This hands-on exhibition is designed to provoke curiosity, to demand responses, to invite application to the various elements of the exhibition and in doing so to appreciate the Museum as a whole. 

The first impression on entering Witley Joiners’ Shop in which the exhibition is housed, are of benches with colourful displays, photographs and artefacts easily recognisable as Museum exhibits.  There is an immediate invitation to become involved.  Children are put at ease as the text is minimal and carefully phrased (reading level Key Stage 2). 

On closer inspection, there are 10 hands – on exhibits and in all 15 activities for teams of 3 children to be engaged upon.  With a group of 15 children working at differing speeds, there will always be activities to move on to during the 45 minutes of the session. 

Building Blocks

To the right of the door to Witley Joiners’ Shop the activity position which involves the BUILDING BLOCKS requires a stage by stage interpretation of a set of plans either in its construction or in the dismantling of the North Cray house. 

Timber Frame Model

JOINING TIMBER pieces will help explain the TIMBER FRAME MODEL activity.  This is a simple matching exercise.  The mortice and tenon joint is the key joining method in the example assembled. 

Weathering the Storm

WEATHERING THE STORM relates to covering the roof of buildings with various materials that are widely used in the South East of England.  This is a question and answer activity with information to be gained by the children. N.B. Slate is the one material which is not found in south east England 

Discovery Boxes

In the middle and on either side of the front bench are the  DISCOVERY BOXES. The closed boxes with hand holes are designed to encourage children to feel the artefacts and match them with the information displayed on the facing panels. Flaps on the boxes once lifted allow the children to discover how successful they have been. 

Mix and Match

The MIX AND MATCH activity shows a variety of building materials both modern and old. Photographs of buildings to be found in the Museum are displayed on either side of the hanging panel. Children are invited to choose one of the buildings illustrated, to read the labels and to handle all the materials they can see have been used in its construction. When they move on to a further example, they will realise that there are some commonly used materials such as mortar and some which are particular to an individual building such as flint or thatch. 

WEATHERING THE STORM  and DISCOVERY BOXES both on the first bench and MIX AND MATCH on the middle bench are arranged with two sides thus allowing greater flexibility in group activities. 

Tiling a Roof

TILING A ROOF is a practical activity and requires careful attention to the pattern in the tiling of roofs which can be seen in the photograph on the panel above. As with WEATHERING THE STORM and MIX AND MATCH this activity relates directly to the Museum exhibits and to buildings that the children will view on their Museum visit.

Bridging the Gap

BRIDGING THE GAP is alongside TILING A ROOF on the back bench. This has three activities: Tying a Frame, Walking the Plank and Building an Arch. Each one highlights the manner in which openings are spanned in buildings whether they be in or between walls or in supporting structures such as bridges. Thought-provoking problems are presented and solutions offered for the children to learn from. 

Sieving
Weight versus Volume

SIEVING and WEIGHT VERSUS VOLUME activities present children with plenty of action in the sieving of aggregates into their various constituent gradings whereas WEIGHT VERSUS VOLUME requires judgement and more precise measurement. Equal volume boxes each containing a different building material are provided for the children to weigh using a variety of weighing methods. 

The route taken by the teams of children will vary and will depend largely on where spaces occur. Where difficulties arise, the Museum stewards will be on hand to assist. However, the level at which children will understand the exhibition will result from how prepared they are to respond to the challenges presented, the interest generated at school before visiting the hands-on exhibition, and what following extension work has been planned by the group’s teacher

Please give a copy of this page to each group leader, and make them aware of the need for observing the safety issues outlined on the Information for Group Leaders.

Museum Risk Assessment

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