City Attraction Makes Learning Fun!
News item
Top Kent visitor attraction The Canterbury Tales has launched special educational visits for school pupils to complement their classroom studies.
The Discover Canterbury Package, new for autumn 2012, gives students and teachers the chance to experience life as a pilgrim in medieval England and learn about some of Geoffrey Chaucer’s best-loved stories in a vivid 14th century setting.
As part of the Discover Canterbury Package, school coaches will be met by a costumed character and youngsters themselves are encouraged to come dressed in their own medieval costumes.
The day includes a workshop, an audio guided tour of The Canterbury Tales attraction, and a Canterbury Audio Tour around the historic city.
The fun one-hour workshops, which are taken by educational event specialists Aardvark Productions and Brenda Burgess Arts, offer schools a number of options, including teaching the youngsters what it was like to be a pilgrim – from what a medieval traveller would wear, eat and drink to how they would be cured from common diseases.
For a more hands-on experience, children can grind flour, learn games and play with toys from the era.
The Canterbury Tales attraction itself takes children on an audio guided pilgrimage of their own, accompanying Chaucer’s colourful characters on a journey from the Tabard Inn in London to the shrine of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral, complete with the sights, sounds and smells of medieval England.
The package also includes a 60-minute Canterbury Audio Tour, complete with video MP4 players and worksheets which have been developed to help students explore the city.
Sarah Hirsch, marketing manager at The Canterbury Tales, says: “Our Discover Canterbury Package is a new and fun introduction to the historic cathedral city and its famous literary connection, and has been designed to tie in to students’ history, English and religious education studies.”
The Discover Canterbury Package is priced at £14 per child. One free ticket for a teacher will be offered for every 10 children that visit.
Schools simply wishing to book a group trip to The Canterbury Tales attraction, rather than the full Discover Canterbury Package, can also enjoy a number of benefits, including free teacher familiarisation visit, discounted rates for pre-booked groups of 15 or more, a free teacher ticket for every 10 students visiting, free admission for their coach driver, plus free education pack, risk assessment and group travel organiser guide.
