Year 3 visit The British Museum

It was with great excitement that Year 3 boarded the coach for our visit to The British Museum to support our work in Humanities on the Ancient Greeks. The children were thrilled to spot different designs of Greek columns as we drove along the Marylebone Road.

In the courtyard outside the museum, they identified a multitude of majestic Ionic columns. It was wonderful to see their faces as they first tried to see the least amount of people that could stretch around one of the columns (five), followed by how many they could squash around (nineteen).

Once inside, the children explored the Parthenon Marbles using an interactive I-pad program which sent them on six quests. The children were highly motivated and really engaged by the challenges it set them. They were able to develop independence in their learning as they explored the gallery with their partner.

The other activity involved finding out about Greek life by examining the pots, bowls and vases that were on display in the Ancient Greek galleries. It gave them the opportunity to use primary sources of evidence and draw conclusions about lifestyle and attitudes. The children looked for the largest and smallest vases and found out what they would have been used for. They soon discovered that the smallest were used for perfume whilst the largest, although intended for oil or grain were sometimes used as coffins for children and young adults. A gruesome revelation !!