Heritage & Culture offer free historical artefacts loans boxes for schools

12/05/2020

To support teachers who are continuing to deliver lessons during lockdown, Heritage and Culture Warwickshire are currently offering a selection of their loans boxes for free to schools that remain open to the children of key workers and vulnerable children.

Schools can choose from six different topics, covering prehistory to the 20th century, to assist them with lessons and class curriculum topics.

The six boxes available are:

• Fossils: Explore Warwickshire’s Jurassic past and discover the creatures that lived here 200 million years ago. Contents include ammonites, echinoids, fossilised sea floor and tree bark, ichthyosaur vertebrae and more.

• Archaeology: Examine a range of real finds from around Warwickshire. Contents include pottery from the Roman, Medieval, post-Medieval and Victorian eras, animal bones, seeds, tiles and more.

• World War One: Explore original and replica objects from both the museum and County Record Office. Contents include trench whistle, mess tine, field dressing, postcards, miniature medals and more.

• Medicine through Time: Explore documents and objects from Egyptian to Victorian times. Contents include Roman surgical and hygiene equipment, Egyptian amulet and cosmetic bowl, herbal remedies, electric machine and more.

• Victorian Childhood: A collection of objects common in any Victorian nursery or school. Contents include writing slate, embroidery sample, skittles, baby’s gown and more.

• Kitchens through Time: A range of typical kitchen gadgets from the Victorian period to the modern day. Contents include stoneware, toasting fork, jelly mould, pie raiser, weighing scales and more.

Each box has full teacher notes, suggested activities and supporting resources. Boxes can be borrowed for two weeks.

Visit the Heritage and Culture website to find more information about the boxes available.

Please email heritageeducation@warwickshire.gov.uk to request one of the boxes.

Additional activities from Heritage and Culture

In addition to the school loans boxes, staff are developing and delivering lots of online activities that children and families can take part in at home as lockdown continues.

These include:

• ‘Arty Tots at Home’ - join in with games, songs and crafts for under 5s.

• ‘Warwickshire Museum in your Home’ - a taster of the events that Warwickshire Heritage & Culture would usually hold in their museums at this time of year with a different theme each week.