Information for Schools

There is a lot to see on your visit to the Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum. Please see further down the page for information on the house. However to make the most of your visit you may wish to book our specialist led workshop; the 'Living Victorian Experience', details below.

Don't miss Dickens' 200th Birthday!

It will soon be 200 years since Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth on the 7 February 1812 and there will be lots throughout 2012 for your school to take part in. To mark this occasion, Charles Dickens’ Birthplace Museum will be open earlier in the year so your school can visit from 28 January 2012. From that date onwards there will also be a special exhibition at the City Museum called A Tale of One City which will show what life was like in Portsmouth during1812 – 1870.

We are offering an exciting new workshop where actors bring the Birthplace to life for your class on 31 January, 1, 2, 3, 8, 9 and 10 February plus Tuesdays to Fridays during the last two weeks of June. Places are filling up so please book early to ensure your place.

'Living Victorian Experience' Workshop

Join us as we go back to Victorian times and are taken to an atmospheric home where the senses are fully engaged and the imagination immediately takes over. It is the birthplace of Charles Dickens but we visit it in Victorian times when those living there would remember his family.
We ask pupils to try their hand as servants and if they do the laundry well enough they might be allowed to live in the attic.
However, ‘someone’ already dwells in the attic and something has just
happened in the house...
Explore the rooms of the house that have been mysteriously altered for your visit and discover the story as it unfolds!

Experience life as a Victorian servant by meeting a laundry maid,
dressing up and handling the items that were used to wash and iron the clothes; washing garments in the dolly tub and trying out the carpet beater.
Play typical games of the Victorian era and investigate how buildings and the local area have changed over time.
This session brings the history of the household to life and truly stimulates ideas for creative writing. Parts of this session take place outdoors so you must bring suitable outdoor clothing. Please note that there is no lift between the floors.
This session can make a great accompaniment to the 'Victorians Uncovered' workshop at the City Museum.

Booking a Group Visit

For all enquiries and group visits please telephone (023)92827261 and ask for the admin team or email mvs@portsmouthcc.gov.uk stating clearly your name, school contact details, number/age of children, which museum/exhibition/workshop you are interested in and your preferred dates/times. For a list of all admission charges click here.

Length of Stay and Group Sizes

Unless you have booked a led session the typical visit time is 20 - 30 minutes per 12-15 people. Because the house is very small, the maximum recommended number arriving in a group at any one time should not exceed 30. We will need classes to be split into smaller groups and will admit manageable numbers in at a time. A teacher/pupil ratio of at least 1:10 is essential. (When school groups are in the museum, the behaviour of the children or students is the responsibility of the teacher in charge).

Payment

Payment for the workshop is stated above. For self-guided visits no admission charge is made for UK schools booked in advance. Payment for other groups is made on the day of your visit. Cheques payable to 'Portsmouth City Council', Credit cards: MasterCard or Visa.

Exhibitions

Charles Dickens was born in this house in 1812 and lived there for the first few months of his life. The house has been extensively restored and is decorated and furnished in the Regency style appropriate to his parents John and Elizabeth Dickens.

There are three furnished rooms: the parlour; the dining room and the bedroom where Charles was born. A small exhibition room shows a range of prints illustrating the works of Charles Dickens and a number of personal items are also on display, together with the couch on which he died. Information is available in 10 languages.
 

National Curriculum  Links- A Broad and Balanced Approach

The Birthplace is suitable for a wide range of National Curriculum work. Here are some suggestions of ways in which you can link your visit to National Curriculum areas.

English
Read and understand a range of texts - the story of the house and extracts from Dickens' novels. Be able to distinguish between fact and fiction. Be able to identify types of texts by looking at their content, structure, vocabulary, layout and purpose.

Geography
Look at maps. Investigate places and scales. Focus on geographical questions. Where is it? What is it like? How and why has it changed?

Mathematics
By looking at the house, its locality and its contents classify 2-D and 3-D shapes. Understand the properties of reflective symmetry and tessellation. Collect, interpret and represent data.

Art
Identify different materials and methods used by artists and craftspeople. Recognise the ways in which art, craft and design reflect the time and place in which they were made. Express ideas and opinions using the correct vocabulary.

History
Look at a middle class house trapped in a time warp.
-Artefacts (building and contents) during a visit to the museum.
It is possible to find out who lived in the house throughout Queen Victoria's reign and research the history of the Pearce family.
-Documents and Printed Source Material.
Rate Books
Census Returns
Parish Records of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials
Wills and Abstracts of Title
Kelly's Directory
Lists of Burgesses etc.

Technology
Heating and Lighting Technology. Building Design and Construction and how it has changed.

Please book now

We look forward to welcoming you soon!
Call (023)92827261 to make a booking.