Preparation
Think of a character. Give the character a name and write a letter from their perspective, to the children, about an interesting event that happened.
Method
Assemble the children around yourself. Explain that the group has received a letter from a person from the past, and read the letter out loud.
Say out loud the questions that you have for the character, to provide the children with examples.
Hand out pencils and ruled paper.
Ask the children to write down the 3 most important questions they have for the
Variation
Make this activity more immersive and fun for children by making the letter in the style of the historic period. Add a picture of the character in the letter.
If the children are not good at sitting down and writing their questions, consider letter them say their questions out loud in turns.
Tips and Tricks
This activity allows for the facilitator to create a make-believe magical space. It is possible to act like the letter truly comes from the past, and we expect the actual answer to arrive shortly.
As with activity 2, chat.openai.com can come in handy for writing the letter from the character from the past. For the example material, we used the following prompt:
Write a letter that is written by a roman soldier. In the letter the roman soldier tells a story about something that happened in his life in ancient rome that involve him and his best friend, who is also a soldier. The story should show aspects of roman life. It should be historically accurate. The letter is written to children, so it should be child friendly and can contain humour, but it should also contain things that the children could ask questions about later, that relate to the roman times. The letter should be about 200-300 words. Start the letter with the soldier introducing himself.
Activity 3
A Letter from an Old Friend
Summary
The children receive a letter from a friendly character from the past. They write questions back to the character.
Goal
Get to know where children’s curiosity leads. Inspire the children for activity 4.
Example material
What can you expect from this method?
Curiosity Exploration: Observing the questions children pose to the character from the past provides insights into their curiosity about historical events and figures. This helps designers understand the topics that captivate children's interest, guiding the development of engaging exhibition content.
Engagement with Historical Characters: The activity allows designers to assess children's engagement with historical characters and narratives. Insights gained can inform the development of immersive storytelling experiences within the exhibition that bring historical figures to life.
Immersive Learning Opportunities: Designers can evaluate the effectiveness of immersive elements, such as the make-believe letters from characters, in creating a magical learning environment. This informs decisions about incorporating similar immersive techniques to enhance visitor engagement and learning experiences within the exhibition.