A Sailor’s life in the age of sail
Experience what life was like for sailors in the Georgian Navy with this session on board our sloop HMS GANNET. Gain an understanding of sailors’ language and custom, daily routines and the punishments given out to those who misbehaved.
Curriculum links: History
A square meal
Discover the diets of 18th Century sailors and how this affected their health and hygiene. Take a peek into the doctor’s medicine box and meet some of the creepy crawlies that would be kept aboard ship. Students even get the chance to have a taste of the Hard Tack biscuit, as well as a few other foods the sailors would eat.
Curriculum links: History, Geography, Science: Animals including Humans
Ship Building Challenge
Full Speed Ahead!
Stimulated by the National Maritime Museum model collection, pupils work in groups to build a ship’s hull and fit it with a motor. Facing the challenge of the tow tank wind and wave machine, groups compete against each other in trials, evaluating their designs and developing technical knowledge of how a ship’s design impacts on its performance.
Curriculum links: Design & Technology, Science (Forces, Working scientifically), History (Local history), Mathematics: (Measurement, Geometry)
rope making and knot-tying
Learn about the rope making process in the Ropery, the longest brick building in Europe and make your own piece of rope on our specially designed model machine. Use your rope to tie some of the knots used on sailing ships. Each child will also receive an individual rope sample to take away with them.
Curriculum links: Design & Technology, History (Local history)
Object Handling Identification
What’s in the bag?
Your class will use their investigative powers to compare and classify materials ‘in the bag’, discover and give reasons for their uses on ships. The session ends at our bespoke ship-model testing tank where pupils work in groups to build a boat from polymer.
Curriculum links: Properties of Materials, Forces, Working Scientifically), History (Local History, Historical Enquiry).
grace darling
shipwrecks and rescues
Pupils will experience the highlights of the largest collection of RNLI Historic lifeboats in the country and learn about the inspirational story of Victorian heroine Grace Darling in the atmospheric lifeboat station. Inspired by Grace’s story, pupils will construct an electrical circuit to make their own lighthouse.
Curriculum links: Science (Light, Electricity, Circuits, Working Scientifically), Design & Technology, English (Spoken Language)
rocekt Launching
Ready, Aim, Fire!
Taking their inspiration from the Sea Cat missiles on board HMS CAVALIER, The Historic Dockyard’s own Destroyer, your pupils will work in teams to create rockets and fire them from our specially designed air pressure launcher, aiming to hit a target. Which team will sink the battleship?
Curriculum links: Science (Forces, Working Scientifically), Maths (Geometry)
Working in the Ropery
Spinning a Yarn
Tread the ¼ mile ropewalk with one of our Ropery characters, listening to their fascinating story. Find out what life was like in a Victorian factory and how the Factory Acts changed working conditions. Hand-picked apprentices will make a piece of rope on our scale model rope making machine.
Curriculum links: History, English (Spoken Language)
Air Raid Experience
Take Cover!
Lead your pupils to the safety of our genuine Second World War Air Raid Shelter. Experience the sights, smells and sounds of an Air Raid in one of the Admiralty’s ‘most luxurious’ shelters of the time. Read a wartime child’s personal account of their experiences of air raids and shelter life.
Curriculum links: English (Spoken Language, Reading (Comprehension), History, Music, Science (Sound)
Bringing literacy to Life
Zig Zag, Zig, Zag
Pupils gain first-hand experience of life on board a Destroyer and on experiencing a walk-through of HM Submarine OCELOT; pupils also build an understanding of life beneath the waves aboard the enemy’s submarines. Sure to be a poetry lesson they will never forget, this session really brings literacy to life.
Curriculum links: English (Spoken Language), Reading (Comprehension), History
Step Aboard
hms cavalier
Explore life above and below deck aboard the Royal Navy’s last operational Second World War Destroyer. Learning about its voyages and the conditions on board for the sailors, pupils will gain an understanding of the challenges facing those who manned this magnificent protector of the Atlantic Convoys.
Curriculum links: History
Step Aboard
hm submarine ocelot
Explore life aboard the last submarine built at Chatham for the Royal Navy in 1962. Learn about life under the sea and experience the conditions the ratings lived in. From the torpedo launching bay to the Operation Control room, experience the sights and sounds of life on board during the Cold War.
Curriculum links: History
Step Aboard
hms gannet
Built in Sheerness, HMS GANNET is a Victorian gun boat that patrolled the limits of the British Empire; The tour includes visiting the Captain’s Cabin, Engine bay and Ward Room and challenging activities such as knot tying and balancing in a real hammock.
Curriculum links: History
