Lady Godiva was also admired!
The Explorer’s Gallery was very popular as there were artefacts to handle including masks and a very uncomfortable headrest.
The final part was the Ancient Greece and Egypt gallery where the mummy fascinated everyone. A few children weren’t sure if they dared to look, but before they left everyone braved a close-up view and heard some gory facts about mummy formation from Mrs Ogilvie.
Finally it was time to collect their things, including the peg dolls and return to school. Year 1 had a fabulous day out and were very well behaved all day!