Cabinet of Curiosity

Cabinet of Curiosity was a major cross-curricular project undertaken with Year 3. Using extracts from the book "Wonderstruck" I introduced the notion that like people, objects have stories to tell. I displayed various unusual objects throughout the library, these were things that most children were unfamiliar with, for example, a cigar cutter, a 78RPM record, a handmade box with confetti and a message in it. We discussed curation and the importance of collecting and recording history. Using a brooch as stimulus I modelled oral storytelling by giving the brooch an interesting history. After a discussion it was revealed that I had used my imagination to provide the history and the truth was then revealed. Children chose from the unfamiliar objects on display and wrote, told and shared their possible stories.

In the classroom the teachers continued the discussion about what made an object valuable or important. Children shared information about collections that they had and things that were precious and important to them. Further conversations covered the curation and display of objects in museums, galleries and in private. Children were invited to bring a small precious object to school, something that told part of their life story.

In Design Technology, children designed and made boxes to display their object.

In English, they wrote a brief explanation about their object to be used as a "museum" label.

In ICT, some children made iMovies telling their story.

In the library research skills were taught to enable children to gather more information about their treasures.

The project culminated in a display of 120 precious objects displayed in handmade boxes in the library. The school community was invited o visit the Cabinet of Curiosity and a pop-up museum was born.