Kids break in: local pupils to run the Museum of London for a day

On Friday 11 November, pupils from Prior Weston Primary School, in Islington, will take over the Museum of London for the day. A day’s worth of special activities - that will be both educational and fun - are being organised as part of Children’s Commissioner’s Takeover Day 2011.

Twenty six pupils from Prior Weston school, aged 10 - 11, will become the Museum’s Visitor Hosts for the day. They will run front-of-house operations and greet visitors when they arrive. They will also take charge of the heart of the Museum - by managing the information desk and talk to visitors in the galleries.

As an integral part of their day they will deliver Object in Focus talks every hour between 11am and 3pm. The talks are all written and researched by the pupils themselves. They will tell the story of transportation with a focus on a wide range of artefacts from the Museum of London’s collection. These, include a Model Y Ford car, medieval shoes and the skeleton of a second century Roman horse.

Head of Learning at the Museum of London, Frazer Swift, said: “It’s not every day that children get a chance to take over a museum, but I am sure they’ll do a fantastic job. The day is a reflection of how important children are to us. A third of our visitors are children - we are really looking forward to it.”

The pupils will also explore Londoner’s memories of sheltering in the Underground during the WWII Blitz. The area around the Museum of London and Prior Weston school was heavily bombed during WWII. A poignant moment is planned at 11am when the pupils will lay a poppy wreath that they have made and hold the two-minute silence as part of Remembrance Day.

The takeover day is a nation-wide event led by the Children’s Commissioner for England. It gives children and young people the chance to shadow people in a range of different jobs, get involved in decision-making and offer their opinions on key issues about how organisations are managed.

Virginia Fraher, Head Teacher, at Prior Weston, said: “We’re really looking forward to breaking into the Museum of London. This is a great opportunity for the kids to learn about the inner workings of this fantastic museum that tells the story of our city from pre-historic times to the present day. Better still, it’s right on our doorstep and we’d like to encourage a life-long passion for museums among our pupils.”