Activities for KS3 (Ages 11 – 14)
For KS3 students, a visit to our museums is an enriching experience.
If your school is local to Yorkshire, then a visit to the museums could be an engaging and exciting way to introduce a local historical study to your curriculum. The museums lend themselves particularly well to studying local sites over time. How far can the museums as historical sites in Ripon reflect and reveal aspects of national history?
The workhouse in particular is a good site for exploring the role of government, the beginnings of the Welfare State and more generally, social issues in the 1800s and 1900s.
Alternatively, the museums are an excellent resource for contextualising nineteenth century fiction, particularly Dickens. We are able to tailor your visit to the book you are studying, and can provide a range of workshops and roleplays, or alternatively a more relaxed approach of tours and areas for independent study.
“Super. It allowed the girls to understand what the Workhouse meant for Victorians and relate it to Scrooge’s views.”
Queen Mary’s School
“The drama on the poacher brothers was very good. Useful to see the severity of punishment. The displays are excellent.”
Queen Mary’s School
An outline of our KS3 activities is available below:
As part of this activity day, your group will have the chance to visit two of our museums: the Courthouse and Prison & Police Museums.
At the Courthouse Museum:
- Children take part in a mock trial
- Lunch at the Workhouse
At the Prison & Police Museum:
- Sinkler Brothers role-play
- Learn about early policing, poaching and transportation
- Doin’ Time tour of the cells
You can also book an optional third session at the Workhouse Museum:
- Murder at the Workhouse – Victorian CSI: An enquiry led session following clues in newspaper reports and using new detection techniques.
- A stern introduction from Matron
- Guardians’ role-play
- Hands-on laundry/chores session
- Lunch – indoor space provided
- Gender segregated Victorian schoolroom
- Gender appropriate tasks – girls rag-rugging, boys garden chores
*We can tailor our Dickens Day to the books you are studying with references and specific role-plays and bringing in other museums.
During this activity day, your group will visit all three of our museums.
At the Courthouse Museum
- Children take part in a mock trial
At the Prison & Police Museum:
- Sinkler Brothers role-play
- Learn about early policing, poaching and transportation
- Doin’ Time Punishment Tour of the cells
At the Workhouse Museum
- Lunch – indoor space provided
- A stern introduction from Matron
- Guardians’ role-play
- Hands-on laundry/chores session
