Booking an Artefact Box

Essex SACRE is building a collection of artefacts that can be booked by schools. At present we have artefacts to support the teaching of Judaism, but are hoping to develop boxes for other faiths in due course. Artefacts can be expensive, but it is difficult to give students an experience of lived practices without them. Using artefacts in religious education lessons is crucial because they bring history and beliefs to life, making learning more engaging and tangible. Artefacts help students connect emotionally and intellectually with religious stories, practices, and traditions. They foster a deeper understanding of different faiths and promote respect and empathy.

By booking one of our artefact boxes, you can integrate these objects into storytelling, discussions, or hands-on activities. For example, students could examine religious symbols, clothing, or ritual objects, which enhances experiential learning and encourages curiosity. This approach makes lessons more interactive, memorable, and meaningful.

To book the artefact box contact benjamin.maddison@aru.ac.uk

Judaism box

The resource comprises two large plastic boxes of resources.

Essex SACRE artefacts box

Contents of box

You can find a list of the contents of the boxes here.

Notes for Essex Artefact collection.docx

Resources

This document provides a background that will help teachers to contextualise the artefacts.

Photos of Box 1 contents: https://photos.app.goo.gl/uaSwJGfd6tkZmHmw7

Photos of Box 2 contents: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Abn9iimYJjJpZTyK9

Testimonials

Westlands Primary School, Chelmsford, Autumn 2025 (Emily Bannister)

Year 6 used the Jewish artefacts to consolidate their learning sequence through a ‘RE detectives’ activity. This involved the children wandering around the room to visit 12 artefacts which included two red herrings (artefacts from another religion). The children drew a table in their books where they recorded the name of the artefact and its purpose, requiring them to think back to which lesson it featured in and its significance to Jews. The ‘shofar horn’ and ‘yad’ were among the most memorable artefacts where many children confidently spoke about the festival of ‘Yom Kippur’ and how the yad is used to support the reading of the Torah. To finish the lesson, the children shared their findings, giving me a chance to address any misconceptions linked to the sequence of learning. Overall, this was an engaging and purposeful activity as well as a useful assessment tool for the teachers.

Lyon's Hall Primary School

The children in my Year 2 class loved using the different resources in the Jewish artefact box. Most had only seen the objects we had been talking about on the internet, so to see them up close and be able to touch them and discuss them, brought our learning to life and made it much more engaging.

The children used the artefacts in role play, exploring their uses and importance and we were able to have really rich and purposeful discussions about the objects and why they were important to Jewish people and their cultures and traditions.

Kara Birch

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