Equiano’s Story: Benin, British Empire and Belongings
Watch as ‘Olaudah Equiano’ tells his fascinating story. Children will handle a range of replica artefacts and take part in role plays that show the significance of the culture of Benin and other great African Kingdoms. They will get a sense of what was involved in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. As groups, the students will investigate sources to find out about some people linked to the Transatlantic slave trade in different ways and those who helped to end it. The workshop will encourage pupils to start to think about what is meant by the British Empire and some links to local history. This highly interactive workshop gives pupils the chance to see how momentous events, that occurred at Gunnersbury Park House, had very far-reaching impacts.
Learning aim/objective – To research African Kingdoms, focusing on Benin, to look at the British Empire’s involvement in the transatlantic save trade, role of abolitionists and to discover local history links to this topic.
Duration: 90 minutes
Price: £140 per workshop of up to 32 children
National Curriculum links
History
- A study over time tracing how several aspects of national history are reflected in the locality
- A study of an aspect of history or a site dating from a period beyond 1066 that is significant in the locality
- study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066
- Changes in an aspect of social history,
- A significant turning point in British history, for example, the first railways
Design and Technology
- Changes in technology and design (such as the lost wax technique in bronze/brass casting)
Art and Design
- Interpret images (eg looking at symbolism such as leopard figures)
English
- Spoken language and listening skills, increasing vocabulary esp via discussion and working in groups.