A nationwide project run by the charity ‘Kids in Museums’ saw hundreds of historic sites and museums in England and Wales being ‘taken over’ by children for the day, offering them an insight into what it is like to be a museum curator or historic castle curator and using their creative ideas to run the sites for the day on November 13.
CADW writes:
Schoolchildren across Wales are being given the rare opportunity to step into the shoes of custodians at some of Wales’s most significant historic sites on Thursday 13 November, as Cadw, the Welsh Government’s historic environment service, invites them to take the helm at six of its sites in celebration of Taking Over Museums Day 2014.
Year Five and Six pupils from Ysgol Tan y Castell in Gwynedd are one of six groups selected to take part in the project, having been tasked with staging a takeover of Harlech Castle.
Having spent several weeks preparing, the children – aged between nine and 11 – will become Harlech Castle custodians for the day; welcoming guests, taking responsibility for daily site checks, managing the castle’s marketing and social media and talking to visitors about its history and interpretation.
They will also work with the castle staff to develop their own interpretations of the site’s dramatic past, which they will then present to members of the public visiting the castle.
The project aims to give young people the chance to engage with the historic sites in their area, allowing them to take on meaningful roles while working alongside staff and volunteers to participate in the life of Wales’s historic sites.
Anthony Hayes holds the title of custodian of Harlech Castle for the other 364 days of the year. He said: ‘Young people are typically full of creative ideas and fresh thinking, so I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing how they approach the task of taking control of Harlech.
View information on the ‘takeover day’
More information about Kids in Museums
Find out about events at other sites such as the National Slate Museum and Archives Wales, and see photographs of the day on Twitter
