Shang Dynasty Session Information

This session can be taught: 

• at the Oriental Museum 
• as outreach in your school 
• as an online session 

The content of these sessions does vary as we have the galleries to use at the museum, but we try to keep them as similar as possible.  

Visit to the Museum:

Please note: due to gallery redevelopments, we will not be able to offer this session at the museum from September 2023 until after Easter Break 2024. Once we have more specific opening dates, we will share.

• Object Handling and Investigation - we show the children how to be mini archaeologists, while looking at and holding objects from our Shang Dynasty handling collection. We ask them to use their observation and historical enquiry skills, as well as any prior knowledge to form a theory about what they are and were used for. They will share some of their theories before we reveal what archaeologists think they are. 
• Gallery Trail – your class will explore our MacDonald Gallery of China, looking at our Shang Dynasty artefacts and the influences they have had on Chinese art and culture.
• Design a Shang Bronze – working in teams, your class will create the design for a Shang Dynasty pot using embossing foil, complete with a taotie!
• Oracle Bone Symbol Quiz – can your class work out the meanings of the ancient symbols found carved into oracle bones 3,200 years ago? Afterwards, the children can try their hand at making their own messages using these symbols. 

Need to know:

• The day at the museum runs from 10am – 2.15pm approximately and is entirely taught by members of our Learning Team.
• The maximum number of children we can take on one day is 2 classes, so approximately 60 children.
• The cost of the visit is £6 per pupil, with all accompanying adults free.
• Lunch can be eaten in our classroom spaces, or if the weather is good and you would like to, we do have a small grassy area where you can sit and have a picnic.

Directions to the Museum

Outreach Day at School:

• Object Handling and Investigation – we show the children how to be mini archaeologists, while they are looking at and holding the objects in our Shang Dynasty and Chinese collections. We ask them to use their observation and historical enquiry skills, as well as any prior knowledge to form a theory about the objects. We will hear them share some of their theories before telling them what archaeologists think they are.   
• Design a Shang Bronze – working in teams, your class will create the design for a Shang Dynasty pot using embossing foil, complete with a taotie! 
• Oracle Bone Symbol Quiz – can your class work out the meanings of the ancient symbols found carved into oracle bones 3,200 years ago? Afterwards, the children can try their hand at making their own messages using these symbols.
• Story of the Last Shang King – find out how the Shang Dynasty came to an end with this interactive drama session for your whole class. 

Need to know:

• For an outreach day, we aim to arrive at school to begin teaching at 9:30am and will then teach, fitting in around the established school breaks of your school, until approximately 20 minutes before the end of your school day.  
• We can teach up to 3 classes on the same day on outreach, but you will need to book early for this so we can allocate the required number of staff to make it possible.
• The cost for outreach is £5 per pupil, with an additional flat rate charge of £20 towards transport costs. 

Online Session: 

• Object Investigation – you will be sent an email with resources to print out before your session. This will have a set of sheets with high-quality photographs of a selection of our objects on them. We will model with the children how we would like them to investigate the object on their sheet and encourage them to use their historical enquiry skills as well as any prior knowledge to form a theory about what they think the object is and what it was used for. Having independently worked on the object on their sheet, we will hear some of their theories before revealing to them what archaeologists believe them to be. 
• Oracle Bone Symbol Quiz – can your class work out the meanings of the ancient symbols found carved into oracle bones 3,200 years ago? 

Need to know:

• An online session is two hours in length.  
• Session times are 9.30am – 11.30am and 1pm – 3pm, but we can accommodate slightly different timings. Please ask at the point of booking if this is something that would be helpful for you.  
• You will need to book a short test call with us to check that you can see and hear us on the whiteboard in your classroom. These are available at 3.30pm, 3.45pm and 4pm.
• We ask that you book separate sessions for each of your classes so we can keep them as interactive as possible. 
• You will be sent an email with resources to print out before your session. 
• The cost of the sessions is £45 per class. 

Session costs