MEDIEVAL MINI MUSEUM FOR HIRE!

Trace 500 years of armour innovation during 11th - 15th Centuries with some hands on interaction.

 

This is an extremely interesting and engaging display of replicas which never fails to attract the undivided attention of those in the audience! Unlike a typical museum this one allows people to get really close to examine replica articles, and with supervision and a pair of cotton gloves, to get their hands on particular items, from fabric to maille and plate armours.

 

Equally at home for casual passing public functions or as a specific focus educational class for schools, we stick to historically accurate information and discuss conclusions with due regard to available evidence. Dan can take you through a complete tour de force of the collection and the wonderful details of armour development or perhaps less intensely, conduct a relaxed question and answer style approach with passing audience groups in an interactive conversation.

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For a school class, one approach is to divide examples of the armour pieces into three or four time periods, split the 30 children into three or four groups (extra adult supervision recommended!) and allow them to rotate around the tables to closely examine articles, wearing some inspection gloves. This permits them to more readily think what each item might be and how it could be used.

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Once all areas are examined, Dan takes the class round each time period, earliest to latest, to ask what the children have guessed and elaborate on the true (or most likely) details of the replica pieces. The children are encouraged to ask questions and be free to speculate on curiosities. An interesting focus is to chronologically line up all the helmets in the collection to see how armourers changed head protection design over time for different purposes, which is very intriguing.

 

With suitable breaks for the children, we finish off by Dan actually dressing up in one of the armoured knight costumes whilst the class can sit comfortably in a semi circle. Dan demonstrates how it all goes together, whether easy or difficult, and then if possible a quick walk round part of the school to show off! Taking off the armour afterwards is almost as entertaining!