Years 1 and 2 of St Mary’s Church of England Primary School became curators for the day on Friday 17th November at Amersham Museum. The children have worked with the museum for the last two months, resulting in an exhibition which their families were invited to view. The project was part of Takeover Day, a national initiative designed to encourage children to take on the roles of museum staff for the day.
The St Mary’s children worked with museum staff and volunteers to create their exhibition. They explored the theme of old buildings in Amersham, creating posters in school, and drawings and lino prints of key buildings in the museum. They also found out about food from the past, with a particular focus on sugar. The children learned about a Tudor diet and considered whether they would rather eat a rich or poor diet from 500 years ago; they found out about the impact of eating too much sugar in Victorian times; and how much sugar and sweets children could eat during WWII. They made a ‘sugar collage’ and Tudor biscuits for display on Takeover Day.
Emily Toettcher, the museum’s curator, said “This has been a fantastic project; it’s been great to work closely with the school staff and children over a period of time and to celebrate their achievements with their families on Takeover Day. We hope that this is the first of many successful Takeover Day projects.”
Louise Birch, Year 2 teacher at St Mary’s, said, “Working with the museum has given the children real hands on experience and brought history to life, and this has enhanced their learning. They have gained extensive knowledge of the history of houses in their local area, which they have thoroughly enjoyed sharing with their parents. They showed great pride in their work when they took over the museum. We look forward to working with the museum again in the future.”
Over 100 parents and carers came to the museum on Takeover to see the children’s work.