SCHOOLCHILDREN LEARN ABOUT THE ROMANS AT TOLSON MUSEUM

Tolson Museum in Huddersfield is bringing the Romans to life in a hands-on educational experience aimed at complementing history lessons in school.
The museum in Ravensknowle Park on Wakefield Road is offering schools the chance for pupils to spend a day handling real Roman artefacts, trying on a Roman soldier’s outfit, making a mosaic and building their very own siege engine.
The school visit is tailored to enhance the study of the Roman Empire as part of the Key Stage 2 history curriculum.
The museum includes in its displays a model and information on the Roman Fort at Slack, near Outlane, Huddersfield. Artefacts from the museum’s collections are used to help children learn what life was like in the fort.
Pupils can discover just how heavy a Roman soldier’s armour was and they get the chance to wear a Roman helmet and wield a Roman sword.
The day ends with small groups of children building their own model siege engines using small pieces of wood, elastic bands and plastic cups and then taking part in a team challenge to use them to knock down a wall made from cardboard boxes.
One of the first schools to enjoy the Romans experience at Tolson was Brockholes Church of England School from Holmfirth.
The most popular part of the visit for the Brockholes pupils was making and using their own model catapults.
“It was really fun making them and my favourite part was when we were shooting at the wall with the balls,” said one pupil.
“When it was my turn I was nervous. Even though my team did not win, I liked making it (the catapult),” said another.
Handling Roman artefacts was a close second favourite.
“I loved the fact we were holding ancient artefacts that the Romans actually held” and “It was real life Roman stuff” were among the children’s comments.
They enjoyed being “creative and imaginative” making mosaics and were astonished at the weight of a Roman soldier’s uniform.

Said one pupil:“My favourite part of the trip was wearing the Roman costume. The helmet was a bit heavy and I loved the sword. It was the best. I wish I could wear it again.”
Accompanying teacher Helen Thornton-Pugh added: “As you can see from their comments, the children loved their visit to Tolson Museum. The visit provided a good balance of activities – varying from interactive experiences to talks and investigations - which kept the children engaged throughout the whole day.
“Our visit came at the end of our topic on the Romans and reinforced their learning from school. They were thrilled to be able to handle original Roman artefacts as well as seeing a replica of a soldier’s uniform. It brought their learning to life in a vivid and memorable way. Thank you Tolson team.”
For further information about the Roman school visit, contact Tolson Museum, Wakefield Road, Huddersfield, tel: 01484 223240.