1. National Curriculum and QCA links
The Museum of Dartmoor Life, like any museum, essentially offers a cross-curricular experience for school visits, with broad opportunities for speaking and listening, discussion and the analysis and interpretation of a wide range of evidence. The main subject links are in History, particularly Victorian Britain and Local History. The QCA Units 11 (What was it like for children living in Victorian Britain?) and 12 (How did life change in our locality in Victorian times?) would offer a context for the museum visit with Key Stage 2 pupils. During the visit, pupils can use historical skills including chronological understanding, historical interpretation and historical enquiry.
In the Dartmoor Industries gallery there are further opportunities for Science (Sc3 – materials and how they can be changed and QCA Unit 3D Rocks and Soils) and Geography (3 – places and how they change; 4 – the influence of natural and human patterns and processes on the environment). There are links to the Design and Technology curriculum through an exploration of the theme of product design – objects designed to meet a specific need or solve a problem (1a-d – Developing, Planning and Communicating Ideas). Early technology is perfect for simplifying studies like this, especially as materials are usually familiar and workings visible.
2. Background information
The Museum’s ‘Trail of Discovery’ characters give information about Okehampton people from Roman times to the 1960s.
Click to download information as a - Word document (809KB) --or -- PDF (640KB).
(NB: A broadband connection would require little time for each of these 3 downloads.
A 56k dial-up connection would require more time - about: 110 secs; 90 secs.)
Further information about Dartmoor’s history and industries is available as downloadable PDF files from Dartmoor National Park. There are individual sheets on the history (148kB) of Dartmoor, farming (227KB), and tin mining (220KB).
3. Dartmoor stories
There are many stories about Dartmoor and we have collected four of the best known here – The Great Thunderstorm of 1638, Jay’s Grave, Bowerman’s Nose and the Legend of Childe’s Tomb.
Click to download them as a -- Word document (459KB) --or -- PDF (287KB).
