Lesson in the Museum

On Saturday 19th November, the fifth graders visited the Natural History Museum in South Kensington. 

The museum galleries, which hide various examples from the animal and plant kingdoms, were ideal to practice their Czech. Children were just beginning to learn about the Czech adjectives and their declension. They were given the task of finding an animal of their choice and describing it. Their selection amused us teachers a lot – an armadillo, lemming, mole, scorpion, spider… 

However, the museum building from the 19th century is also an architectural gem. Architect Alfred Waterhouse built it as a „cathedral to nature“ and was inspired by the Romanesque style, but added some elements from the “Gothic Revival” popular at the time. 

Equipped with worksheets and instant cameras, the children set out to discover and document various architectural elements. In the end, they correctly concluded that the building and its decoration are mainly Romanesque in character (semi-circular arches and windows, columns), but also have Gothic elements (stained glass and gargoyles). In this way, they masterfully recapped their knowledge of history acquired over the past few weeks.