This suitcase is a portal into the magical world of Carn Euny , a well-preserved Iron Age village with a mysterious fogou and stunning views over West Penwith.
Using the narrative of a young Iron Age girl who suddenly finds herself transported to Carn Euny, children are able to imagine daily life on this remote settlement and use the story as a springboard for exploring, examining and interpreting the site and the lives of those who lived there.
This resource will guide you through a series of creative and sensory activities combining Art, Literacy and History, for use on site and beyond. These are aimed at enriching the children’s experience of this unique settlement, firing their imaginations and helping them become embedded in this site and its fascinating history.
Timescale/Overview
A suggested time scale for these activities would be over 3 days.
Initial background work using books, films and visual reconstructions about the Iron Age and its historical context would be ideal as a preliminary introduction for children. This could occupy half a day or a day depending upon the depth of detail you want to cover.
We suggest a further half a day to be spent introducing our story of Carn Euny, which includes children building up the visual jigsaw of the site in relation to the story. We have found that some groups having heard the story want to write their own version or continue telling and embellishing the story they have heard. These could later be taken to the site and read within the beehive hut by candlelight to give some added atmosphere.
For the site visit we recommend a whole day and have planned a range of creative, sensory and participatory activities to fill the day. This involves walking through the story, imagining the scene, exploring language, considering the senses, writing and some observational drawing.
Ideally a further whole day should then be allocated to discuss the visit, make memory badges to attach to the large pull out map inside the suitcase, write postcards/poetry, make strip books and finish stories inspired by the cloth bodies.
Interested in this resource or workshops?
As with all our suitcases, there are a number of options on how they can be used. This suitcase is stored at Penlee House Gallery and Museum and is free for schools and groups to borrow. Within the suitcase you will find a detailed plan covering a range of activities that have been developed and delivered to previous schools through a series of workshops with Storylines. You can either choose to guide children through these yourselves or decide to bring in workshop leaders from Storylines, a Cornish Community Interest Company that specialises in delivering narrative focused and creative workshops.
Storylines’s Support
For Carn Grey Rock the following support is available and you can pick and choose depending on what you feel most comfortable with delivering yourself and your budget-
- Using the film to explore different local themes and creating clay tableaux to illustrate some of these (see above)- 1 day-£400 (includes 2 Storylines practitioners and all materials)
- Site visit to Carn Grey Rock- 1 day- £400* (includes 2 Storylines practitioners, all materials and support with the practicalities of the visit)
Age Group
5 to 11
Key Themes
Archaeology | Iron Age through to the late Roman period | Local history
Before your visit…
We know how much teachers have to think about before venturing out of the classroom, so here are a few things we discovered that we hope you will find useful when planning your visit to Carn Euny.
Additional Resources
Enquiries
01209 707 008
info@cornwallheritagetrust.org
Don’t forget...
The Cornwall Heritage Trust provides travel grants to help schools visit heritage sites.