Please note that on Friday the 4th of October last admission to the Museum will be at 1pm. This is due to the set-up of the Great Western Brick Show. Tickets for the Great Western Brick Show can be bought online here, or on the door.
Thanks
The planning, building and development of railways, and the creation and development of locomotives. The important contribution that Brunel and his peers made to make Britain’s railways great. What were the problems with pre-railway transport? Why was a railway needed between London and Bristol? What was the role of engineers and navvies?
Using original objects, unique railway artefacts, costume and role play pupils investigate why and how the railways were built, with a focus on the Great Western region. Explore the life and achievements of inspirational engineers, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and George and Robert Stephenson, by bringing these characters to life. Retell the story of early locomotives like Locomotion, Rocket and North Star.
What solutions were found to the obstacles encountered by the three railway builders, like rivers, hills, valleys and marshes? How were engineering challenges overcome?
Pupils go on to move around the galleries, comparing our full size monster locos and discovering how they have changed and developed over time – bigger, better, faster! How does steam move through a locomotive to make it move?
As one Victorian source claimed ‘…no locomotive could travel at 10mph, but if it does, I will undertake to eat a stewed engine wheel for breakfast.’
· A study of an aspect of British History beyond 1066: A significant turning point in British History: The First Railways
· A local history study
· Confidence, enjoyment and mastery of language through public speaking, performance and debate
· States of Matter – observe that some materials change state when they are heated or cooled, and measure or research the temperature at which this happens in degrees Celsius
· Forces: recognise that some mechanisms including levers, pulleys and gears allow a smaller force to have a greater effect
The transformational impact of the railway on the lives of the Victorian generation, and its lasting legacy today. Why was the coming of the railway important? How did the development of the railway change the everyday lives of people in Britain? How did people react to the changes?
Using role play, original objects, costume and other primary sources, pupils explore the lives and views of people affected by the coming of the railway, with a focus on the Great Western region.
Become characters who were affected in different ways, and decide whether you are for or against the new railway. Whether blacksmith, farmer, landowner or traveller; coal miner, canal owner, engineer or navvy; school teacher, doctor, or even Queen Victoria – how will the railway affect YOU? Use speaking and listening skills to discuss the diverse points of view of other people, and decide if you have changed your mind!
Pupils go on to discover some of the different jobs created by the new railway, and what it was like to travel on the first trains. Could you make it to Engine Driver, the top job on the GWR? How dreadful was it to travel third class?
Finally, pupils explore how the railway revolutionised Britain with its effects, including day trips, seaside holidays, a postal service and ‘railway time’. Can you plot the fastest route on the GWR network to get to your destination?
‘It is certainly some consolation to those who are to be whirled at the rate of 18 or 20 miles per hour, by means of a high pressure engine, to be told that they are in no danger of being seasick while they are on shore, that they are not to be scolded to death or drowned by the bursting of the boiler, and that they need not mind being shot by the scattered fragments or dashed in pieces by the flying off or the breaking of a wheel. But will they believe it? Monstrous, extraordinary, most dangerous and impracticable, the railway will cause wholesale destruction of human life.’
· A study of an aspect of British History beyond 1066: A significant turning point in British history: The First Railways
· A local history study
· Reading comprehension
· Confidence, enjoyment and mastery of language through public speaking, performance and debate
· Name and locate counties and cities of the United Kingdom
Conditions in a Victorian factory and what it was like to be a Great Western Railway worker or apprentice building locomotives in Swindon.
Pupils step into the shoes of young GWR apprentices and experience the long hours, strict timekeeping, ruthless discipline, harsh rules and hot, dangerous, dirty surroundings of the locomotive factory. Handling original tools and other unique GWR and factory artefacts, pupils explore the different jobs, materials and physical processes involved in the construction of a colossal loco.
• A study of an aspect of British History beyond 1066: A significant turning point in British history.
• A local history study
The impact that the coming of the railway had on the small Victorian market town of Swindon and domestic and working life in the New Town of Swindon.
Pupils are introduced to a family who, along with many others, moved to New Swindon to work on the Great Western Railway. Using role-play, costume, original artefacts and photographs, pupils find out what life would have been like for the family in the community and how it differed from today. Themes include health and disease, church and school, shops and recreation, housing and police, the Mechanics’ Institute, domestic duties at home and factory conditions at work.
• A study of an aspect of British History beyond 1066: A significant turning point in British history.
• A local history study.
What it was like for children living through the Blitz in the Second World War.
The ARP Warden sounds our original siren to signal an imminent air raid. Inside and outside our meticulously researched reconstruction of a public shelter, pupils interpret a superb collection of original WW2 objects and ephemera relating to the Blitz and bombing, air raid shelters, air raid precautions and the role of the ARP Warden. Pupils experience first-hand the conditions inside a shelter including sleeping and personal ablutions. The class consider questions such as how did people pass the time and how did they keep their morale high? After the anxiety of the raid, the Warden sounds the All Clear and pupils emerge from the shelter to reflect on their experience.
• A study of an aspect of British History beyond 1066: A significant turning point in British history.
What it was like for children who were evacuated in the Second World War.
Share the anxiety and excitement as your pupils simulate the experience of leaving, travelling and arriving at destination as evacuees. On our station platform and inside our meticulously researched reconstruction of a wartime carriage, the pupils pack an evacuee’s suitcase, school satchel and lunchbox and handle original WW2 objects relating in particular to gas and blackout. The session finishes with a role-play as pupils are chosen or rejected by host families on arrival in the countryside.
• A study of an aspect of British History beyond 1066: A significant turning point in British history.
KS2: Britain since 1930
Focus:
How did the role of women change, at home and in the work place, in the Second World War,
Overview:
Through role play, pupils explore how the life of a fictional Swindon family changes during and after WW2. As the men of the family leave for war, their role in the Swindon works is taken on by women. Some of the women in the family join the war effort by volunteering in their local community. Other women are recruited into military service. Their lives are transformed by rationing, the Blitz and the arrival of the American GIs. After the war ends, some of the women return to working at home but others stay in the workplace; their lives are changed forever.
Curriculum Links:
A study of an aspect of British History beyond 1066: A significant turning point in British history.
A local history study.
Experience our popular immersive wartime festival for schools.
This includes Air Raid Experience and Evacuation Experience, as well as interactive workshops covering wartime memories, wartime childhood, the Home Front and the changing role of women.
Please click here for full details about We’ll Meet Again. This event is very popular, so please book early.
• A study of an aspect of British History beyond 1066: A significant turning point in British history.
STEAM features fantastic historic and interactive displays exploring the history of Swindon and the Great Western Railway. It is ideal for visits linked to the history of transport, the impact of the railways, industrialisation, local history, art, engineering and figures of historical significance, including Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
School bookings for self-guided visits are available for any Key Stage.
Learning resources
Self Guided Visits
Discovery Sessions
By travelling with Platform, your class or group can receive a free in-school workshop ahead of travel, and a free return train-trip for rail education purposes.
Contact the team at info@raileducation.org.uk to find out more or visit the Platform website.
Twice a year, STEAM runs its immersive wartime festival for schools, We’ll Meet Again. Live the war for a day and immerse yourself in the sounds and sights of the Home Front.
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