Learning blog

Cake decoration workshop as part of our Kensington Palace adult learning spring programme. The workshop was devised and led by cake artist Rachel Mount www.rachelmount.com/

October half term was the busiest yet for family learning at the Tower, with between 500 - 600 visitors taking part in the events each day. It was so busy it has taken me a month to recover! Families re-created the drama of the Royal Menagerie, as they coloured and donned animal masks, finger puppet animals romped along the tables and ravens and lions became caged inside magic thaumatropes. The beasts of the Tower were brought back to life as children created their own animals out of feathers, fabric furs and paper skins. With instructions attached for the keepers on how their animals should be cared for, we had many young patrons who gifted their creatures to the Royal Menagerie, as you can see. This holiday also included special artist led workshops, where the animals appeared as ghosts in a series of shadow puppet workshops.

The Tower has teamed up with London Drawing for The Big Draw in an exclusive drawing event. 50 participants found themselves locked in the Tower and its grounds in an after-hours journey! Explored and drew from stories inspired by ancient stones and colourful history in the eerie atmosphere of the Tower at night.

During the recent building work on the palace, fragments of historic wallpaper have been found hidden behind cupboards and panelling and under layers of plaster. The fragments date from the 1790’s to the 1940’s, giving a fascinating glimpse into the historic decoration of the palace. There are regency blue stripes, bright orange floral patterns, Chinese inspired traces of bamboo lattice as well as pin print hand-printed designs. The wallpaper fragments were found on the ground floor rooms of the palace, rooms which used to be inhabited by high-status servants and housekeepers. These cryptic unfinished patterns form the basis for our current Artist in Residence programme at the palace. We are delighted to announce that we have recently recruited artist Natalie Ryde to conduct a residency at the palace from April – September where Natalie will be working on her own commission as well as with our learning audiences to create work inspired by these wallpaper fragments.

HRP Education have been working in partnership with the Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts on DesignQuest, an exciting and innovative project sponsored by the Burberry Foundation which was aimed at encouraging young people to learn about costume and design, as well as to have a go at creating their own sartorial masterpieces. The project ran from November 2010 and involved 330 students from years 7-9 from nine London schools and featured visits to our very own Kensington Palace, including the amazing Enchanted Palace exhibition, as well as an opportunity to handle items from the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection. This all served as inspiration for students’ own designs which they then went on to complete for a celebration event which took place at the Banqueting House earlier this week. In attendance was the Duchess of Cornwall who was able to talk to many of the students involved. Costume created during the project was modelled by students from RADA and shown in all its glory on the catwalk during the event.

The Tower of London is famous for many things, but a lesser-known story is that of its role during the Second World War (1939 – 1945). Just as scraps of land all over the country were turned into vegetable plots to supplement the nation’s dwindling food supply, so too was the Tower of London’s moat. An allotment was installed in the moat which had been drained in the previous century, enabling the Tower’s residents to make their own contribution to the Ministry of Food’s ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign. Now, over 70 years later, there is an allotment at the Tower once more. It is the focus for an intergenerational community project, with participants from Neighbours in Poplar, exploring the history of the Tower in the Second World War, the history of the Home Front more generally and of course, learning practical gardening skills!

The history of the Tower, as the fortress we know today, begins with the building of the White Tower, the gigantic structure at the centre of the complex that gives the Tower of London its name. A credit to the skills of masons old and new, the remarkable preservation of its form makes it the most complete 11th-century palace in Europe.

Archaeology & Discovery Weekend is an annual event held at the Tower of London. Stalls, displays and activities related to archaeology and conservation line the Wharf, whilst during low tide the public can go down onto the foreshore of the Thames (Tower Beach) to see what they can find. Archaeologists are on hand to tell people how old their object may be, and what use it might have had.

In this taster day, blacksmith Kevin Boys introduced the basic techniques and processes of this traditional craft. The office of a smith at the Tower of London can be traced as far back as 1275 under the reign of the warrior King Edward I. At this time, a smith's importance centred on making weapons and other military equipment. Over 100 years later ironwork was used for more peaceful purposes. Doors needed hooks and hinges and windows required casements and bars. In an account of the Kings Works a smith forged an elaborate candelabrum decorated with five 'flowers in the fashion of roses'. Throughout the day, you will gain experience of working in hot steel, using fire, hammer work, and various tools to enable you to twist, bend and shape your very own masterpiece.

Practical workshop to experience the art of squaring and cutting brick; the highest expression of the bricklayer's craft. The 241 chimneys of Hampton Court were an integral part of the 1514 design for Cardinal Wolsey's palace, and demonstrated his exceptional wealth. This taster day lets you get up close and personal with the design and craft of these famous chimneys. Led by brick specialist Emma Simpson, you will experience this rich traditional craft through its theory and practice.

On 9 and 10 July the gardens of Kensington Palace were buzzing with people of all ages as they danced, listened to stories, watched a fashion show, tried on costumes, read history booklets and tried their hand at art activities, all at the 'Kensington Palace Party'. This free public event was an opportunity for people to come and get a taste of some of the palace's stories in fun ways - from beginners' classes in different dance styles as enjoyed by Kensington's historic residents (from Baroque to rock and roll) to storytelling sessions about colourful characters such as Peter the Wild Boy, fun art and craft activities to a community fashion show inspired by items in the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, and more. About 3,500 people attended this Outreach & Community Involvement event over the two days, helping many people to see that Kensington really is a palace for everyone.

The Banqueting House marquee at West End Live was back for the third year running. This year West End Live (an event organised by Westminster City Council, celebrating West End shows and cultural/entertainment organisations) was in Trafalgar Square, just up the road from the Banqueting House. 4,500 people visited our marquee over the weekend of 18/19 June 2011. People made crowns (inspired by Charles II, who was welcomed as King at the Banqueting House, but didn't have a crown as the old one had been destroyed by Oliver Cromwell), people tried on royal style robes (like those worn by James VI and I in the Banqueting House ceiling paintings) and people got arty with our colour in Rubens ceiling (an illustrated version of the Banqueting House ceiling). We also gave away booklets about the Banqueting House.

To mark the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, community groups took part in two projects at Kensington Palace. Adults from three different groups learnt about royal weddings from history as they worked with the artist Kay Aplin to decorate 29 beautiful ceramic doves - one for each of the days of April leading up to the Royal Wedding (these were displayed in the entrance hall of Kensington Palace throughout April). After the wedding, the doves were sent to the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as a gift from the community groups. Participants also got the chance to make their own Royal Wedding tea towel with the artist Emma Rios in screen printing workshops. All the participants came together ahead of the wedding to have a community Royal Wedding party.

Queen Mary II was the first royal resident of Kensington Palace, along with her husband William III. Mary loved to collect blue and white porcelain and displayed it in innovative ways at Kensington Palace. Community groups learnt about Mary II and the history of blue and white china, before working with the ceramics artist Kay Aplin to create their own blue and white china tea set. The project culminated in a big tea party in the late Princess Margaret's Drawing Room at Kensington Palace, where the participants got to be the first people to use the 100 piece tea set which they had created.

Sarah is an artist who has been using the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection at Kensington Palace in her practice. The work hinges on the premise that drawing is a kind of touching and a touching that involves a certain degree of delicacy, sensitivity or care. It is commonly said to be able to reveal the otherwise unseen and be one of the most intimate acts of art-making. It is often associated with a sense of privacy and is valued for its capacity to leave a trace of human presence. Sarah set out to test these values by seeing what drawing may have in common with other areas of research and professional practice involved in caring for historic costume. This brought her to Kensington to study intimate and often unseen articles in the collections, learning how they can be seen, kept and known and asking what these activities share with drawing. Her work involves drawing using wax infused paper.

Make your own mask, family activity at the Tower of London, inspired by the 'Royal Beasts' exhibition.

The Enchanted Palace installation at Kensington has provided the Education and OCI teams with fantastic opportunities for creative projects and workshops. We have worked with a wide range of ages and audience groups. Here are some examples of the enchanting and magical work they've produced. For more information about Learning at Kensington Palace please go to www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/educationandcommunity/Lea...

As part of the ERCG Creative Quarter event on Friday 19th November we ran an art installation workshop in collaboration with the Serpentine Gallery and artists Jiggery Pokery. Inspired by the Room of Palace Time in Kensington Palce, our workshop was a fun activity where students could come into the palace and work in a group to create a headdress. We then photographed them modelling their creations against some fitting backdrops. These are the results from Northbrook College foundation students in the morning session. LOVE them!

Patchwork Palace On Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th October the education team worked with children and their families to create a patchwork palace quilt for the Big Draw event. The Enchanted Palace provided the perfect backdrop for us to look at examples of 18th and 19th century silhouettes of palace characters. Children cut out these shadowy forms and then enchanted them, fixing them on to the patchwork using needle, thread, sequins and pearls. The finished patchwork will be hung in the Learning Space at Kensington Palace.

Connaught Opera returned to Hampton Court Palace to perform concerts of light opera and old favourites for older people's groups from the local area around the palace.

Essential information for making a successful education visit to Hampton Court Palace. for more information click here: www.hrp.org.uk/HamptonCourtPalace/learnatthispalace/hampt...

Image of Tower Beach in its 1930s heyday. In 2009 the 75th anniversary of its opening was marked with the culmination of a community reminiscence project, which gathered the memories of local people who remembered visiting the Tower's man-made beach. For more information go here: www.hrp.org.uk/TowerofLondon/educationandcommunity/Towerc...

'Rock around the palace' returned for a second year at Kensington Palace. There was a huge turnout of people of all ages, dancing the day away in free ballroom and rock and roll classes! There were also art activities for children, who could design their own 1950s style magazine cover, colour in life-size paper ballgowns or top hats and waistcoats! Further information: www.hrp.org.uk/learning/palacecommunities/ocinewsletter/s...

From bejeweled bats, caged princesses and wild-child princes Wimbledon College of Art students have been taking inspiration from the Enchanted Palace at Kensington to create their own fantastical costume designs. The education team, Front of House team and WILDWORKS theatre company worked collaboratively with final year BA Costume Design and Interpretation students to help them represent the stories of Kensington through chiffon, sequins, velvet and wax! We celebrated the outcomes of the project with a costume show, led by the students, at Kensington on Friday 30th April.

From April – May, a group of Year 10 Art and Design students worked with photographers, Chris King and Alex Drago, to create their own portraits in hidden and unused parts of the palace. Students explored themes of image, identity and transformation through the work of photographers connected to Kensington such as Lord Snowdon and Cecil Beaton, as well as other portraits in our collection. The students designed, curated and posed for their own portraits, taken on a large format camera in the palace. An exhibition of the students work was held at Kensington Palace on 28th May.