We spent a fantastic day at Manchester Museum as we experienced what it would be like working as a curator responsible for creating a museum exhibit. 

The children were challenged to answer the question: What is the most important artefact in the ancient Egyptian collection? 

The children worked in small groups and each one was up given a theme that their artefact had to link to; the themes were rarity, story, material and beauty. 

In the workshop the activity leader had selected four artefacts for the children to discuss and justify links to their theme. It was great to see the children using the source analysis skills to develop their understanding. 

We then moved into the museum and the children looked at a larger collection of artefacts. Once again they had to choose an artefact that best suited their theme and they had to justify their opinion. 

We then moved back to the classroom to compare our two chosen artefacts and make our final decision. 

The children worked brilliantly as teams and showed a great understanding of historical source work. 

We then spent the afternoon exploring the rest of the museum’s exhibits with the vivarium being a particular highlight. We were also treated to the impromptu dragon dance to celebrate the Chinese new year. 

A fantastic day all round!