The resources support learning in the three areas of English, Science and Learning from Objects. They have been created as the result of teacher training sessions (led by Pippa Smith of ‘Handling The Past’ and Robert Cooper of STEM Learning) and of the Palace House Literacy Project, ‘Poetry Is A Horse,’ which was run in partnership with All Saints’ CE Primary School and performance poet, Justin Coe.
Each resource gives teachers ideas for activities which will support learning before, during and after a visit to the Heritage Centre so that the experience can be as meaningful as possible, with direct relevance to areas of the National Curriculum.
A class of KS1 students from Babraham CE Primary School who visited Palace House to explore exercise and healthy lifestyles commented: “We began our trip to Palace House by going around the art work in the upstairs rooms. We loved the video of a jockey’s day as well as the Munnings paintings. We then went around the stables and a real highlight was going on the moving horse (simulator), dressed up in jockey’s gear!”
“Then we went on to see some real horses. We sat quietly and watched them trot around the yard and asked any questions we had. Back in the main building, we loved looking at the horse anatomy, seeing the skeleton next to the video explaining how a horse compares to a man in terms of speed, size of heart etc.”
Gabrielle Bell, Education Officer at Palace House, said: “We hope that the ideas bank will make our collections more accessible in terms of learning and will give teachers a starting point to inspire and stimulate active exploration of the Heritage Centre. The resources will also provide a focus for school groups taking part in self-led visits, giving school staff a helping hand. We hope to add to it over time, and plan to also invite teachers who have visited to share their own resources and case studies.”