Learning at Blists Hill Victorian Town
Blists Hill Victorian Town is one of the largest open air museums in Britain. A small Victorian Town has been created above fifty acres of woodland walks on the banks of the Shropshire Canal. The top of town has a bank, grocer’s shop, chemist, printing shop, bakers and sweetshop, while the back streets are busy with small offices, works and factories including a working foundry and iron rolling mill. Cottage gardens and smallholdings thrive and refreshment is always available at the New Inn Victorian pub and the Forest Glen Pavilion Refreshment Pavilion. The town comes alive with even more characters that portray various aspects of Victorian life and visitors are transported back to a world of pounds, shillings and pence, where steam engines and horse’s power industry, and gas and candles still light shops, factories and homes.
Over the years, the Education Department has been extremely successful in providing as wide a range of activities to suit as many ages and abilities, and reach as many sectors of the community as possible. Learning at Blists Hill Victorian Town now takes many forms, from visitors being free to explore numerous exhibits and interact with costumed demonstrators and actors across the site. However, in addition to this there are Education Workshops for schools, Hands-on Activities for families, demonstrations and a whole host of resources for students.
Education Workshops
There are various different interactive educational schools workshops which can involve children making their own hand made loaf baked in the ovens at the bread shop or pupils dressing up in Victorian costumes and receiving a lesson in an original school building.
The range of educational workshops includes:
- Intaglio Printing – inspired by Victorian patterns, children produce their designs using this traditional printing technique;
- Typesetting and Printing – shows how we managed before desk top publishing!
- Toys – compare today’s toys and games with those from the past;
- Laundry – find out how the Victorians washed their clothes, using dolly tub, a posser, and a mangle;
- Lighting – see how homes were lit in the Nineteenth Century, then dip a candle in different coloured waxes to build up a unique design;
- Brick Making – learn about child labour in an authentic setting, and then make a brick using traditional tools and methods.
Family Oriented Hands-On Activities
In addition to the Education Workshops, Blists Hill Victorian Town offers Family oriented hands-on activities which are available to all visitors, every weekend and throughout the school holidays. Activities include: Candle Dipping, Felt making, Casting, Peg Doll Making, Bread Making, Printing, Brick Making, and Wood Turning.
These activities have received a tremendous response from visitors and so far over 15,000 people have participated since their inception in 2005.
Collaborations with Local Education Authority
In consultation with the Local Education Authorities Blists Hill’s education team has entered a number of special collaborations with local schools:
- A history module designed for children with learning difficulties was developed in conjunction with Haughton School, Madeley during the autumn term of 2004.
- Blists Hill played host to a series of visits from pupils attending Mount Gilbert School for children with behavioural problems in the spring term of 2005. The visits were used to launch literacy, history and art projects all with successful outcomes.
- During the spring and summer term of 2005 a school garden has been built, planted and tended by pupils from Cruckton Hall School. The first early potatoes are ready for harvest!
The Challenge
During the next five years it is hoped that Blists Hill Victorian Town will obtain funding to refresh the site as a whole and provide new diverse business attractions for the Museum to accrue the necessary revenue to maintain and enhance the aforementioned facilities. However, in the meantime we are looking for revenue support during that period to maintain and expand the popular Learning Projects already established on site.
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