Expert Explainers Project

'Expert Explainers' was an after school Arts Award project for selected primary school children from  the Headington partnership at the Pitt Rivers and the Museum of Natural History. Over a couple of months pupils worked with museum staff to develop and deliver an interactive guided tour of these local museums to their peers and families. The project aimed to increase access to the collections from non-visiting local children and to develop a sense of ownership and belonging in pupils regarding their local museums.  The fabulous turn out for the family tour on a Saturday morning showed the pupils had truly invested in the project, and as Chris Jarvis, Education Officer at the Museum of Natural History stated: "I was really impressed with how much effort the children put into their final tours and also how much support they got from their families on the day as it's hit and miss as to how many people will give up their time on a Saturday to get into town".

Pupils give guided tours at the Pitt Rivers
 © Pitt Rivers Museum

Guided tours at the Museum of Natural History © Pitt Rivers Museum

The project started with a lunchtime outreach session where Year 5 and 6 pupils selected from Wood Farm, Bayards Hill, St Andrews C of E and Windmill Primary encountered each other, lots of objects from the museums and the project leads - Chris Jarvis, Education Officer at the Museum of Natural History and Becca McVean, Education Officer at the Pitt Rivers.  Pupils started to think about what museums are and how we can learn through objects - they certainly enjoyed handling the coprolite, otherwise known as dinosaur poo!

The next step was to introduce pupils to the museums and 4 after school sessions followed in the Pitt Rivers and the Museum of Natural History which share the same site. The visits were facilitated by Lesley Williams, Headington Partnership Co-ordinator, who was also our fabulous minibus driver, collecting and delivering pupils to and from their respective schools each week. We were also supported by Teaching Assistants from Wood Farm and St Andrews C of E Primary School.

We began by familiarising pupils with the museums, helping them to understand how the collections are organised.  Challenged to find a wide array of artefacts and specimens, pupils went on a treasure hunt recording their finds on i-pads.  Once confident in their navigation and understanding of the museums we introduced the pupils to the concept of becoming a tour guide.  They were very excited at the prospect of being the leaders and that the museums became their space to showcase.  In pairs pupils were allocated an object or specimen from each museum which would have to feature in their guided tour.

Native American Many Shots Robe 1895.61.1
 - a Pitt Rivers Tour Highlight © Pitt Rivers Museum

Over the next few weeks we introduced pupils to some of the different ways you might engage an audience.  This ranged from handling objects, creating quizzes, crafting butterflies, creating their own story robes, estimating the height and weight of objects and so much more!  Creative and curious minds got into action!

Estimating the height of the totem pole © Pitt Rivers Museum

Creating a personal story robe © Pitt Rivers Museum

We also helped pupils develop their presentation skills, looking at the ways to communicate effectively with an audience.  Independent research skills were fostered and one pair became experts on crocodiles!

Crocodile Experts © Pitt Rivers Museum

The project culminated with a guided tour delivered first to the whole group and then finally to their families. 9 pupils took part in the project, leading to Discover Arts Award, and 19 family members attended the Saturday morning tour, including toddlers, teenagers, parents and grandparents.  One of the Teaching Assistants commented on how great it was 'to see the children grow in confidence and curiosity' and this was obvious to see. I loved the fact that one of the participants requested I bring chocolate cake for our celebration event after the family guided tour - they wanted to mark this as a special occasion.

What would we do differently?  Evaluation and observation indicated that we could have given pupils more freedom over who they worked with and more choice over the objects to include in their guided tours.  This learning was immediately integrated into the next project at the History of Science Museum where a different cohort of pupils from Headington Partnership became 'Expert Explainers'.  We are delighted the model is spreading and has been taken up as part of a national programme at Science Oxford where Year 5/6 pupils from Headington Partnership who qualify for Pupil Premium funding will develop their own tour of the Science Oxford Centre and its woodland surrounding.  Giving a voice to children to frame a space for themselves encourages ownership and opens up access to our amazing local collections whether they be Museums of Anthropology and Archaeology, Natural History or Science Centres!

Becca McVean
Deputy Head of Learning and Participation and Primary specialist

Music Transition Project Completes its Fifth Year!


Music Education Officer, Isabelle Carré, tells us about the Music Transition Project run by Hands-on-Music in Museums:

We have just completed our fifth Music Transition Project for Headington Partnership schools. 

What is it?

A hands-on music project involving pupils moving from primary to secondary school.

Creating our own piece on instruments from the Pitt Rivers © Pitt Rivers Museum 

Part 1: Primary  (Summer 2014)

Seven classes of 11 year olds across four primary schools (Bayards Hill, Windmill, Wood Farm and St Andrew’s) participated in the first phase at the end of the summer. Creative sessions in which they composed their own pieces in small groups were followed by a half day African music workshop at the Pitt Rivers Museum.

African Music at the Pitt Rivers Museum © Pitt Rivers Museum 

Playing the giant Ugandan xylophone © Pitt Rivers Museum

Pupils from St Andrew's C of E Primary School wrote blogs about their visit to the Pitt Rivers Museum exploring the African collections and playing traditional music from Busoga on a giant Ugandan xylophone:

Giant Xylophone Keys © Pitt Rivers Museum

“Yo Peeps wad up again! Today I played one of the biggest xylophones in THE WORLD. It was well xylophoney. (New Word!) It was amazing. Also I did a trail around the museum where we had to find different African objects. I also learnt a song which was about trying to impress a woman.” 



Exploring the Pitt Rivers © Pitt Rivers Museum

“Hello! Today’s museum trip was EPIC! We did a trail hunt where we had to find objects around the Pitt Rivers. The giant xylophone was awesome - as big as a rhino. The piece that we played on it sounded really cool. I did the mixer part, which was epic!”






“Today was totally cool. Our class went to the Pitt Rivers Museum for an amazing morning. My group learnt to play a massive Ugandan xylophone (the size of a car!) There was a song that went with the tune ‘Bojo abwoli webale, Bojo webale abwoli’. The words meant ‘Thank you my friend’ and was a traditional Ugandan love song. Yuk!”

“Yo! Gr8 time at the museum on Tues. We did a trail and found objects related to status. Giant xylophone big as an elephant. We played a song originally meant to impress a woman. OOhhhhhhhh!”

Part 2 – Secondary  (Autumn 2014)

As those pupils moved to secondary school in the autumn all 270 pupils in Year 7 at Cheney School learnt to play a traditional piece on Javanese gamelan (a bronze percussion orchestra from Indonesia).

Year 7 pupils from Cheney School wrote about their experience:



“In music we learned how to play the Javanese Gamelan which I enjoyed very much. I learned how a single instrument can direct an orchestra of many instruments. As I never heard of the Gamelan before, I was very nervous and anxious if I could do it but thanks to Isabelle my instructor, I learnt everything very quickly. The first time I met her, I was in primary school so it was nice to have a familiar face around. If anyone asked me to try again I would definitely do it.”





Gamelan with Year 7 at Cheney School © Pitt Rivers Museum

“I found learning to play the Gamelan instruments really fun and educational. Not only did we learn to play some music we also learned about Indonesian culture. I like how our instructor made everything more fun and interesting. I really liked learning and playing Gamelan Music.”

“The Gamelan contains lots of amazing instruments and is really fun to play. It’s quite different from normal instruments. Different in a good way – it’s high and low music all at once. It has a good beat and it’s interesting. You are always involved and active.”

Why do a Transition Project?

·      The transition from primary to secondary school is a sensitive time for many children when they can experience a lack of continuity and a loss of self-confidence. A Transition Project aims to help bridge that gap, increase their confidence and give them a positive start at secondary school.

Why a Hands-on Music Project?

·      As this is also a time when some children give up their regular musical activities, one aim was to engage them in a fun, practical project to boost their enthusiasm and enjoyment in making music.

·      All learning in this project was by ear or by contact with instruments (not by written notation), so encouraging and valuing skills other than those they typically use in most classroom situations.

·      Sessions encouraged teamwork. They aimed to build the pupils’ confidence in their creative and musical abilities as well as their ability to work as a group.

A view from Cheney Head of Music Emma Jordan:

“Students joining us in year 7 can often have very different experiences of music education, depending on the primary school they previously attended. This project goes a long way to helping them all feel equal at the start of their secondary music experience, and makes their transition from primary music so much smoother. It also helps them feel engaged with the subject here at Cheney from their very first lesson.

Students are excited to be working with Isabelle again, and with the gamelan orchestra. They get an insight into the music and culture of Indonesia, whilst at the same time developing their ensemble, listening and general musicianship skills.”

A last word from a Year 6 pupil at Windmill School:

"We learnt to work as a team, and I have learnt how to use inspiration during music.  You can play everything when you  use your mind."

Find out more about Hands-On Music in Museums!