"Hands On History" is a new and exciting venture for Leeson House. Working in partnership with the Dorset County Museum and Pippa Brindley, we are able to offer a range of fun and very interactive history day visits for Key Stages 1, 2 and 3.

  Celtic Iron Age and the Romans   KS 1 and 2

Compare the life of Celtic Iron Age people with the Romans in a session that allows your pupils to discover the differences and similarities through hands on activities with artefacts.  Put together skeletons and identify artefacts from both peoples, reconstruct a Roman or Celtic Iron Age burial with grave goods, costumes to try on, games to play and practical activities to take part in.

 

Dorset Archaeology KS 1, 2 and 3

Dorset is rich in decaying remains reflecting the life and death of prehistoric people. The modern landscape of Dorset hides an amazing archaeological landscape varying from prehistoric burials to an Iron Age fort and Roman temple.

This session has been designed to be as flexible as possible, to encourage exploration of objects to find out about people in the past. Through the use of original artefacts and copies of Dorset finds you pupils will, through hands on activities, discover how people lived, how an archaeologist works and how to begin setting up their own museum.

 

18th and 19th century Smugglers   KS 1 and 2

 Using maps, documents and artefacts your pupils will go on a smuggling adventure. Get together a smuggling gang, decide on a cargo, and plan a route to evade the customs men. Isaac Gulliver, Slippery Rogers and the Swimming Smuggler of Christchurch could make an appearance. The session will include resources looking at the livelihood of the working poor at the time and why people became involved in smuggling.

 Victorian Dorset KS1 and 2

This session is a combination of: practical hands on Victorian work, the use of documents and photographs to look at the life of children in Victorian Dorset and school room role play. Artefacts will be available both for handling and for discussion. Child labour, workhouses and prisons, domestic drudgery and toys and games are particular areas that can form part of this very active session.

A very popular creative writing workshop is also available using Police Photographs and Prison Registers from the 1870s to trace the lives of Victorian Child Criminals. This session is particularly suitable for upper KS2 and KS3. Census material and letters written by the inmates are included. This session could also be part of a citizenship project.