The New Brent Museum and Archives Are Here!

The new Brent Museum and Archives are here!

 new permanent museum displays in chronological order  significant historical events, people and places in your students’ own locality  school workshops with original artefacts and replicas, maps, photographs and costume, supporting history, science and geography studies.

My name is Jana Cameron and I am the new Brent Museum and Archives learning officer. I am very happy to discuss any projects you have in mind and/or services that you would like us to deliver.

In this newsletter: 1. Free Professional Development course for teachers 2. School Workshops 3. Loans Boxes 4. Local history resources 5. Temporary exhibitions

1. FREE Professional Development for Teachers Monday 5 October 1pm-3pm & Wednesday 7 October 10am-12pm (same session). At The Library at Willesden Green, 95 High Rd, London, London NW10 2SF. This session is free.  an overview of the history of Brent;  how to use the Museum galleries to support your pupils’ history and geography studies;  exploring our workshops and loans boxes;  information about future temporary exhibitions; and  time to chat/ask questions about the school service. Book a free place at www.bestbrent.co.uk to gain an attendance certificate. Alternatively please email us at [email protected] to book a free place.

2. School workshops Each workshop is delivered by an experienced museum “a really valuable experience, not educator. Children develop historical enquiry, speaking, just for our celebrations but listening and thinking skills. Workshops are £1.50/child for enhancing humanities as well.” Brent schools and £3/child for non-Brent schools. Deputy head teacher, Mount Stewart EYFS Workshop Junior School Play with maps Children learn how the area of Brent has changed over time, such as how Wembley and Willesden joined together to become Brent, using rhymes and play in this interactive and fun workshop. Workshop lasts for 45 minutes.

EYFS/KS1 workshop Toys and games from Brent's past Queenie, our Victorian doll made from porcelain and real human hair, will help children to think about different types of objects used for play and the materials used to make them. Playing with toys and games from different historical periods encourages children to use a wider vocabulary; develop their numeracy skills; and progress hand-eye coordination. Workshop lasts for 45 minutes plus optional 15 minutes numeracy activity.

Jana Cameron, Learning Officer, Brent Museum and Archives 020 8937 3603 [email protected] www.brent.gov.uk/museumarchives Page 1

NEW - Reception/KS1 workshop Household objects in the past – exploring materials and their properties Children handle a range of original items from households in the past. They identify the materials used and group the objects by material. Children use language such as hard, soft, shiny, and rough to describe the objects and discuss their properties to see which materials are most “the children enjoyed the hands on suitable for which purpose. experience, it was very practical and Workshop lasts for 45 minutes. they were enthusiastic to learn more”

KS2 workshops KS1 teacher – Chalkhill Primary School Brent in the First World War Children explore the impact of World War I on the people of Brent through handling and investigating a wide range of materials including photos, artefacts, maps, local stories and costume, developing transferrable historical enquiry skills. Workshop lasts for 1 hour.

Local history workshop - Wembley Old and New Children handle and investigate a wide range of artefacts, costume, music recordings, photographs, maps and newspaper articles to explore Wembley’s varied past, for example why 27 million people came to the British Empire Exhibition in Wembley in 1924/25, Watkin’s Folly and how the High Street has changed over the last 150 years. Workshop lasts for 1 hour.

Brent in the Second World War Children explore the impact of World War II on the people of Brent by handling and investigating a wide range of materials including photos, newspaper extracts, personal testimonies, original artefacts such as gas masks, ration books and tinned eggs, developing transferrable historical enquiry skills. You can buy 'Brent's War' (Whitehead and Long, London Borough of Brent, 1995) from us for £6. Workshop lasts for 1 hour.

This workshop supports BHM studies: Brent’s Somali Community Children handle and investigate a wide range of materials including personal testimonies from Brent’s Somali community, objects from the nomadic Somali people, traditional Somali dress, photos and maps. This is a great workshop for Black History Month or as part of projects looking at culture, diversity and the local area. This workshop was developed as part of the Northwest London Somali Project. You can buy the ‘Celebrating Black History in Brent' teacher's pack from us for £10. Workshop lasts for 1 hour. A section of Aws (a woven material) used to make an Aqal (hut) by nomadic Somali people. Victorian Brent This engaging session explores the lives of students, servants, the rich and the poor in Victorian Brent. Our handling collection illuminates the severe rules in Victorian schools and explore the daily toil for servants. Our replica costumes, based on photographs in our collection, bring the era to life for your students as they dress in Victorian fashions. Workshop lasts for 1 hour

Jana Cameron, Learning Officer, Brent Museum and Archives 020 8937 3603 [email protected] www.brent.gov.uk/museumarchives Page 2

3. Loans Boxes Loan boxes contain both real and replica objects as well as teacher support material. You can book a loans box to use in school or you could use it to support follow up work after a visit to the Museum. The boxes are £15 per week. Schools are responsible for their collection and return by appointment to The Library at Willesden Green.

Houses and homes loan box - These original objects illustrate the development over time of household tasks such as cooking, washing and cleaning. Focusing particularly on home life before electricity. The accompanying archive material provides examples of different houses and building styles in Brent.

Toys loan box - The range of old-fashioned and new toys in this box represent the changing styles and fashions of toys from ancient times to the present day. There are a large range of toys to try out. Encourages exploration of changing materials and comparisons between old and new. The accompanying archive material shows children at play in the past in Brent.

World War Two loan box - This box contains original objects related to life on the home front during the Second World War, aiding the classroom teaching of themes such as rationing, air raids and evacuation. The accompanying archive material shows children evacuated from local schools, as well as bomb damage in the local area.

Victorian loan box - The archive material in this loans box shows images of Brent in Victorian times. These original objects can be used in the classroom to help understand daily life and innovation in Victorian times, including exploring the themes of housework, fashion and the typical school day.

4. Resources to support local history studies

Brent Museum galleries – all about Brent since earliest times Learn about significant historical events, people and places in Brent such as the Wembley stadium, the coming of the railways and Jayaben Desai who led the Grunwick strike in 1970s. A typical class visit to the galleries lasts 30 minutes. Local history packs For Wembley, Kingsbury, Neasden, Willesden and Harlesden. Each pack costs £10. The packs include copies of maps, photographs, school log books and Census returns from Brent Archives, as well as lots of exciting ideas for classwork.

Street directories & old Ordnance Survey maps If we hold a street directory and/or Ordnance Survey map which covers the area you are interested in you could come to the Search Room and copy pages of the street directory to use with your class in school and/or buy a copy of the map. Please contact us in advance at [email protected]

Jana Cameron, Learning Officer, Brent Museum and Archives 020 8937 3603 [email protected] www.brent.gov.uk/museumarchives Page 3

Downloadable Local History Pack This contains photographs, copies of archival materials and teachers’ notes to explore history and geography in class. Visit www.brent.gov.uk/museumarchives, click on ‘downloadable resources’ then ‘Local History’.

Online catalogue Search for old photographs of local roads at http://brent.adlibsoft.com

5. Temporary exhibitions India’s Gateway: Gujarat, Mumbai and Britain - every day until 27 September Photographs, stories and film by UK photographer Tim Smith and Indian film- makers Amit Madeshiya and Shirley Abraham telling the story of Britain and the Gujarat region from 1608 to the present day, weaving history together with words and images that explore the lives and experiences of Gujarati communities today.

Old stories for new times: inspirations for sustainable living - 12 October – 24 Image copyright Tim Smith January Encourages children to compare their everyday lives with those of residents in Brent in the 1940s-1960s. The listening posts enable visitors to listen to interviews with local people talking about their lives, highlighting the differences between transport, food, recycling in the past compared to today. Copyright Brent Museum and Archives

We are developing new workshops Please let us know if the workshop ideas below are attractive to your school.

 Brent in Roman times: what Brent was like during the Roman era with opportunities to dress up and explore the layout of roman roads on maps.  Saxon settlement in Brent: using maps to discover the impact on local place names from Saxon settlers plus handling replicas to explore everyday life.  Ancient Egypt: comparing the geography of Egypt and the UK, how ancient Egyptian items came to be in Mr Barham’s collection (now part of Brent Museum) and an Egyptian craft activity.  Notable local people: there are two local artists who we could learn about with a practical workshop replicating their style(s).

Jana Cameron, Learning Officer, Brent Museum and Archives 020 8937 3603 [email protected] www.brent.gov.uk/museumarchives Page 4