Music, Drama and Dance
Music, Dance and Drama can be linked, or used separately in a museum setting inspired by and/or enhancing the museum experience for schools.
Music
- Although not many museums will have a collection of musical instruments, recorded or live music can be used to enhance the experience of a museum visit, or in preparation or follow-up to a visit. For instance, music from the Tudor period may be played during a gallery visit or as part of a hands-on session, or combined with movement or dance to bring the past to life.
- Music inspired by a museum visit can be composed and performed by the children either at the museum or back at school following a visit.
Drama
- An increasing number of museums are using an element of role-play or live interpretation or theatre or drama as an alternative to (or as a supplement for) more traditional education programmes.
- Early findings from research currently being funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Board suggests that longer-term recall of concepts and facts may be improved using theatre and live interpretation.
Dance
- Museums use dance in different ways.
- Dance offers a kinaesthetic experience which helps to engage visitors and develop empathy through bodily experience.
- There are three types of dance which could be inspired by museums.
1) Historical dance can be used as part of 'living history'
- Dance can demonstrate how people lived, social etiquette or costume.
- A dance could bring a painting of life at the court of King Charles I alive.
- Tudor dance could link to an understanding of musical instruments.
- Victorian washday could be used as a starting point with real work movement being developed into a dance.
2) Movement and Dance
- Can be developed as a creative response to a work of art.
- Pupils can explore their response and interpretation of an artefact through movement.
3) Site specific work
- Dance/movement can be used to explore the space/architecture/function of a museum.
The Pitt Rivers Museum runs:
- Hands-on gamelan workshops for for KS2, 3, 4 AS/A2. (The gamelan is an Indonesian orchestra of bronze gongs and other metallophones)
- KS4 Music Study Days.
Useful Websites
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Pitt Rivers Museum for more information on music workshops and Bate Collection of Musical Instruments.
Portsmouth Museums use role play in Home Front sessions at the D-Day Museum.
Dover Museum runs Drama and History workshops.
Lewes Education run drama sessions at Anne of Cleves and the Castle which support history. They also run a Young Roots funded project working with student composers, school dance groups, professional choreographers and mentors to devise a site specific dance.
Museum of Farnham use drama and role play sessions.
Jane Austen's House use dancing with all their school groups from KS1 up to A level.
Fishbourne Roman Palace drama session which explores Roman homes.
Arts Alive the outcome of a QCA development project.
Surrey Museums Consultative Committee Using Museums as a Stimulus for Dance and Drama.