Teaching through living history – an educational role-play featuring life at an abbey in the fourteenth to fifteenth century

Abstract

ABSTRACTCommunity archaeology is about people engaging with archaeology. This could be as participants in an archaeological excavation, but also through interacting and creating meaning with the material gained through archaeological research. As an example of the latter, Museum Skanderborg, Denmark, is offering local community schools the possibility of participating in an educational role-play in the excavated ruins of Øm Abbey, a monastery from the fifteenth century. As they dress up in the woollen dress of the Cistercian order and receive new names, they enter and experience a simulation of a part of medieval life. This paper presents the experiences of a type of museum learning, a scenario-based role-play. The content of the play is laid out as inspiration to others, who might want to try this form of museum learning. The paper also discusses the learning premises of school classes visiting museums, when a schoolteacher cooperates with an external teacher.