Education at Steyning Museum

Education plays a large part in the life of Steyning Museum. There are many ways in which we help people learn about the history of Steyning and one of these is the work we do with children.

Let’s take a typical, busy month during which we had visitors ranging in age from pre-school to teenagers. Pre-schoolers came to find out what a museum is all about and to think about the meaning of past and present. They did a teddy bear hunt and spotted lots of other artefacts to talk about. For example, what are a wash tub and a mangle? This led on to how differently do we wash clothes today?

Key stage 1:
Children (infants) came to look at toys. They learnt about the main differences between old and new toys. Such as, what toys were made from and how they worked. For example, when did plastic toys come into being and how did toys move in the days before batteries?

Key Stage 2:
Children (juniors) came to learn about Steyning as a settlement and considered the reasons why it has been here for so long and how it has changed over time. For example, how the changes in the river affected the development of Steyning. They explored different sources to find out about the past, such as, what we can see today, maps, objects, books, documents, pictures and photos.

Another class came to learn about the Tudors. They were able to walk along Church Street to view Tudor houses and then see how they were built, in more detail, in the buildings section of the museum. They also dressed up in Tudor clothes, kindly made for the museum by the local W.I. This enabled the children to feel empathy with both rich and poor Tudors and to consider their different lifestyles.

The museum also played host to groups of French and German students. They learnt about the history of Steyning by exploring the museum and answering quizzes.

So, a typical, busy month in the history of Steyning Museum. We have lots of child-friendly exhibits and hands-on activities in our children’s corner. We also have an excellent website which includes a schools page, showing examples of topics we offer: www.steyningmuseum.org.uk

So come along and have fun with us at Steyning Museum. The Museum Church Street, Steyning, West Sussex BN44 3YB - 01903 813 333

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