This session introduces students to ideas about why museums collect and how we can learn from objects. Students will handle objects to develop higher-order thinking skills, devise questions, explore themes and develop lines of enquiry.
Activity 1: Why collect?
An introduction to the history of the Ashmolean Museum and its earliest collections and an opportunity to consider why museums collect objects.
Activity 2: Learning from objects and following lines of enquiry
Students will handle objects in small groups, devising their own questions about them. The emphasis will be on thinking creatively and making connections between objects and the wider world.
Activity 3: Self-guided exploration
Students will have the opportunity to explore the museum for themselves and apply their thinking to objects in the collection.
