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Create a Museum in Your School with
Medwyn the Historical Mole Detective
Introduction
Creating a museum in your school allows your pupils to discover, first hand,
how events from the past have influenced their lives today.
The theme that we explore in this booklet is that of the flow of people into
the city of Swansea and how people from all over the world have received a
welcome here - from nineteenth century “Copperopolis” to present day
“City of Sanctuary.”
This proactive activity allows the children to travel back in time with
Medwyn the Historical Mole Detective to explore how the many different
cultures have enriched the life of Swansea, so promoting a sense of identity
and pride in their heritage, as well as an appreciation of other cultures.
Creating a School museum also provides a wonderful opportunity to develop
Cross Curricular Study as well as Personal and Social Development. (See
Learning Outcomes on page 24)
The purpose of this booklet is to create a museum, based on the history of
immigration to Swansea from nineteenth century Copperopolis to present day
City of Sanctuary.
Please note that the guidelines outlined here can be adapted to any other
theme you should wish to study – with Medwyn’s help of course!
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“Hello, my name is Medwyn and I’m a Mole Detective but, more
interestingly, I’m a Mole Detective that can travel through time
by burrowing down through the ground in my subterrain.
One of the first things you learn about being a time traveller is
that you don’t just go back in time without doing your homework
first. I once went back to Roman times without doing my research, and ended up
being chased around the Coliseum in front of 2,000 Romans!
As you can see, it’s vital that you know as much as you can about the time you’re
travelling to, before you get there. I do most of my research in my four museums:City & County of Swansea Museum, Carmarthenshire County Museum,
Ceredigion Museum and Scolton Manor Museum & Country Park in
Pembrokeshire.
You can also visit my website at www.medwynsmuseums.co.uk which is full of
interesting ideas to help you with your time travelling needs.
If you look at my picture you will see that I wear very special goggles. Not only do
they help me see in the dark, but they also let me surf the net for any information
or clues that I need to tell me when and where I am.
I recently went back to nineteenth century Swansea and recorded many people’s
stories while I was there. If you are lucky enough to go on a trip on Swansea’s
Community Boat up the River Tawe, you’ll be able to hear what they all had to
say.
I’ve included some of the information from my Goggles in this booklet called
Goggle Facts - just to help you on your way. I’ve also set you some tasks to help
you Dig Deeper to find out more information and tips on how to share your
research with everyone else.”
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My 3 steps to create a museum in your school
about the people who have made Swansea
their home.
Step 1 – Research
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why do people come to Swansea to live?
The Census.
What is a museum and how does it work?
Visiting Swansea Museum for a Behind the Scenes Tour.
Step 2 - Designing and creating
Putting all your hard work together to create a museum in your school.
Step 3 – The Event
Open Evening – for everyone to see your fantastic work.
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Step 1
Research
In order to create a museum about the people
who have made Swansea their new home, we first
need to research the people themselves.
An interesting class exercise would be to list the
surnames of the children in the class. Do they
know where in the world their names originated?
Using a map of the world - stickers or flags can be
placed to show from where the names of families
originated.
If they wish, the children can research their family tree.
There is a colourful Worksheet in the Resources section to help with this.
Question
Think of some reasons why people live in Swansea today.
Some answers
 They were born here.
 Looking for work. People have always come to Swansea looking for
work. The busiest time was during the nineteenth century when metals
especially copper, were refined in the areas around Landore and the
Hafod. Swansea was so famous for copper refining (extracting it from
the rocks or ore) that it was called Copperopolis.
 To retire near the sea.
 To be closer to their families.
 To be safe. In May 2010, Swansea became a City of Sanctuary. City of
Sanctuary is a national movement of local people, community groups,
businesses and institutions who work together to turn their city into a
welcoming place for people seeking sanctuary who have lost their
homes and families because of war or persecution (The word
persecution means to destroy or make life extremely difficult and
miserable for certain people because of their way of life, race, or
religion.)
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Question
What was the population (the amount of people) of the City and County of
Swansea in 2011?
Answer
A sum up of Swansea's population in 2011, together with how it compares
with the rest of Britain, is shown in the table below.
Population statistics for Swansea
The latest estimate of the population of the City and County of Swansea
stands at 238,700.
Swansea now has the second highest population of the 22 Welsh Unitary
Authorities, representing almost 8% of the total population of Wales
(3,063,800).
Aged Males
Females
Total
% of total
0-4
5-15
16-24
25-44
45-64
65-74
75+
Total
6,300
13,700
16,000
29,600
31,000
11,900
12,400
120,700
13,100
28,200
33,700
60,300
60,300
22,300
20,800
238,700
5.5
11.8
14.1
25.3
25.3
9.3
8.7
100
6,800
14,600
17,700
30,800
29,400
10,400
8,400
118,000
Wales
Average %
5.8
12.3
12.2
24.6
26.6
9.9
8.6
100
England&Wales
Average %
6.2
12.6
11.8
27.3
25.4
8.7
7.8
100
Source: 2011 Mid Year Estimates, Office for National Statistics (ONS), © Crown copyright
2012.
These figures were taken from the 2011 Census.
This table tells us how many people lived in Swansea at that time, but it
doesn’t tell us much about them. For that we need to look at the Census
itself.
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Medwyn’s Goggle Facts
 A census is a ‘count’ of all the people in the United Kingdom taken
on one particular day. This process is repeated every ten years.
 The first government census in Britain was taken in 1801 because
the population was growing so quickly that the government needed
to find out how many people it would have to feed.
 Between 1801 and 1831 the census contained only general
information about numbers of people.
 The 1841 census was the first to list the names of every individual
in a household.
 After 1851 it recorded the age of each person, their relationship
within the family (such as wife, son or daughter) occupation (job)
and where they were born.
 There has been a census every ten years since 1801, apart from 1941
because of the Second World War.
“If you want to know more about the census in the United Kingdom,
there are some very good Teachers’ Resources to be found at
www.censusatschool.org.uk”
Medwyn has included 3 examples of a Swansea census taken in 1841, 1881
and 1911 in the Resources section of this booklet. These were taken in the
same area of Swansea so you can see how people moved about, not only
within Britain but also from abroad.
Medwyn would like to thank West Glamorgan Archive Service in Swansea
for allowing us to use this information. If you want to see more or do more
research, log on to: www.swansea.gov.uk/archiveseducation
If, when you are reading the pages from a census them
and the writing is too small, why not use a magnifying glass
to help?
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Dig Deeper
Invite the children to each bring in a few items or objects from home that
means something to them or their families. It could be anything from an old
magazine to a broken toy.
Using the worksheet as a guide (see Resources), ask the children to write
an account of how the object came to be owned by the family member.
Encourage the children to do any additional research, as necessary, on their
objects. For example, if the object a child brings in is a shawl that belongs to
a grandparent, perhaps the child could interview the grandparent to find out
more about that shawl.
If there are children who aren’t allowed to bring objects in then suggest
‘making artefacts’ in the classroom e.g. dress up dolls in national costume /
collection of food wrappers / newspaper articles / print-outs from the web or
even a shoe box diorama.
Here is an example of the type of diorama you could create.
Outcome
This is an opportunity for the children to learn that the amount an object
costs isn’t the only gauge of its importance as it is impossible to put a price
on emotional, historical or scientific value.
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Medwyn’s Goggle Fact for Teachers
“It is important to stress that if the children are bringing objects from
home, it is imperative that a note explaining the project to parents is
carefully written as it will also be important to establish whether the
objects are given or lent and for how long. A simple signed Parental
permission form is always advisable. A look at the school’s insurance
policy is also highly recommended as, realistically, you can't guarantee
the objects' safety.”
Question
What should we do with everything we’ve collected?
Sneaky Activity for Teachers
In order to introduce the idea and purpose of museums, encourage the
children to pack away and store these objects in boxes so that no-one can
see or immediately find a particular object.
After doing this, you can ask the children why packing objects away and
without a reference catalogue is not a good idea.
 no-one is able to see what they’ve collected or learn from what they’ve
researched.
 no-one knows where anything is without unpacking everything - so
they need to be labelled and catalogued.
By this simple ruse, the children now understand exactly why artefacts are
displayed and catalogued.
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Why not create your own school museum….
However, before we can do that we need to
know exactly what a museum is.
Suggested answers
 A museum is a place where people work to look after lots of old things
that have been collected by many people over a long period of time.
 By looking after and studying these things it helps us to understand and
learn how people used to live many years ago and makes us compare
how we live today with how people used to live.
 They explain what the things are and help us understand what they
were used for.
 Museums also make sure that we never forget the people who came
before us, like our grandparents and their grandparents and their
grandparents before them.
 Museums are there so that we can enjoy ourselves looking at and
studying what’s on display.
Question
Where do museums get their artefacts (things made by man e.g. pottery,
clothes and coins) and objects to display?
Answers
 Sometimes people give their collection of objects to museums where
they are professionally cared for and made accessible to everyone.
 Some museums buy things at auctions, antique shops, junk shops or
even car boot sales.
 Archaeologists dig things up and some of them are displayed in
museums.
 Sometimes museums use film and sound recordings to display
memories, stories or accents of people remembering events in the past
and a way of life. These are called Oral Histories.
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 Not everything that you see displayed in a museum is the real thing.
Sometimes they are very good replicas. The reason for this could be
that the original is too delicate or valuable to show. There are replicas
(copies) of objects in Swansea Museum such as the clothes of the Celtic
Warrior and skeletal bones of the ‘Lady of Paviland.’
 Some museums are not even buildings but websites.
The People's Collection is an example of an online museum. It’s not just
a website for the museums in Wales to show what they have but it is
also there for ordinary people like you and me to upload personal
stories, photographs and pictures for the whole world to share.
Question
Museums have hundreds if not thousands of objects stored safely away for
people to study. How do they find them?
Answer
A museum used to store information on record cards however most now
have a database on a computer which allows the museums to keep a lot of
information. The type of information can be: a reference number
 the story of the object
 when and how it arrived at the museum
 a digital photograph
 types of objects that can be grouped together
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Every museum object is given its own number,
known as an object number. The people who
work in the museum call this an
accession number.
These object numbers have four parts:
1.
The code
Every museum uses the same coding system. You can base your code
on the school or class name e.g. the code for Swansea Museum School
would be SMS.
2.
The year
Next we would record the year the object arrived in the museum
e.g. If the object was given in 2012, the code would be SMS:2012
3.
The running number
Each child in the class can have their own number, so if Osian was
number 6 and he brought in a hat, then this object would be labeled
SMS:2012.6
4.
The group number
Each object has an individual group number. So if Osian brought in two
objects, a hat and a jug for the class museum and his running number
is 6, the object number for Osian’s hat would be SMS:2012.6.1 and
the number for his jug would be SMS:2012.6.2
Once an object has been given an
object number it needs to be
labelled with that number. If you
look in the Resources section,
you will find some labels/tags that
you can use in the classroom to
tie on to each object.
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Object registers
All the object numbers are recorded in an object register and database.
These registers are extremely important because they contain details of every
single object in the museum.
Object files
Object files contain more details about the objects and each object file is
labelled with the same number as the object. These files contain all of the
research done on the object. This can include information from the person
who has lent or donated it as well as pictures, photographs or newspaper
articles to do with the object. These files are very helpful and can be used by
museum staff to help them write the exhibition material and help people in
their own research or fact finding.
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There’s lots to do in a museum. Here are
some of the people who work there.
Curator
This person is responsible for the care,
labelling and recording objects on a
database as well as researching the
museum's collections. This is so that he
or she can then share information about
the objects with visitors through exhibitions, putting objects on the internet,
or talks.
Education Officer
This person gives talks to visitors and school groups and
arranges for visitors and school groups to come to the
museum.
Exhibition Officer
This person designs and puts up exhibitions
and displays in the museum. He or she also
helps to decide what and how to exhibit the
objects.
Museum Administrator
This person carries out the office duties such as
making appointments, answering the telephone,
ordering stationery, and opening the post.
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Collections Care Officer
This person photographs and looks after the
objects in the museum. He or she also keeps them
clean and sometimes repairs any objects that are
damaged.
Museum Assistants
There are many duties carried out by museum assistants.
They can: Welcome visitors and issue tickets.
 Work in the museum shop.
 Walk around the museum when it is open to
visitors, making sure that objects aren’t broken
or stolen.
 Point out where things are in museum.
 Give information about the objects to
visitors and answer any questions.
 Check that there aren’t too many
people in the museum all at the
same time.
 Help everyone have such a good
visit that they’ll want to come back
again.
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If you are going to create a museum in
your school then you must visit a
museum to see how it’s done!
A visit to Swansea Museum would be a good starting point because the staff
are there to help you with any problems you may have or any questions that
you need answered.
Remember that what you see in Swansea Museum is only the tip of the
iceberg because there are thousands of objects kept safely in storage in the
Collections Centre in Landore. This is also where the museum staff design
and create new exhibitions and repair any old objects before they are
displayed.
Suggested Visit
Why not visit the Collections Centre in the morning to meet some of the staff
who work behind the scenes, have lunch sitting next to the Williams Gammon
lifeboat and 1950s buses and lorries, then spend the afternoon on a factfinding tour around the exhibitions of Swansea Museum?
There are even worksheets in the Resources section of this booklet to help
the children with their research.
Once you have created your museum in your school, why don’t you bring
some of the objects down to the schoolroom in Swansea Museum and create
a display in one of our extra large display cases to create A Museum in a
Museum for all visiting schools to see!
If you would like to arrange any of this just call
Barry Hughes on 01792 477180
([email protected]).
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It’s time now to chat about what we’ve
learnt.
Circle Time
By studying the worksheets filled in during the visit
the children can share and talk about the information
and opinions they had gathered during their visit, such as:-
How do museums display what they have?
Are there themes?
What were the themes at Swansea Museum?
How were the objects arranged in their displays?
Was the information on display and in brochures and
guidebooks easy to read?
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Step 2
Designing and creating your school museum
It’s time now to start putting this information to good
use and start to plan your museum about the people
who made their home in Swansea.
Medwyn’s Goggle Facts
“Your school museum can go back as far as you like in time or just be about
the last 50 years or so – it’s up to you!
Here are some suggestions of the people who have settled in Swansea over
the years. You can research:1. English and Irish people in nineteenth century Copperopolis.
2. Italian people e.g. Joe’s ice cream at the beginning of the 20 th
century.
3. The Chinese people came to Swansea to set up home here at the
beginning of the 20th century. Interestingly, the Swansea Chinese
Community Co-operative are now undertaking a project that
will research and record first generation Chinese immigration in
Swansea - which will be translated into digital stories.
4. European Jewish people fled here from Nazi Germany during
World War 2.
5. People from India came here to work after India and Pakistan were
separated in 1947.
6. When President Idi Amin came to power in 1971, people from Uganda
came here to escape persecution.
7. The European Union and how it affects Swansea. People of the
member states can work freely in each other’s countries.
8. Swansea City of Sanctuary – people from many countries from all over
the world seek refuge here.
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It’s now time to vote on a final plan and think
of a name for your museum.
Suggested Names
Give your museum a name that can help the visitor understand what your
museum is all about.
A good start is to list the words that are important when describing your
museum.
The theme of the museum described in this booklet is to do with:-
Medwyn came up with these suggestions, but you can think of your own if
you like.
1)
Skipping Stones to Swansea
This title makes you think of the different stages people took to get to
Swansea, just like skipping stones over water.
2)
Waving Hello to Swansea
This title plays on the ideas of waving goodbye to your old home and
saying hello to Swansea.
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Most museums have a logo so why not design
your own. Here are some you might have seen
already……
you.
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Dig Deeper
It’s now time to get down to the serious work of setting out the different
exhibitions in your museum.
Sneaky Activity for Teachers
Place the objects brought in by the children from home, and display them in
a random fashion on a table. The more higgledy-piggledy the better!
- Suggest that this would be a good way to present the objects for the
whole school to see!
- Ask the children if this is a good idea. Why not?
- Suggest that they need to label, catalogue, group and display the
objects so that visitors can learn and enjoy what they see.
In their groups they must: Create a database on the school
computer to record information
about their objects.
 It’s also a good idea to use a digital
camera to record each object they
have brought in.
ALSO: Decide on a theme for the museum.
 Assess the space available and decide where would be the best place
for it.
 How will they exhibit their objects? Think of timelines, similarities etc.
The groups then present their ideas to the rest of the class and after
discussion a vote can be taken on which direction to take.
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Dig Deeper
It’s a good idea now to allow the children to devise a list of who’s doing
what, as teamwork is an essential learning outcome of this project.
Questions
 What do we need to do?
 Who does what?
Suggested Tasks
 Catalogue the objects in your museum using the codes outlined in this
booklet (See Resources section.)
 Design the overall plan for the exhibition, either drawing by hand or on
the computer. Decide on colour themes and fonts.
 Study how to store and look after the objects (see Resources section)
 Research online how other museums, as well as Swansea, set out their
displays and collect brochures from other museums/attractions.
 Create information labels for the objects (see Resources section.) It’s
always good to add a little story about the artefact for the visitor to
read e.g. this coin was kept in my grandmother’s pocket as a good luck
token.
 Create copies of historical objects, such as clothing, labels for tin cans,
old paper/maps, etc.
 Write and design a visitor’s guide. Point out any particular objects that
the viewer should pay attention to and explain why they are interesting.
 Think of different ways of presenting information such as film and
access to information already on the computer.
 Record people’s memories as oral histories – This is an excellent activity
as it can be a vehicle to bridge the gap between generations. There are
many websites that can help. (See Helpful Addresses at the end of
this booklet.)
 Decide on jobs for everyone.
 Decide on suitable display equipment.
 Work as a team to put your museum together.
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Step 3
The Event
Once you have finished your museum, it’s a
good idea to invite visitors to see your
exhibitions.
Question
What do we need to do?
Suggested Tasks

Planning the Event
Decide who does what e.g. showing people around/handing out
information/greeting visitors at the door.
Decide on a date and time for the event.
Plan what’s going to happen in the event e.g. guest speakers/recording
visitors’ memories, or even asking people to jot down some memories
on post-it notes to place on a memory board.
Refreshments.






Paperwork
Invitations to speakers.
Invitations to public.
Signing in sheets (see Resources section.)
Feedback forms (see Resources section.)
Name badges.
Thank you letters.



Publicity
 Write and design promotional material such as press releases, posters
and pamphlets.
 Make a list of who to invite, such as family, friends and people who
have helped you to create your museum. You might even want to invite
journalists from your local papers.
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Always remember to take plenty of pictures
to remind you how the museum was created,
from start to finish. Perhaps one of you can
put all the photographs together to create a
really interesting digital diary.
REMEMBER!
Always make sure that you have people’s permission
to take or use their photograph/s.
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Learning Outcomes
A museum exhibition in your school can help promote
Personal and Social Education by developing:
Thinking - through planning, developing and reflecting, the pupils engage in
decision-making, deciding on personal responses, developing understanding
and reflecting upon outcomes for themselves and others.
Communication - through the skills of oracy, reading, writing and wider
communication the pupils research, listen to others and discuss in small and
large groups. They also share information and ideas about a wide variety of
personal, social and community issues.
ICT - by finding, developing, creating and presenting information and ideas
using a wide range of equipment and software, they develop purposeful
application of ICT skills.
Number - by gathering, selecting and analysing numerical information to
develop evidence to support their understanding of issues, they are using
mathematical information, calculation and interpretation to present their
findings.
It can also offer Cross Curricular study which would include:
History - Pupils develop historical skills through: Learning about a range of historical contexts based primarily on the
local area within the wider historical context of Wales, but including
examples from Britain and other countries.
 Engaging in stimulating and focused historical enquiry using a wide
range of sources.
 Organising and communicating their skills, knowledge and
understanding in an increasing variety of ways.
 Making history enjoyable, interesting and significant.
English and Welsh as first languages by: Discussion and articulating their responses.
 Listening to talks.
 Descriptive and factual writing.
 Learning new vocabulary.
 How to use various resources such as indexes, writing labels,
catalogues and other material.
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Welsh as a second language by: Incorporating simple Welsh phrases into planning and interpretation of
the displays.
Science by: Identifying different materials, finding out about their origins,
properties, uses and how certain objects change over time.
 The effect of pollution on the environment.
D&T and IT by: Evaluating different kinds of materials and their uses.
 Making objects for display.
 Solving simple conservation problems.
 Compiling databases and designing graphics for displays.
Art by: Introducing pupils to past and present genres and styles from different
cultures.
 Encouraging understanding and investigating.
Geography by: Using maps and atlases to locate the source of artefacts and also for
comparing the locality then and now.
Curriculum Cymreig by: Helping pupils to understand the factors that have shaped Wales and
other countries today.
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Helpful Addresses
Swansea Museum - Victoria Terrace, Swansea, W Glam SA1 4LS
01792 653763
http://www.swanseamuseum.co.uk
Swansea Library will have many well-illustrated books to help them with
identification –
Civic Centre, Oystermouth Road, Swansea, West Glamorgan SA1 3SN
01792 637193
http://www.swansea.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=10956
West Glamorgan Archive Service hold collections of original documents
including maps, plans, letters, drawings, census returns, deeds, inventories
and photographs. Many have education services, some with handling
collections –
Civic Centre, Oystermouth Road, Swansea, West Glamorgan SA1 3SN
01792 636589
http://www.swansea.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=406/
South West Wales Museums - SWM
(Swansea Museum, Carmarthenshire Museum, Scolton
Manor Museum in Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion
Museum) This website contains educational information
and help for schools. Medwyn the Historical Mole
Detective helps children to enjoy investigating history.
www.medwynsmuseums.co.uk
Helpful websites
People’s Collection Wales - www.peoplescollectionwales.co.uk
Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales http://www.rcahmw.gov.uk
Dyfed Archaeological Trust - http://www.dyfedarchaeology.org.uk
Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust - www.ggat.org.uk
Swansea Chinese Community Co-op Centre - www.swanseachinese.org.uk
Swansea Community Boat Trust – www.scbt.org.uk
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Step-by-Step Guide to Oral History
http://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory.html
Oral History Society - http://www.ohs.org.uk/advice/index.php
ELC Museum s Education
http://edubuzz.org/museums/making-a-classroom-museum
Show me - http://www.show.me.uk
Culture 24 - http://www.culture24.org.uk/teachers