Use the British Museum’s online collection for a family object investigation

You can use the British Museum’s online collection for a focused home-learning activity by choosing one object, looking closely before reading its description, then checking your ideas against its record. The outcome is a simple object investigation sheet: a drawing, three observations, information from the museum and a question you still want to explore.

This works well as a shared activity because children can contribute in different ways. One might notice a pattern, another dictate a question, while an older child checks how confidently the record supports an interpretation. You need a screen, paper and something to draw or write with; printing is optional.

Start with one manageable object

Begin at the British Museum's Collection page. Choose a subject your family can describe with a familiar word, such as a cup or bird, rather than trying to cover a whole civilisation. These are suggested starting ideas, not a promise of a particular search result or interface.

Use the options the collection provides to narrow the search. You do not need a headline object or a claim about the size of the database to make the activity worthwhile. If a page or image is unavailable, save your question and try another record rather than guessing what the missing material would show.

Choose an entry with a clear image and enough written information to discuss. Avoid spending the whole session searching for the perfect object: a modest-looking item can give you plenty to notice. Keep its record open, but initially look only at the image.

Look before you read

Give everyone a little quiet looking time. Ask: ‘What can you point to in the picture?’ This keeps the first conversation anchored in visible details rather than guessing what the object was used for.

Where your chosen image allows closer viewing, inspect one small area rather than simply making the whole object larger. If the image lacks the detail you need, record that limitation instead of filling it in from imagination.

Try these prompts:

• Which shapes, colours or repeated marks can you see?
• Where do two parts appear to join?
• Is anything difficult to make out?
• Which detail would you draw to help someone recognise this object?

Ask each child to make a quick sketch. It need not be an accomplished drawing: its purpose is to hold attention on a particular edge, pattern or feature. Label visible details without yet explaining their purpose.

Separate observations, ideas and record information

Divide a page into three labelled sections: I can see, I think, and The record says. Put visible details in the first section, possible explanations in the second, and information checked in the museum entry in the third. Keep uncertain ideas as questions rather than moving them into the facts section.

Suppose a child notices a hole near an object’s edge. ‘There is a hole near the edge’ is an observation. ‘Perhaps it hung from a cord’ is an interpretation. The record might explain the hole, offer a different possibility or leave it unmentioned. Each outcome gives you something useful to discuss: which part of the idea has evidence behind it?

Now read the entry together. Look for its object name, date, material and place information, where provided. Preserve distinctions in the wording: a place of discovery is not necessarily a place of manufacture. Likewise, keep a date range as a range and retain words such as ‘possibly’ when you summarise them. The museum's self-directed visit guide also distinguishes questions about when something was made, found or brought to the museum. Those dates can describe very different stages of its history.

You do not have to decode every unfamiliar term. Choose one that matters to your question, and leave the others for another session.

Make a sheet you can return to

Give your investigation sheet a title and add:

• Your sketch and three labelled observations.
• Two pieces of information from the museum entry.
• One idea you changed or still cannot confirm.
• One question for a future investigation.
• The record’s web address and any museum or registration number shown, copied exactly.

That last line makes the work retrievable. A memorable description such as ‘the patterned bowl’ may help your family remember the image, but the address and identifier help you find the same record again.

Younger children can dictate their observations or point while someone else writes. A developing writer might complete ‘I noticed…’ and ‘I wonder…’. Older learners can explain which detail supports an interpretation and what further evidence they would need to strengthen it.

If interest continues, choose a second object with one shared feature, such as shape or material. Ask everyone to identify one visible similarity and one difference, then check whether the records help explain either. Keep the comparison small enough that your children can show exactly where their ideas came from.

Keep your own sketch and the catalogue link with the sheet. Do not assume that an online photograph is free to republish. This is an original home-learning activity, not a British Museum worksheet or a claim that the historical HESFES festival is running again.