The Firing Line Museum

The Firing Line is a charity organisation which runs a museum in Cardiff Castle. The museum tells the story of the Welsh soldier from the year 1615 up until the present day. Some of the aims of the museum are to open up access and interactive participation for all sections of the community and ‘To establish a dedicated military museum in Cardiff which will link to the national curriculum’ (Firing Line, 2013). The museum has a dedicated education officer who runs a flexible programme for primary schools to reinforce history topics being taught as well as using history for cross curricular teaching. I was able to speak with Joanna Wenman the education officer on a recent visit to Cardiff castle and she outlined the methods used in the programmes. The most popular themes that the museum ran programmes for were; Victorian Britain, WW2, Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale, however the museum is completely flexible and is willing to adapt to other topics depending on the needs of the school. Joanna will usually make a visit to the school in advance of their trip to the museum to meet the children and begin some of the work (for the WW2 topic she takes an evacuee briefcase containing replicas of items that an evacuee child would have carried on their journey to the country side); she stated that this makes the children more comfortable and confident when they arrive at the museum. For the Victorian Britain theme the children are given a character when they arrive at the museum with information on that person. The educational programmes are designed to be relatable to children. There is a focus on items and events that would specifically have affected children of a similar age of those visiting the museum. For example there is a large ceremonial drum on display that was carried and played by a ten year old boy leading the infantry into battle during the Crimean war.

The museum is interactive and child friendly.  If an object is not in a glass case then it is free to be played with. There is a section of the museum that contains replica military jackets, helmets and equipment for children to try on play with and I was informed that when there is a school visit a genuine musket rifle is taken out of display and the children are invited to hold it.

As well as history, the museum incorporates other curriculum subjects in its activities. During science and engineering week the museum held an event about inventions and the development and workings of military weapons. It also holds an annual art competition called ‘The Big draw’ where children are encouraged to produce a drawing concerned with a particular theme.

Eilean Hooper-Greenhill states that museums offer concrete, object based experiences which not only bring more meaning to learning but embed it for longer (Hooper-Greenhill, 2007). This is something I feel definitely takes place at the firing line museum.

History is brought to life at this museum; the children can see and touch replicas and real objects from history and can take on the role of a historical character. They are submerged in the topic they are learning about in a child friendly environment. By using role play, allowing the children to touch objects, and making the learning relatable to children the museum successfully reinforces classroom learning in an alternative environment.

 References List

Hooper-Greenhill, E., 2007. Museums and Education: Purpose, Pedagogy, Performance. Abingdon: Routledge.

Line, F., 2013. Cardiff Castle Museum. [Online] Available at: http://www.cardiffcastlemuseum.org.uk/ [Accessed 20th March 2013].