Jack Trelawny 'Story Detective'
On school visits, Jack tells children that half his job is 'finding out'. Below the 'Story Detective' is at the British Museum...
Story Detectives at the British Museum
Finding out is half the job of an author
When I visit schools, I tell children that half my job is 'finding out'. Half the time I'm a 'Story Detective'. If I constantly find things out, I've always got something to write about.
On 22 May 2014, I visited the British Museum in London to find out as much as I could about the thirteen objects that have inspired my new series of stories called 13 Things.
Luckily, my wife and my mum (who had travelled up from Cornwall to see us) were keen to come with me. My mum, who is now 76, was a primary school teacher for many years and my wife has two degrees; which means they're very good people to help me find out things so that I can write my stories!
Finding out is half the job of an author
When I visit schools, I tell children that half my job is 'finding out'. Half the time I'm a 'Story Detective'. If I constantly find things out, I've always got something to write about.
On 22 May 2014, I visited the British Museum in London to find out as much as I could about the thirteen objects that have inspired my new series of stories called 13 Things.
Luckily, my wife and my mum (who had travelled up from Cornwall to see us) were keen to come with me. My mum, who is now 76, was a primary school teacher for many years and my wife has two degrees; which means they're very good people to help me find out things so that I can write my stories!
|
I recommend a British Museum visit to everyone who can get there. Entry is free.
We started with the Rosetta Stone object or 'thing'. It's one of the most popular exhibits with visitors to the museum. As you can see from the pictures, there were lots of other 'story detectives' at the museum, who were finding things out with their school teachers. The British Museum is a huge place. If you're going to visit, my suggestion would be to make a plan in advance. The thirteen objects in my series took a few hours to locate and view. Some were on loan to other exhibitions. There are details of all the exhibition rooms on the British Museum website so that's a good place to start a plan for a visit. |
The Royal Game of Ur was one of my favourite things. When I found out it was 5,000 years old and that children played the game with dice and counters, it really made me think that people all that time ago were very much like us today. There are even squares on the board where you are 'safe' and can throw the dice again, which is just like some of our modern board games.
Another of my favourite 'things' was the Sutton Hoo helmet. It is just like the helmet described in one of my favourite ancient stories: Beowulf. There is a dragon-type creature in the Beowulf story; can you spot the dragon hidden in the helmet design? Clue: the eyebrows are also wings. I bought a postcard with a picture of Durer's Rhinoceros, which is the object that has inspired the first story in the Thirteen Things series: The Emperor's Rhinoceros. |
To arrange a British Museum visit, click on this link: www.britishmuseum.org
To see the Story Detective at Sutton Hoo, click on this link: Sutton Hoo helmet
