The V and A Museum

To start our project,before we knew who was filming or writing, we went to the V and A Museum to get an idea of what we were going to do on this project. we didn't know Matt and Sav we just knew that they were in charge of this project. when we arrived as it was a long walk and tube ride we weren't as enthusiastic as we would normally be on a trip. firstly we talked about what games we play in the playground (for example football, pat-ball and champ);we then talked about if they changed and how and if they existed at all.

After, we were split into four groups we were also given slips of toys we had to find in the museum and then remember a fact about it we found  eight of the ten toys on the sheet. we had lunch and then time to explore our group looked at the creepy doll mansions with enameled bath tubs, toilets and sinks. tiny ladies with frilly Victorian dresses and men with suits and top hats they all had  porcelain heads and messy plastic like hair.we then had a few photos taken of us as Mr Safarian was eager to get them on this blog. 

we soon had to say goodbye to them and say hello to the long journey home. we had a great time and if you go there I bet you will love it almost as much as we did. 



Isabella Hill Loureiro   

filming

interviewing elderly people is certainly not the easiest thing on earth though we enjoyed it and asked loads of questions.I will describe the kind of things we asked; firstly it was:
whats your name?
where did you grow up?
what was your favorite game and where did you play it?
and then we asked what games they played in different locations like school, home streets and gardens. we faced a few problems though some people had slow memory or hearing loss in addition to this many interviewers had to repeat questions over and over again and took a long time to answer on the whole they were very kind and loved to share their memories. one of our other difficulties is that sometimes we weren't making eye contact which Matt and Sav did point out.the cameras rolled smoothly and we all had fun the visitors had fun and we made something out of that. Via the huge 12 HOURS of footage!


Isabella Hill Loureiro  

Westminster archives

our class went on a trip to Westminster archives on the 17th march. as we left the school the temperate plummeted down so on our journey we were freezing. when we entered the archives we were relieved  that it was warm, firstly we went upstairs to one of the preserving rooms it had loads of acquiesce books,maps,photographs and documents that went up to 800 years old! we then went to another preserving room and looked at a range of important documents from world war II. the room was crammed as people pay lots of money to put their stuff there in the vain hope that they will be famous for their possessions that are put in the archives. we then went up to the 5th floor that via the stairs is only for staff the general public have to go in the lift which will take them straight up to the 5th floor they are only allowed on the 1st floor with a exception of the cafe. to look at something from the preserving rooms you have to look through a catalog to find what you are looking for then you have to write down the reference and give it to an archivist and they will get the item you are looking for from the preserving rooms. an archivist took out some old photos and gave them to us to find out what year they are from we looked for hidden clues for example the color of the photograph,the hairstyles and the clothes they were wearing. we then discuss why they were from that time and if our assumptions  were correct. we had a great and inspiring day.

ISABELLA Hill loureiro    

Pollocks Toy Museum

Our class went to Pollocks Toy Museum. When we saw it we just asked our teacher; is this really it? It looks tiny!  Aren’t all museums in some place obvious so people go there and admire the exhibits and the building? However, it turned out that it definitely wasn’t tiny at all! The rooms went six floors up and it was in a building with creaky brown, almost uneven floorboards, with the walls painted white with smooth red carpets on the stairs. In some rooms, it had embroidered rugs too, it really completed the 1950’s look! It was one of the best trips ever! We saw the original Sooty, Sweep and Soo  their TV show is still going on CITV! We also saw Punch and Judy, probably one of the most successful puppets ever. There were Punch and Judy shows all over beaches from the 1950’s, there are not many beach shows with them now. Though the shows are not completely finished and you might see them today… One of the most popular games for boys were Jack in the boxes, which were invented in 1956. We saw the first ever one! They also played with spinning tops and Scalextrics, which were a particular favorite. Girls tended to play with colossal Victorian houses with mini porcelain dolls dressed in frocks and outfits usually handmade. If they did not have the money, they would make handmade knitted dolls, with cut hair from old wigs, and have wooden heads. The houses were made of cardboard or wooden fruit crates, they also made their own teddy bears (there wasn’t much difference between them and the bought dolls are really creepy anyway)

If you go there, you will love it!

The Project Begins....

A couple of weeks ago we received the great news from the Heritage Lottery Fund that they are going to fund this project. We have also received funding from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's "City Living, Local Life" fund from the Chelsea Riverside Ward so it's all go. Many thanks to both of our funders.

We have been to visit the V&As Museum of Childhood where Carolyn Bloor is going to run fun play and learning sessions for the children and adults.

We have met with the teaching staff at Servite Primary School and are actively recruiting for the reminiscence group so it's all going really well and we're all excited about this project!

Thanks to Sam Schneider at Age UK Kensington and Chelsea for all of her wonderful support and enthusiasm and to Maggie Tyler who will be running the reminiscence group. Also to Dave Walker at RBKC Local Studies for their support of the project.

When we start working with the Year 6 children they will be taking over this blog, adding images of the progress, keeping a diary and generally keeping everyone up to date.

Matthew Rosenberg

digital-works