Bookfeast

We recently hosted Bookfeast along with the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the Ashmolean.  This is the schools part of the Oxford Literary Festival where pupils come to listen to talks from children's authors and illustrators and then go on trails around the Museum to inspire creative writing.

Over 2,300 primary school children came to listen to a fantastic line-up of authors and illustrators.  Kristina Stephenson of Sir Charlie Stinky Socks  fame had her audience singing along as she told the story from a giant picture book with puppets.  Elsewhere, Liz Pichon, the creator of the popular Tom Gates brand, got her entire audience of 296 pupils practising their illustrating skills.  Her passion for drawing could even be seen on her shoes which she had decorated with Tom Gates characters - amazing what you can do with a pair of white shoes and a fabric pen!

 

Liz Pichon's shoes! ©Pitt Rivers Museum

Liz Pichon signs books ©Pitt Rivers Museum

Agent C explains the mission © Pitt Rivers Museum

Pupils were then invited to enter Spy Academy, discovering more about the spy genre as they explored the three museums.  They were met by Agents who briefed them on their mission.  Dr. NoFun wanted to ban all children from visiting museums.  He had left a secret message for his gang to find in the Museum which would help start his plan.  Pupils had to try and find this message first and crack the codes so the evil plans could be thwarted!

First our trainee spies had to look round the collections to find a suitable disguise and a nifty gadget.  There were some brilliant plans for how secret cameras could be hidden in the eyes of statues and how listening devices could be attached to bats since they fly so quietly.  Watch out MI6! If pupils wrote up their spying adventures in the Museum do remember to send them to us: education@prm.ox.ac.uk


This is the fourth consecutive year we have hosted Bookfeast and thanks go to all our volunteers who donned their best hats and fake moustaches to become Secret Agents!  We had fun and I hope everyone else involved did too!