Horrible Histories Terrible Trenches Exhibition
World War I for Children – Show Based on Terry Deary's History Books
Aug 27, 2009
Displays at the Imperial War Museum London reflect the personal experiences of those who lived, fought, and died in conflicts involving Britain and the Commonwealth since 1914.
The museum is responsible for a comprehensive collection ranging from paintings, photographs, personal correspondence, official documents, cartoons, film and sound recordings to aircraft, tanks, guns and rockets.
Recent displays at the IWM have included Outbreak 1939, From War to Windrush and In Memoriam Remembering the Great War. The museum has a permanent installation dedicated to the Holocaust as well as a constantly changing programme of exhibitions. The latest temporary attraction is Horrible Histories Terrible Trenches.
Horrible Histories Terrible Trenches
This is a unique hands-on experience for children and their families. The exhibition, created by a partnership between the Imperial War Museum and Scholastic Children’s Books, is based on the Trenches Handbook from Terry Deary's bestselling Horrible Histories series.
The Museum has taken the format of Deary's book and combined it with interactive activities. The exhibition invites visitors to take the Terrible Trenches Survival Test. As a result young children, teenagers and adults will understand more about the personal experiences of the troops who fought in the trenches of World War I.
The show, which includes numerous items from the Museum's own collection, is divided into small sections including the following:
- Frightful First Aid – the exhibition shows the extent of medical treatment in the trenches where whale oil and newspapers were used to fix broken bones or prevent frostbite.
- Curious Clothing – Visitors can try on helmets and jackets that would have been worn by British and German solders. Children are encouraged to think about the differences and similarities between them.
- Foul Food – Food in the trenches was terrible. What food did they eat? What did it smell like? How did they cook? What equipment did they have? Visitors will discover all this, and more.
- Splat the Rat! – The trenches were infested with rats and lice and army personnel invented some crude ways to kill them. Children love the interactive floor mat which gets them jumping up and down exterminating vermin.
- Terrible Toilets – What toilets? Most of the British trenches had no toilets, just buckets, as shown in the photograph. The Germans did slightly better. They dug deep pits with wooden seats over the top. When the pit was full, they would cover it over and dig a new pit.
- Wicked Weapons – The exhibition looks at the weapons used by English and German solders in the trenches. The display also tells viewers about the dangers from snipers and how lighting a cigarette could lead to instant attack.
- Miserable Mining – Visitors are invited to crawl through a mock-up tunnel and to listen out for the enemy, or look through a periscope into no man's land.
- Gruesome Gas – The exhibition looks at the different types of poisonous gas and how it affected its victims.
Horrible Histories Terrible Trenches is recommended for children aged 8 – 12 years. The exhibition, which is accompanied by a programme of family activities, will be open until 31st October 2010. Further details can be obtained from the Imperial War Museum.
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