Discover amazing armour through a museum visit or an outreach session delivered in your school.

Discovering Armour is adaptable for pre-formal, informal, semi-formal and formal curriculum pathways, and is designed to develop skills and cultural capital.

This session can support the National Curriculum for Art and Design, Arts Award: Discover and Explore, and the Engagement Model. Sessions are led by SEND specialists, with Makaton support and Widgit symbols where helpful.

We have a range of entry points and recommend exploring 2-3 per session. We will work with you to tailor the session, which is supported by handling materials and armour to try on. Entry points include:

The Arming Song

• Explore armour vocabulary in this rhythmic call and response activity, adaptable for all curriculum pathways.

Dressing Safely for Work and Play

• Investigate and experience different types of protective clothing by trying them on and comparing old and new styles, adaptable for all curriculum pathways.

Sensory Story: A Knight’s Hard Day

• Experience the sights, sounds and sensations of being a knight by following the adventures of a young squire, designed for students on a pre-formal or informal curriculum pathway.

Explore the Armouries (museum visit only)

• Follow a trail and look closely to find patterns and shapes in armour, designed for students on a semi-formal to formal curriculum pathway.

Creative activities

• Dress to Impress – decorate a shield with heraldic designs.
• Let’s Make a Knight of It – construct and decorate a mini, moveable knight.

We provide booklets for students to log their museum visit and what they have discovered. These can be continued in school, used in class displays, or taken home.