130 students at three schools have been busy researching the history of their Island by rummaging through museum collections to create a digital map of their discoveries. They dove deep into artefacts from shipwrecks around the coast at the Shipwreck Centre and Museum; studied delicate prehistoric, Roman and Anglo-Saxon artefacts from the Guildhall Museum of Island History; uncovered fascinating fossils from Dinosaur Isle; and imagined life on water with ship models at the Classic Boat Museum.
Blue glass bottle from SS Camberwell Shipwreck by Blossom; axehead by Joey M
Pupils aged 5 – 11 years at St. Helens, Barton, and Nettlestone Primary Schools took part in helping us build our Big History Map for the Island. They visited museums and studied our digital resources online to select their favourite object, sketch it and find out a little more about its story. Finally, they pinned their object onto a digital map of the Island, linking it back to a place where it was found or once used.
You can discover the Isle of Wight Big History Map they created here.
We plan to continue building the Isle of Wight Big History Map during 2024-2025, so if you or your school is interested in participating, please get in touch at enquiries@theearthmuseum.co.uk
This project has been funded and supported by the Isle of Wight Museums and Schools programme which is funded by the Department for Education and Arts Council England.
Museum and Schools partners were delighted to work with The Earth Museum and the local schools on the Big History Map project. Museums can provide such inspiration for learning across many different subjects, It has been wonderful to work on a project that brings together elements of IT, Geography and History in such a creative way. Students have been amazed to discover that so many wonderful things are linked to the Isle of Wight. The maps are a great way to connect our collections to the wider world.
Estelle Baker, Heritage Education Officer for the Isle of Wight Council
