York Castle Museum

Workshop Programme

Our extensive workshop programme begins again in September, following the re-opening of the museum on 1 August, 2010. The workshops range from Foundation Stage to post-16 and take place in the galleries and our newly refurbished learning rooms, the Finds Lab and the Science Lab.

Select from Primary School Workshops or Secondary School Workshops to skip to the area you are interested in.

Primary School Workshops

Each workshop is for a maximum of 35 pupils, unless otherwise stated.

Click here for National Curriculum links for each workshop.

Prices
1 hour workshop - £60
1 hour 30 minutes workshop - £70
2 hour workshop - £80
All day workshop - £120

Please note that admission charges also apply for schools from outside the York area. See Making a Visit for more information.

History

Romans: Exploring Eboracum , Foundation Stage, KS1 and KS2
1 hour 30 minutes

What was life like in Roman York? Pupils explore the Roman York Gallery and are introduced to six people who lived in Eboracum. They take on the roles of archaeologists, handle artefacts and play Roman games to reveal different parts of life in Eboracum.

This workshop explores how the coming of the Romans changed the community of York.

Romans: Masks, KS1 and KS2
All day

Pupils are introduced to six real people who lived in Roman York and the artefacts that were found in their burials. In groups they develop information about one of them into a story about his or her life.

They design a mask for their character and a basic stage set. Finally, they dress the character in costume and present their story to an audience.

Vikings: Warriors to Settlers, KS1 and KS2
1 hour 30 minutes

Pupils explore the reasons why the Vikings came to Britain - and York - and experience the voyage across the North Sea through our Viking storyteller who made the journey with his family as a child. They handle artefacts to investigate the different skills the Vikings brought with them.

An introduction to archaeology and its role in understanding of our ancestors' way of life.

Egyptians: The Egyptian way of death, KS1 and KS2
1 hour 30 minutes

Pupils enter the Pharaoh's tomb and explore the process of mummification. They find out how and why the Egyptians took out the organs and put them into jars.They wrap up the Pharaoh to create a mummy and handle artefacts which would have been placed in the wrappings and in the tomb.

They learn about death rituals and can try weighing the Pharaoh's heart against a feather.

Tudors: Prince and Paupers - a journey through rich and poor life in Tudor York, KS2
2 hours

Explore the life of Brother Thomas, former soldier and monk during the time of Henry VIII. He is now struggling to survive in Tudor York and needs the help of your group of beggars to help him find three objects which he can take to the new Queen Elizabeth and help him gain back his lost wealth.

Handle objects, and learn about illuminated manuscripts and dining etiquette.

Science

Fire Away! Feeling the Force of Roman Catapults, KS2
1 hour 30 minutes

How did the Roman engineers use science and technology to conquer the Empire? The pupils design and build a model catapult and fire away to find out which model launches the ball furthest.

Use this as a starting point for your school to design and build a full-sized catapult to take part in our Summer School Challenge 2011!

The Earth and Beyond, KS2
1 hour 30 minutes

Our Georgian astronomer leads activities including ordering the planets, learning about star constellations, looking at and through our Victorian telescope, testing pupils' knowledge in a planets quiz and finding out about how the planets move. All the results are recorded in a Space Log.

Pupils can also explore the Observatory and its telescope in the Museum Gardens.

Incredible Dinosaurs, Foundation Stage, KS1 and KS2
1 hour 30 minutes

Pupils investigate the differences between land-roaming dinosaurs, marine ichthyosaurs and the skydiving pterosaurs. They can handle dinosaur footprints and other fossils, make moulds and cast their own fossils, estimate the height of a dinosaur, and work out how fast they moved.

They look at reasons for survival and extinction, and track evolutionary changes in ammonites.

Dynamic Digestion - Poo through Time
1 hour 30 minutes

Pupils learn about the digestive system - how does food enter the digestive system and what processes does it go through before emerging in the form of "poo"?

They investigate what the Romans, Vikings and people of Medieval York ate by examining artificial poo samples. They can also dissect owl pellets to work out the diet of these predators.

Amazing Adaptations, KS2
1 hour 30 minutes

Pupils learn about the concept of adaptations which have evolved over time in birds to allow them to make the most of available food in their habitat. They examine birds' skulls and beaks to determine the type of food eaten and how the beak shape and size relates to the food sources.

They can then transfer their knowledge of adaptations to other animals and plants.

Forensic Science, KS2
2 hours

Pupils become forensic scientists to find out whether a skeleton found in the Museum Gardens was a Roman child, a Viking warrior or a Medieval monk. They use scientific and archaeological investigations to determine the gender, age and means of death. Look out for red herrings too!

Pupils have the chance to handle real artefacts and examine real human remains.

Secondary School/College Workshops

These workshops are for groups of up to 30 students.

Romans

Salve! Citizens of Eboracum, KS3
2 hours, £80 per group

Students explore the lives of citizens of Roman York, the lady found buried with fabulous grave goods, the Baltic trader and the potter. Using this information and the work of author Caroline Lawrence to inspire them, they then write a short story, draw a cartoon strip or write a newspaper article about their chosen citizen, before presenting it to the group. 

Dramatis Personae - Roman play and performances, KS3 and KS4
Full day, £120 per group

Students use information about the six citizens in the Roman York gallery, artefacts and Eboracum to develop a play about the day in the life of a citizen. They create a set using artefacts from the collection, dress the characters in costume and create masks for each of the characters. At the end of the day, they perform their play.

Science

Who Were You? KS3
2 hours, £80 per group

Students undertake a mock forensic investigation of a body "found in the Museum Gardens". They have to make sense of the crime scene -it is a murder or a natural death, a modern person, a Roman or a medieval monk? They investigate clues, examine detail under microscopes and analyse the evidence, before presenting their case to the other groups before discovering the truth.

CSI York, KS4
2 hours, 30 minutes, £100 per group

Students take on the role of forensic investigators to go through the processes of collecting and interpreting evidence to solve a crime. The taks is to identify a victim and solve the case of a decades-old murder through analysing evidence from the mock crime scene. At KS4 this links to portfolio work, citizenship and literacy.

Evolution and Extinction, KS3
2 hours, £80 per group

Students examine fossils from our geology collections, specifically ammonites, which follow an evolutionary pattern which is clear to see. They also look at changing habitats and how these affect the chances of evolution and extinction in mammals, birds and reptiles.

Art

Art from Objects, Post 16
£30, plus artist fees if applicable

Students use specimens from the collections, including Natural Science, Geology and Archaeology to create their own works of art. They can work in the galleries or in one of our learning rooms. If you have a particular theme in mind, we are happy to discuss this and can help source real objects from our collections. Possible themes could include Pattern, Colour, Shadows, Texture, Faces or Animals.

This session is self-led by the students but if you would like us to book a professional artist to lead the session let us know upon booking - and there will be an extra charge. We will also need two weeks' notice to collect together the specimens needed.