Prep Class Family History Museum

The Prep students have been researching their family history for the last 8 weeks. They now understand so much more about family; its historical artefacts and how these have added value to the lives of their family members. They began by collecting and exploring personal historical evidence and moved on to discover how these artefacts have changed over time.

The Prep teacher team used a similar approach with their own research to let students, parents and the NBHIS community journey with them from the past, to the present and to look into the future.

The Past…..

On entering, a woody aroma greeted us transporting us to the past, followed by a fashion stall of ancient clothing, footwear and accessories. There were games from the past and artwork created by the students. All of this surrounded by the most important items – the students’ family history artefacts and photographs. Irrespective of the country we came from or the language we speak, each of us connects with artefacts of the past in some way and this exhibition took us down memory lane, helping us relive the past for a brief time.

The Present….

A sudden splash of colour and freshness, a floral fragrance with a colourful toys andmanipulatives from the present greeted us.  All of this surrounded with an artefact or photograph of how that artefact has changed over time. We saw a change from traditional to conventional, from wooden to plastic, from brown to colourful, from natural to manmade. We know more now about how technology has made our lives easier and more comfortable.

The Future….

Inspired by the story book, ‘Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge” by Mem Fox, the Prep students listed items that they value in the present, and which they would like to save for the future. They put them in a treasure box, decorated with their parents’ help during the spring break. Each box was completely different in its artefacts and ideas, in colour and in shape. Each one, a boxed version of their personalities to show us ‘Who they are’ and their plans for the future.

The guest books at the exit, invited us to stop and to reflect and pin down memories from our past and feelings about this experience.