Ancient Egypt Session Information

This session can be taught: 

• at the Oriental Museum
• as outreach in your school 
• as an online session 

The content of these sessions does vary as we have the galleries to use at the museum, but we try to keep them as similar as possible.

Find out more about our online resources.

Visit to the Museum:

• Object Handling and Investigation – we show the children how to be mini archaeologists, while looking at and holding original artefacts in our Ancient Egyptian collection. We ask them to use their observation and historical enquiry skills, as well as any prior knowledge to form a theory about what they are and were used for. They will share some of their theories before we reveal what archaeologists think they are.  
• Gallery Trail – this is like a great big quiz where the children find out lots of information about the Ancient Egyptians in our Wolfson Gallery of Ancient Egypt. 
• Mummy – led by the children, we invite them to ask questions about our mummy in the Thacker Gallery of Ancient Egypt. We explore what a mummy can tell us about the individual, their life, their beliefs and culture. 
• Weighing of the Heart Ceremony – this is a drama session where we act out mummifying one of the children. We then send them to meet the Gods and Goddesses who will ultimately decide whether they get to go to the afterlife – or not! 

Need to know:

• The day at the museum runs from 10am – 2.15pm approximately and is entirely taught by members of our Learning and Engagement Team.  
• The maximum number of children we can take on one day is approximately 60 children.  
• The cost of the visit is £6 per pupil, and free for all accompanying adults. 
• Lunch can be eaten in our classroom spaces, or if the weather is good and you would like to, we do have a small grassy area where you can sit and have a picnic. 

Directions to the Museum

Outreach Day at School:

• Object Handling and Investigation – we show the children how to be mini archaeologists, while looking at and holding original artefacts in our Ancient Egyptian collection. We ask them to use their observation and historical enquiry skills, as well as any prior knowledge to form a theory about what they are and were used for. They will share some of their theories before we reveal what archaeologists think they are. 
• Mummy – we use x-rays to bring this part of the day into your school, but as at the museum, led by the children, we invite them to ask questions about our mummy in the Wolfson Gallery of Ancient Egypt. We explore what a mummy can tell us about the individual, their life, their beliefs and culture. 
• Amulets – the children will learn about amulets and what they were used for, then make your own from clay. 
• Offering Tables – the class discover what offering tables are and make one of your own. 
• Weighing of the Heart Ceremony – this is a drama session where we act out mummifying one of the children. We then send them to meet the Gods and Goddesses who will ultimately decide whether they get to go to the afterlife – or not! 

Need to know:

• For an outreach day, we aim to arrive at school to begin teaching at 9.30am, fitting in around the established school breaks of your school, until approximately 20 minutes before the end of your school day.  
• We can teach up to three classes on the same day on outreach, but early bookings are essential so we can allocate the required number of staff to make it possible. 
• The cost for outreach is £5 per pupil, with an additional flat rate charge of £20 towards transport costs. 

Online Session:

• Object Investigation – we show the children how to be mini archaeologists, using our overhead camera, to give them a detailed look at our Ancient Egyptian artefacts. Having modelled how to use our artefact investigation sheets, we ask the children to independently use their observation and historical enquiry skills, as well as any prior knowledge to form a theory about what they are and were used for. They will share some of their theories before we reveal what archaeologists think they are. 
• Hieroglyph Challenge – a hieroglyph message will be shared on the screen for the children to decode.  
• Mummy – we use the questions you have sent in before the session as a basis for investigating the mummy with the children and revealing to them what a mummy can tell us about the individual, their life, their beliefs and culture. 

Need to know:

• An online session is two hours in length.  
• Session times are 9.30am – 11.30am and 1pm – 3pm, but we can accommodate slightly different timings. Please ask at the point of booking if this is something that would be helpful for you.  
• You will need to book a short test call with us to check that you can see and hear us on the whiteboard in your classroom. These are available at 3.30pm, 3.45pm and 4pm. 
• We ask that you book separate sessions for each of your classes so we can keep them as interactive as possible. 
• You will be sent an email with resources to print out before your session. 
• We will ask the class to compile a list of questions that they would like to ask about the mummy before the session, from looking at the high-resolution photographs that we will send you. We ask that you send these in several days before your class session. 
• The cost of the sessions is £45 per class. 

National Curriculum Link:

History – Key Stage 2: the achievements of the earliest civilizations – an overview of where and when the first civilizations appeared and a depth study of one: Ancient Egypt. 

Develop a chronologically secure knowledge. 

Use of historical terms. 

Understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources. 

Address and devise historically valid questions.

Session costs