Forge Mill Needle Museum, Bordesley Abbey Visitor Centre, Redditch, Worcestershire

Forge Mill Needle Museum and Bordesley Abbey Visitor Centre are wonderful resources that can be used to enhance any pupil's learning experience.

The permanent sites cover two specific periods in history - Victorian and Medieval - but the site can support learning in many curriculum areas. Our exhibitions programme covers a wide range of themes that can also be explored by education groups.

Visits from all ages are welcome, and if you have a particular requirement other than the sessions listed below then our full time Education Officer, Debbie Lakeman, will work with you to provide a visit that caters for your needs.

The museum also caters for very young visitors with Early Years sessions which include an introduction session, a creative activity, story time and refreshments. If you would like to bring an Early Years group to the museum and take part in a session linked to one of our exhibitions please contact us to discuss possibilities.

Self-led visits are also an option and we have a range of worksheets available for use with school groups.

All teachers planning a visit to the site are entitled to a free preliminary visit and can arrange to meet the Education Officer to discuss their visit beforehand. Risk assessments are available on request.

Forge Mill Museum - Victorian Working Life

Forge Mill Needle Museum tells the story of needle making in Victorian times, and the highlight of any visit to the museum is the original scouring mill workshop. The machinery within the mill powered by the water wheel still works and this all helps bring together a multi-sensory experience of working conditions in a Victorian mill. Pupils can see, smell, hear, touch and experience the past.

Bordesley - A Medieval Abbey

Bordesley Abbey was quite a wealthy abbey in its prime. Built in 1140 the Cistercian monks lived here until 1538 when the Abbey was destroyed as part of the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII. The ruins have been extensively excavated and although they don't stand very tall they provide a unique opportunity for pupils to develop their historical enquiry skills using an archaeological site. The Bordesley Abbey Visitor Centre houses finds from the excavations and these provide yet more 'clues' to a past life. Within the Abbey Meadows also lies the graveyard St. Stephen's gateway Chapel where the outline of the original chapel can be seen. Next to this is an intriguing Victorian graveyard with some unusual headstones.

Museum-led Sessions

We can provide museum-led sessions as listed below. More details on each one can be found further down the page.

• Victorian Needle Scourer Role Play - Key Stage 2
• Tour of Needle Making: A Victorian Industry - Key Stages 2, 3, 4
• Archaeology Activity Centre - Key Stages 2, 3
• Victorian Inventions - Key Stage 2
• Meet Rob Perry, Painter of WWI Battlefields - Key Stages 3, 4
• Clue Finders - Early Years
• Nature Ramble - Early Years

Victorian Needle Scourer Role Play - Key Stage 2

Pupils are transported back to 1880 through the use of costume items and take on the role of children from the workhouse who have come to Forge Mill to try and earn their place as a needle scourer's apprentice. Mrs Balden, the chief scourer's wife is on hand to explain the job of a scourer and put them through their paces. The role play takes place in the original scouring workshop where the water wheel still powers the machinery. The past is truly brought to life and pupils experience authentic Victorian working conditions.

Links to:
Local History Study,
Growth of an Industrial Town in Victorian Times,
Victorian Working Conditions.

Tour of Needle Making: A Victorian Industry - Key Stages 2, 3, 4

A guided tour of Forge Mill Museum including all aspects of the needle making processes, working conditions as a needle worker and the development of the needle making industry in Victorian times. The tour includes a visit to the original scouring workshop and a detailed explanation of the work done here.

Links to:
Local History Study,
Growth of an Industrial Town in Victorian Times,
Victorian Working Conditions.

Archaeology Activity Centre - Key Stages 2, 3

A carousel of archeology activities which develop historical enquiry and interpretation skills. Pupils engage in activities which replicate those done by the professionals! Including digging and recording, sorting, environmental sampling and reconstruction. The activities take place in a hut on location at the Abbey site originally used by the archaeologists when the site was excavated which adds to the uniqueness of this activity.

Links to:
Historical Interpretation,
Historical Enquiry,
Local History,
Medieval Society.

Victorian Inventions - Key Stage 2

Our Wacky Widgets Exhibition from 21 March to 11 May will allow children to explore some of the weird and wonderful Victorian inventions to improve everyday life, and have a go at making threir own version of a Victorian invention.

Meet Rob Perry, Painter of WWI Battlefields - Key Stages 3, 4

Rob Perry the artist behind the Echoes Of War Exhibition (paintings of 1914 - 1918 battlefields) is available to talk to school groups in the weeks beginning 20th October and 3rd November.

Clue Finders - Early Years

Invite your children to find clues to the past! Dressed as young archaeologists, children will be able to discover real artifacts from Bordesley Abbey. They will learn to clean, sort and identify objects that once belonged to the monks and make comparisons with how we live today.

Aims:
To encourage an awareness of other times and people,
To provide hands-on discovery of objects,
To learn to sort and identify.

Nature Ramble - Early Years

An opportunity for the children to explore the natural world and use all their senses within the delightful surroundings of Forge Mill. An investigation of colour, texture and shape alongside a themed craft to take home.

Aims:
To use all the senses,
Matching, sorting, counting, sharing,
To experience nature.