Dartmouth Academy recently held their first History Experience Day, organised by Dartmouth Museum working in partnership with the Flavel and the Engine House.

Over 50 Year 8 pupils spent a morning learning more about Thomas Newcomen and his achievement through a combination of getting involved in workshops, hearing engaging stories, visiting the Museum and seeing the world's earliest Newcomen engine in the Engine House.

They also walked to various parts of the town to see where Newcomen lived and worked. It obviously made a big impression on the pupils, one of whom said: “I thought it was really cool that one person making a machine could influence so many others.”

Another said: “I found it really interesting and astonishing that Newcomen worked out, from the steam in a kettle, how it might all work.”

For many pupils, the day also offered a valuable chance to see their own town in a new way.

By walking through Dartmouth and visiting the places connected with Thomas Newcomen’s life and work, they were able to understand how an important global story began in a familiar local setting.

The experience showed that history is not just something found in textbooks, but something rooted in streets, buildings and landscapes that they know well. It also helped underline Dartmouth’s place in the wider story of innovation and the changing modern world.

Lisa Print, Head of History at the Academy, said: "We were delighted with the opportunity for our Year 8s to immerse themselves in the history of their town, and it really brought it all to life for them.

“I hope that we will be able to work with the Museum and the Flavel in future, on other projects”

A generous donation to pay for the workshops design and for a professional story-teller to run them, made the event possible, ensuring that the day could be offered free of charge and enable all children to take part in the experience.

A Dartmouth Museum volunteer said: "We were delighted to enable the children to share an experience that we hope will stand them in good stead as they complete their project work, as well as helping them realise how important Newcomen was in the development of the world we live in today."

One of the children commented: “The people at the museum were really nice. It was nice to have someone to talk to us at the museum rather than just finding it out for ourselves.”

One of the pupils said: "I really enjoyed the day – it was fun being out in the town and learning about Newcomen in Dartmouth, also, having time to at look at war memorials in the town was interesting.'"

Another wrote in the Museum visitor book: ‘I loved this! Extremely interesting – highly recommend. Will be coming again!’

Dartmouth Museum Vice Chair, Jonathan Turner reminded all the pupils that they could visit the Museum and the Engine House as often as they wanted as both were free for children.

For more information visit: https://www.dartmouthmuseum.org/