Social history of the later Victorian era (1860 - 1901)
The following websites have interactive activities for primary school children relating to the Victorian era and its social history.
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia
An online interactive skittles game based on a Victorian table game of skittles, c. 1880, made of wood and coloured paper, from the Powerhouse Museum's collection. Games which combined an element of chance while developing hand-eye coordination were very popular as family entertainment during the later Victorian era.
http://play.powerhousemuseum.com/playinteract/skittles_game.php
National Museum of Australia, Canberra
(a) "Aussie English for Beginners" looks at the origins of colloquial Australian words and phrases including those with their origins in the Victorian era such as miserable as a bandicoot, battler and wowser.
http://www.nma.gov.au/kidz/aussie_english_for_the_beginner/
(b) Join Zoey on a trip back to Bathurst, New South Wales, in 1865 when Cobb & Co coaches were used to transport people and letters around Australia. The beginning of this interactive activity is aimed at junior primary children but older children may find the information on the coach and transport in the nineteenth century interesting after the introductory questions.
http://www.nma.gov.au/kidz/learn_and_play/cobb_and_co/
(c) Go back in time to 1890 and get emergency help for a camel driver injured in the outback, using communication and transportation methods available at the time.
http://www.nma.gov.au/kidz/learn_and_play/emergency_at_lonely_creek/
(d) Huge arches were erected in streets around Australia in 1901, including the Citizen's Arch, to celebrate the Federation of Australia. Find out why they were built and what they meant, before building a Citizen's Arch.
http://www.nma.gov.au/kidz/learn_and_play/citizens_arch/
Musee McCord Museum, Montreal, Canada
(a) An amusing interactive Victorian "manners" history game where the student can choose the role of lady or gentleman. Visiting various locations the student must choose behaviour appropriate to their position in society.
http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/keys/games/17
(b) A mix and match game of high fashion from the nineteenth centure (beginner's level). There is also a more advanced version on the Musee McCord Museum's website.
http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/keys/games/8
BBC, United Kingdom
(a) "Children in Victorian Britain" covers the areas of work, school and play with educational information, interactive games and worksheets.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/victorians/
(b) Two games where students have to correctly dress a Victorian (and Tudor) lady and gentleman.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/launch_gms_victorian_dress.shtml
Channel 4, United Kingdom
(a) Copperplate handwriting activity sheet can be downloaded from this site.
http://www.4learning.co.uk/learning/microsites/E/essentials/history/worksheets/victchild/11C.doc
(b) "Victorian Children" has a variety of simple activities to highlight what life was like for children in Victorian Britain.
http://www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/Q/qca/victorians/
Tiverton Museum and the University of Exeter, United Kingdom
"Virtual Victorians" includes the day in the life of English factory workers in 1874, an informative themes gallery on topics ranging from agriculture to transport, and "eToys" that includes some fun, educational activities such as the Mysterion where the student has to guess what objects from the past were used for and the Kairosithon that asks students to put objects in historical sequence.
http://www.victorians.org.uk/
Geffrye Museum, London, United Kingdom
Design a Victorian garden. A simple activity aimed more at junior primary but it gives some information on the type of gardens Victorians liked.
http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/kidszone/garden/victorian-flash/
The National Trust, United Kingdom
(a) Arrange rooms. Create a Victorian bedroom or kitchen.
(b) Pest Detective. Preserving historic buildings involves a lot of work including keeping pests under control. The student can join "Dan the Pest Detective" to rid a nineteenth century house of damaging pests.
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-chl/w-learning_discovery/w-families/w-family-online_games.htm
Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, United Kingdom
Through a "Lost Luggage" mystery at New Street railway station in Birmingham, UK in 1879 students have to examine the contents of lost luggage to answer a series of questions to identify the owners of the lost luggage and their backgrounds.
http://www.schoolsliaison.org.uk/lostluggage/train.htm
Woodlands Junior School, Kent, United Kingdom
Not an interactive site but a very good English school site with information on the Victorian era written in a very accessible style for primary school children.
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/victorians.html
Edison National Historic Site, USA
Site devoted to the work of the inventor, Thomas Edison. Under the subheading "Building" there is an interactive activity for constructing the first practical light bulb.
http://www.nps.gov/archive/edis/inventionprocess/ENHS.html
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