Activities for KS2 (Ages 7 – 11)
Our award-winning learning experience stimulates KS2 learners to ask questions, make connections and contrasts, and develop historical narratives.
We have three museums on site: the Workhouse Museum, Prison & Police Museum and the Courthouse Museum. Themes of poverty, crime and law and order connect the museums and help to tell the story of Ripon in the 1800s and early 1900s.
The museums are ideal sites for exploring the topic of crime and punishment, classes reading Street Child, by Berlie Doherty, or as part of a local history study on Victorian Yorkshire.
Experience a Victorian classroom in the Workhouse schoolroom and learn to do laundry by hand. Take part in a historic trial at the Courthouse and decide the defendant’s fate! Our offer is interactive and varied, and we can tailor a programme of appropriate activities to suit your school.
A visit to Ripon Museums can also be an excellent chance to add atmosphere and context to fiction books set in the Victorian era or as inspiration for creative writing. We can offer activities and roleplays, or self-led exploration and group work.
“The most organised, efficient and successful school trip I have been on in my career.”
Wavell Junior School
“We thought the whole experience was amazing.”
Rossett Acre Primary
Our workshops:
Travel back in time to the 19th Century to explore Georgian and Victorian Crime and Punishment.
At the Prison and Police Museum:
- Learn about Ripon’s notorious pickpocketing girl gang, and find out what happened when they got caught in our Artful Dodgers role-play (LKS2)
- Act out a tale of policing, poaching, and transportation, in our Peelers and Poachers role-play (UKS2)
- Discover how punishments changed in the Victorian period by exploring our prison cells with the Doin’ Time Trail
At the Courthouse Museum:
- Take to the stand in our Georgian courthouse and re-enact a genuine historical trial
Cost £12 per pupil
Maximum of 2 classes per day (approx. 60 pupils)
To explore the full story of Georgian and Victorian Crime and Punishment, we recommend arriving in Ripon by 10:00am, and departing at 2:30pm (4.5 hours).
This session takes place at the Prison and Police Museum, and the Courthouse Museum. Lunch will take place at the Workhouse Museum.
We typically become fully booked a term in advance. Book early to avoid disappointment! Click here to make an enquiry.
Walk in the footsteps of Workhouse inmates to find out what life was like for poor children in Victorian Ripon. Perfect for pupils reading Street Child by Berlie Doherty.
Your day at the Workhouse Museum will include:
- A stern introduction from the Workhouse Matron
- Learning like a Victorian child in our schoolroom
- Participating in regimented physical drills
- Getting hands-on with baking in our Victorian kitchen
- Keeping the workhouse clean and tidy with our laundry session
You may also swap out one of the above for a hands-on session exploring Victorian games.
Cost: £12 per pupil
Maximum of 2 classes per day (approx. 60 pupils)
To explore the full story of life in the workhouse, we recommend arriving in Ripon by 10:00am, and departing at 2:30pm (4.5 hours).
This session takes place at Ripon Workhouse Museum. Space for lunch will be available on site.
We typically become fully booked a term in advance. Book early to avoid disappointment! Click here to make an enquiry.
Walk in the footsteps of Workhouse inmates to find out what life was like for poor children in Victorian Ripon. Perfect for pupils reading Street Child by Berlie Doherty.
Your day at the Workhouse Museum will include:
- A stern introduction from the Workhouse Matron
- Learning like a Victorian child in our schoolroom
- Participating in regimented physical drills
- Re-enact the gruelling interrogation some paupers experienced in our Guardian’s Roleplay
- Keeping the workhouse clean and tidy with our laundry session
You may also swap out one of the above to bake in our Victorian kitchen or make your very own rag rug.
Cost: £12 per pupil
Maximum of 2 classes per day (approx. 60 pupils)
To explore the full story of life in the workhouse, we recommend arriving in Ripon by 10:00am, and departing at 2:30pm (4.5 hours).
This session takes place at Ripon Workhouse Museum. Space for lunch will be available on site.
We typically become fully booked a term in advance. Book early to avoid disappointment! Click here to make an enquiry.
During this activity day, your group will visit all three of our museums.
At the Prison and Police Museum:
- Learn about Ripon’s notorious pickpocketing girl gang, and find out what happened when they got caught in our Artful Dodgers role-play (LKS2)
- Act out a tale of policing, poaching, and transportation, in our Peelers and Poachers role-play (UKS2)
- Discover how punishments changed in the Victorian period by exploring our prison cells with the Doin’ Time Trail
At the Courthouse Museum:
- Take to the stand in our Georgian courthouse and re-enact a genuine historical trial
At the Workhouse Museum
- A stern introduction from the Workhouse Matron
- Learning like a Victorian child in our schoolroom
- Keeping the workhouse clean and tidy with our laundry session
Cost: £16 per pupil
Maximum of 3 classes per day (approx. 90 pupils)
To explore the full story of Rich and Poor life in Georgian and Victorian times, we recommend arriving in Ripon by 10:00am, and departing at 2:30pm (4.5 hours).
This session takes place at Workhouse Museum, the Prison and Police Museum, and the Courthouse Museum. Lunch will take place at the Workhouse Museum.
We typically become fully booked a term in advance. Book early to avoid disappointment! Click here to make an enquiry.
