Using Museums: Roman Dig
0001 10:00:10:21 10:00:13:10
(narrator) The Arbeia Roman Fort
in South Shields
0002 10:00:13:10 10:00:16:23
offers school groups the chance
to be archaeologists for the day
0003 10:00:16:23 10:00:19:11
by digging up real Roman artefacts.
0004 10:00:27:05 10:00:31:10
It's one of a number of collections
with educational staff on site,
0005 10:00:31:10 10:00:33:23
who show what life was like
in Roman Britain
0006 10:00:33:23 10:00:36:15
by role play and re-enactment.
0007 10:00:36:15 10:00:39:03
..will ask each officer
for the report...
0008 10:00:41:22 10:00:44:07
It's like a leaf-shaped blade.
0009 10:00:45:11 10:00:47:23
(narrator) Prior to their visit
to the museum,
0010 10:00:47:23 10:00:50:00
local primary school teacher
Sue Pierce
0011 10:00:50:00 10:00:52:22
prepared a class by finding out
how the Romans lived
0012 10:00:52:22 10:00:55:14
and why they invaded
and then settled in Britain.
0013 10:00:55:14 10:00:57:16
..some people will do some pottery.
0014 10:00:57:16 10:01:01:15
Then after play we'll swap over,
so we all get a chance.
0015 10:01:05:19 10:01:08:20
The boys in particular enjoy
learning about the army
0016 10:01:08:20 10:01:11:04
and how the Roman soldiers lived.
0017 10:01:11:04 10:01:15:06
The girls do like to learn about
the soldiers and the battles.
0018 10:01:15:06 10:01:18:13
Also we like to try and relate it
to modern-day roads.
0019 10:01:18:13 10:01:23:14
We talk about the towns and cities
that we still have in England
0020 10:01:23:14 10:01:26:06
that were originated by the Romans.
0021 10:01:26:06 10:01:31:13
I prepared for the trip by doing
a pre-visit to the fort itself,
0022 10:01:31:13 10:01:34:22
by talking to the staff
and having a look around the site.
0023 10:01:34:22 10:01:38:16
We were sent a pack into school
about Arbeia
0024 10:01:38:16 10:01:41:07
and the kind of worksheets
the children could do
0025 10:01:41:07 10:01:43:20
either on the visit or afterwards.
0026 10:01:43:20 10:01:48:17
I had a look on the internet, looked
at suitable sites for information.
0027 10:01:48:17 10:01:52:00
The site I looked on was
the Tyne & Wear Museums site,
0028 10:01:52:00 10:01:56:04
which includes
the Arbeia Roman Fort site.
0029 10:01:56:04 10:01:59:04
Also the 24 Hour Museum site.
0030 10:02:02:01 10:02:04:10
(woman) The 24 Hour Museum
is a good place to go.
0031 10:02:04:10 10:02:07:04
It will tell you about
the museums in your region.
0032 10:02:07:04 10:02:10:08
We also have nine regional agencies
0033 10:02:10:08 10:02:14:12
who can offer advice and support,
can direct you to museums,
0034 10:02:14:12 10:02:18:13
who can then help you plan
the specifics of your visit.
0035 10:02:18:13 10:02:20:21
(woman) Arbeia's
part of Tyne & Wear Museums.
0036 10:02:20:21 10:02:23:02
We've got 11 museums and galleries,
0037 10:02:23:02 10:02:26:09
almost all of which are free,
which is a great help to schools.
0038 10:02:26:09 10:02:29:16
There are some charges. There's
a small charge for Time Quest,
0039 10:02:29:16 10:02:32:23
but it's a matter of pence
per pupil, so it's very small.
0040 10:02:32:23 10:02:35:16
The biggest costs for schools
are transport 0041 10:02:35:16 10:02:39:14
getting people here - but we are
close to public transport.
0042 10:02:39:14 10:02:41:16
We encourage teachers
to come to Arbeia
0043 10:02:41:16 10:02:43:13
before their visit with the school
0044 10:02:43:13 10:02:45:15
to have a look around,
talk to the staff
0045 10:02:45:15 10:02:47:21
and plan what they're going to do
on the day.
0046 10:02:47:21 10:02:50:17
We send them a teacher's pack
with lots of information 0047 10:02:50:17 10:02:55:00
activity sheets, ideas that
other schools have done before 0048 10:02:55:00 10:02:56:22
so they can prepare
in the classroom.
0049 10:02:56:22 10:03:01:00
We can also go out into schools and
help prepare, if that's necessary.
0050 10:03:01:00 10:03:03:08
(Sue Pierce) The fort's
close to our school,
0051 10:03:03:08 10:03:06:02
but we have to fill in
a risk-assessment form.
0052 10:03:06:02 10:03:08:19
That involved travelling there
as well 0053 10:03:08:19 10:03:12:02
the risks of getting on and off
the Metro, that kind of thing.
0054 10:03:12:02 10:03:17:24
The museum sends out advice leaflets
about things to look out for,
0055 10:03:17:24 10:03:21:24
which you should bear in mind when
doing a school's risk assessment.
0056 10:03:21:24 10:03:24:05
We do things called
hazard ID sheets,
0057 10:03:24:05 10:03:29:21
which is all the information you
need to write your risk assessment.
0058 10:03:30:21 10:03:33:19
(narrator) Time Quest
is a hands-on activity centre.
0059 10:03:33:19 10:03:37:05
Children dig for finds on
the reconstructed excavation site
0060 10:03:37:05 10:03:39:04
and discover what has been unearthed
0061 10:03:39:04 10:03:41:15
with the help of
a gallery interpreter.
0062 10:03:41:15 10:03:45:10
What part of the skull might they
look at to find out a person's age?
0063 10:03:54:12 10:03:57:24
(Susan) Time Quest is special.
It's the only place in the Northeast
0064 10:03:57:24 10:04:00:11
that you can do something
as experiential.
0065 10:04:00:11 10:04:03:08
You can be an archaeologist
and dig up real Roman objects.
0066 10:04:03:08 10:04:07:00
They're not replicas. Romans left
them on this site 2,000 years ago.
0067 10:04:07:00 10:04:09:10
It's something
you can't do anywhere else.
0068 10:04:09:10 10:04:12:15
You dig up your finds,
you can analyse and look at them,
0069 10:04:12:15 10:04:14:24
handle them, discuss them,
draw them.
0070 10:04:14:24 10:04:17:09
We use all sorts of
different activities.
0071 10:04:19:12 10:04:21:19
(woman)
They absolutely love digging,
0072 10:04:21:19 10:04:24:22
so we kind of focus on that mainly,
0073 10:04:24:22 10:04:27:00
and try and get them to balance out
0074 10:04:27:00 10:04:28:24
the practical stuff that they do
0075 10:04:28:24 10:04:31:05
and then we talk to them
about what they find.
0076 10:04:31:05 10:04:36:14
So they get the practical experience
and learn from what we tell them.
0077 10:04:38:16 10:04:44:06
I've enjoyed the digging cos you get
to actually be an archaeologist
0078 10:04:44:06 10:04:47:11
and find lots of different things.
0079 10:04:47:11 10:04:49:19
(narrator) Time Quest
works for any age group.
0080 10:04:49:19 10:04:53:11
Sessions can be adapted for older
children at key stage 3 and 4.
0081 10:04:57:00 10:04:59:19
Afterwards, the class get a chance
to tour the fort
0082 10:04:59:19 10:05:04:13
and meet archaeologists who are
on hand to answer any questions.
0083 10:05:05:06 10:05:08:17
Just by looking at the stratigraphy.
0084 10:05:08:17 10:05:12:03
Can anybody hazard a guess
to say what this is down here?
0085 10:05:12:03 10:05:14:13
(Susan) We work with
local secondary schools,
0086 10:05:14:13 10:05:17:11
taking students
on work-experience placements,
0087 10:05:17:11 10:05:19:09
both with the education staff
0088 10:05:19:09 10:05:22:20
who help out in Time Quest and help
the younger children understand,
0089 10:05:22:20 10:05:26:14
but also we're able to offer some
placements for archaeologists,
0090 10:05:26:14 10:05:28:20
so they can actually go and dig.
0091 10:05:29:15 10:05:34:20
I think they can get a great deal of
hands-on archaeological experience,
0092 10:05:34:20 10:05:39:01
which is quite a rare thing,
to get that.
0093 10:05:39:01 10:05:44:15
It's become less and less these days
because of the way digs are funded.
0094 10:05:44:15 10:05:49:17
So we offer a good opportunity for
students, trainees and volunteers
0095 10:05:49:17 10:05:53:22
to take part in the excavations
and get some much-needed experience.
0096 10:05:53:22 10:05:56:01
Like a break from university
0097 10:05:56:01 10:05:59:05
or they're going to follow it
in employment, that sort of line.
0098 10:05:59:05 10:06:04:03
You can't see the road now. Under
that we've got all these drains...
0099 10:06:04:03 10:06:06:15
(Susan) Arbeia is
not just about the Romans.
0100 10:06:06:15 10:06:10:10
It has a cross-curricular approach,
so even if it is just a Roman visit,
0101 10:06:10:10 10:06:14:03
you're looking at geography
and science, as well as history.
0102 10:06:14:03 10:06:17:23
We also run weeks of workshops
where you can do literacy activities
0103 10:06:17:23 10:06:22:05
that involve drama and role play,
storytelling, reading and writing.
0104 10:06:22:05 10:06:26:15
We do art workshops where you make
weird and wonderful Roman things,
0105 10:06:26:15 10:06:28:17
and geography and science things 0106 10:06:28:17 10:06:31:13
looking at how materials
are preserved underground
0107 10:06:31:13 10:06:33:08
in archaeology.
0108 10:06:35:21 10:06:40:13
I wrote "Stephanie" in Roman
and "Stephanie" in English.
0109 10:06:40:13 10:06:44:13
"My name is Stephanie.
My name is Stephanie."
0110 10:06:44:13 10:06:48:06
So... It's really interesting
as well.
0111 10:06:48:06 10:06:54:01
I'm enjoying this because you
get to look at things from close up
0112 10:06:54:01 10:06:57:07
instead of just from our view.
0113 10:07:00:20 10:07:04:03
(narrator) A small museum gallery
was built on site
0114 10:07:04:03 10:07:07:01
where children can find out about
a Roman soldier's life,
0115 10:07:07:01 10:07:09:01
death and burial.
0116 10:07:11:17 10:07:15:14
This is a fantastic resource for us.
It's right on the doorstep.
0117 10:07:15:14 10:07:19:07
It gives the children a chance
to have hands-on experience
0118 10:07:19:07 10:07:21:04
of real Roman artefacts.
0119 10:07:21:04 10:07:22:24
Seeing a real Roman site,
0120 10:07:22:24 10:07:25:10
it's everything we talk about
in the classroom.
0121 10:07:25:10 10:07:27:12
We look in books,
video, on the internet,
0122 10:07:27:12 10:07:30:07
but this brings it all to life.
It's fantastic.
0123 10:07:30:07 10:07:32:12
This is what they would wear
underneath.
0124 10:07:34:21 10:07:38:20
What I like about the Romans
is how they battle
0125 10:07:38:20 10:07:40:24
and what they use to practise with.
0126 10:07:40:24 10:07:45:02
They'll have a spear
and they'll have their other sword
0127 10:07:45:02 10:07:48:24
so they can get the spear there
and their sword there
0128 10:07:48:24 10:07:51:21
and, like, hit with that spear
0129 10:07:51:21 10:07:55:23
and hit them with the sword
at the same time.
0130 10:07:57:02 10:08:00:24
(narrator) Questions and worksheets
are provided for the pupils.
0131 10:08:00:24 10:08:04:11
This is an education pack
we send out for a Roman visit.
0132 10:08:04:11 10:08:07:21
It covers the topics they'll be
doing while they're visiting.
0133 10:08:07:21 10:08:12:00
So, for example, it'll give them
a description about the characters,
0134 10:08:12:00 10:08:15:08
what they'll be expected to do,
the costumes, that sort of thing.
0135 10:08:15:08 10:08:17:20
We send them out
once the teachers have decided
0136 10:08:17:20 10:08:21:24
which sort of activity
they want to do while they're here.
0137 10:08:21:24 10:08:24:23
(Sue Pierce) We didn't feel
it was right for year 3 children
0138 10:08:24:23 10:08:26:16
to take out clipboards,
0139 10:08:26:16 10:08:30:23
so we just let the children look at
the artefacts and talk about them.
0140 10:08:30:23 10:08:34:00
We will use some of them
as follow-ups in the classroom.
0141 10:08:34:00 10:08:39:01
But next year we may make some
of the worksheets into A5 booklets,
0142 10:08:39:01 10:08:42:11
so that the children could carry
them around, look at the artefacts,
0143 10:08:42:11 10:08:46:08
answer questions, draw pictures
while they're at the museum.
0144 10:08:46:08 10:08:49:02
(Sue Wilkinson)
Teachers in the Northeast
0145 10:08:49:02 10:08:51:09
can go onto a secondment programme
0146 10:08:51:09 10:08:55:04
managed by the Northeast Museums,
Libraries and Archives Council.
0147 10:08:55:04 10:08:59:02
That's part of a national programme
which has funding from government
0148 10:08:59:02 10:09:02:01
which MLA manages
through its regional agencies,
0149 10:09:02:01 10:09:05:16
which means that teachers all over
the country can go on placements
0150 10:09:05:16 10:09:08:01
to help them develop
their knowledge and skills
0151 10:09:08:01 10:09:10:06
about museums and museum objects
0152 10:09:10:06 10:09:14:21
and to plan effective teaching and
learning opportunities for students.
0153 10:09:14:21 10:09:17:20
(man) Basically,
the way the Romans ate
0154 10:09:17:20 10:09:20:13
was not like us we sit at a table to eat our food.
0155 10:09:20:13 10:09:24:06
They'd all lie
on these huge seats with cushions.
0156 10:09:24:06 10:09:28:00
I organise and run
the Roman role play
0157 10:09:28:00 10:09:32:06
and take all the bookings,
et cetera.
0158 10:09:33:11 10:09:35:22
It's a chance for them,
getting into character.
0159 10:09:35:22 10:09:39:21
Rather than learning through
a textbook or listening to someone,
0160 10:09:39:21 10:09:43:22
it's actually through doing it
and working with objects.
0161 10:09:43:22 10:09:46:09
They're having fun,
but they're also learning.
0162 10:09:46:09 10:09:48:11
That's the great thing about it.
0163 10:09:48:11 10:09:50:08
"We are ready for inspection."
0164 10:09:50:08 10:09:54:05
(Adnan) The best thing is that
they get to work with objects.
0165 10:09:54:05 10:09:57:20
In the role play we try and put in
as many objects as possible
0166 10:09:57:20 10:10:00:07
so they can handle them and, erm...
0167 10:10:00:07 10:10:02:22
What quite often happens
is the kids,
0168 10:10:02:22 10:10:05:15
when I take a break they start
playing with the objects
0169 10:10:05:15 10:10:07:23
and start getting into the roles
without me.
0170 10:10:07:23 10:10:11:10
Everything's been related to what
we're doing in the classroom
0171 10:10:11:10 10:10:13:23
because it's all about the Romans.
0172 10:10:13:23 10:10:18:13
We've been learning what kind of
people did what kind of jobs.
0173 10:10:18:13 10:10:20:22
You get to learn more
by doing role play
0174 10:10:20:22 10:10:25:22
so you can actually learn
what sort of things the Romans did.
0175 10:10:28:06 10:10:31:13
(narrator) The museum also plays
host to a re-enactment society
0176 10:10:31:13 10:10:33:14
which holds events
during the summer.
0177 10:10:33:14 10:10:35:18
Members go out to schools with props
0178 10:10:35:18 10:10:38:15
and loan-boxes
full of Roman artefacts.
0179 10:10:38:15 10:10:40:24
..very different
to what they used to be like.
0180 10:10:40:24 10:10:43:12
It's quite blunt
because the original was blunt.
0181 10:10:43:12 10:10:47:17
We're a group of enthusiasts who
re-create what life was like here
0182 10:10:47:17 10:10:51:04
in the 200s to the 300 time period.
0183 10:10:51:04 10:10:55:12
In my case I've mainly
worked with key stage 2 0184 10:10:55:12 10:10:57:24
about seven, eight,
nine-year-old children.
0185 10:10:57:24 10:11:00:06
We just take things in not just military,
0186 10:11:00:06 10:11:03:04
it's also the civilian aspects
and everything.
0187 10:11:03:04 10:11:06:19
We also take books in. We also
ask them what they've been doing
0188 10:11:06:19 10:11:11:06
and we go through...
We actually let them touch toys,
0189 10:11:11:06 10:11:15:02
religious things, ornaments,
0190 10:11:15:02 10:11:17:24
whatever they've been
learning about.
0191 10:11:17:24 10:11:20:17
We'll talk,
people will let them try things on.
0192 10:11:20:17 10:11:23:23
We let them try the helmets on.
If they want to feel what it's like
0193 10:11:23:23 10:11:29:04
to have the sword and leatherwork
on, we'll give them a go.
0194 10:11:29:04 10:11:32:12
(narrator) The class follows up
their visit to Arbeia
0195 10:11:32:12 10:11:34:20
with history, art and cookery.
0196 10:11:35:19 10:11:38:24
(Sue Pierce) We try to make
the topic relevant to the children.
0197 10:11:38:24 10:11:42:17
They like talking about things like
what the Romans ate
0198 10:11:42:17 10:11:45:17
and whether we still eat
the kinds of things they did.
0199 10:11:45:17 10:11:50:08
We're going to make some bowls a bit like this one here.
0200 10:11:50:08 10:11:53:09
Quite a shallow bowl
that they might have eaten from.
0201 10:11:53:09 10:11:55:06
You need to wet your hands, Sam.
0202 10:11:55:06 10:11:57:22
We're going to do quite a few
follow-up activities.
0203 10:11:57:22 10:12:01:21
One of them is some of the children
will do some mosaic pictures
0204 10:12:01:21 10:12:05:21
using outlines of Roman pictures
that we've found in books.
0205 10:12:06:20 10:12:10:00
Some of the children
are going to make Roman scrolls.
0206 10:12:10:00 10:12:14:06
This comes under the DT
and art and craft activities.
0207 10:12:14:06 10:12:17:06
Another group of children
will make some Roman cakes
0208 10:12:17:06 10:12:21:15
from a recipe that
again we found in some topic books.
0209 10:12:21:15 10:12:23:22
(narrator) Out of all
the museum had to offer,
0210 10:12:23:22 10:12:25:17
what was the most memorable?
0211 10:12:25:17 10:12:30:12
I possibly enjoyed
the digging the best,
0212 10:12:30:12 10:12:33:18
cos I like getting dirty
0213 10:12:33:18 10:12:36:06
and scruffy as well.
0214 10:12:36:06 10:12:39:00
The digging,
cos I found a skull
0215 10:12:39:00 10:12:42:00
and I was really happy
that I found it with my friend.
0216 10:12:42:00 10:12:45:05
I liked going to the museum,
0217 10:12:45:05 10:12:48:16
because I liked seeing
the dead woman there.
0218 10:12:48:16 10:12:51:04
The Arbeia Roman Fort showed
0219 10:12:51:04 10:12:55:00
that you can have a variety of
learning experiences for children.
0220 10:12:55:00 10:12:58:12
Given that all children
learn in very different ways,
0221 10:12:58:12 10:13:02:11
this was something
that was clearly really important
0222 10:13:02:11 10:13:06:01
to ensuring that all those children
didn't just have a good time there,
0223 10:13:06:01 10:13:09:06
but all of them got something
out of that experience
0224 10:13:09:06 10:13:12:05
that would support their learning
back in school.
0225 10:13:12:05 10:13:16:03
Our own research in the Renaissance
programme has borne that out.
0226 10:13:16:03 10:13:20:10
The big survey we did two years ago
with nearly 1,000 teachers
0227 10:13:20:10 10:13:22:07
showed that there
were clear links
0228 10:13:22:07 10:13:24:24
between creativity,
inspiration and enjoyment
0229 10:13:24:24 10:13:27:20
and the acquisition of
knowledge and understanding.
0230 10:13:55:01 10:13:57:14
Visiontext Subtitles: Sarah Emery
0231 10:13:57:14 10:13:59:14
www.visiontext.co.uk