Andy Munns
120 Girlguides from across South West England took over the Mary Rose Museum on Saturday, 12 November, as part of a special experience day to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the raising of King Henry VIII’s warship.
The award-winning Mary Rose Museum houses the wreck of the famous warship, which sank in 1545, plus thousands of extraordinary Tudor artefacts. The ship and her contents were painstakingly excavated before the hull was raised in October 1982.
To celebrate this milestone, the museum team have created a special Mary Rose badge in partnership with Girlguiding South West England. The badge activity pack contains history, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), and food and craft activities. It can be used by group leaders in a unit, alongside a loan pack, or visit the museum.
To launch the badge, the Mary Rose Museum invited 120 Girlguides to participate in various activities. Girls from across the region got a chance to work in teams to load and fire a full-size replica cannon, guess the use of mystery artefacts and compare modern and Tudor food to decide if we are healthier than our Tudor ancestors.
Girls involved in the experience day earned themselves the newly launched ‘The Mary Rose’ event badge for taking part in the day.
Laura Cottey, South West England Chief Commissioner, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with The Mary Rose Museum to celebrate the Kids in Museum takeover day. The opportunity for girls and young women to take part in a range of activities, such as learning about the jobs on board the ship and firing full-size replica cannon and to experience the museum during its special anniversary year is fantastic.
“The resource pack and badge will mean that no matter where in the South West they are, they can still experience history and science activities relating to this historic ship. We are really grateful to The Mary Rose Museum and their learning team for facilitating such a brilliant day.”
Girlguiding is the leading charity for girls and young women in the UK. By giving just one or two hours a week, our volunteers help local girls and young women enjoy a wide range of exciting activities, acquire new skills and experiences – and have fun simultaneously.
Girlguiding recently revealed a revamped programme of activities and badges, bringing everything up to date to create a unique and extensive choice of activities which reflects the diversity of girls and modern life in the 21st century. New badges include Entrepreneur, Inventing, Navigator, Craftivism and Self-care.
The charity welcomes volunteers of all backgrounds, ages, cultures, faiths and abilities. For more information about volunteering with Girlguiding in South West England, visit https://www.girlguidingsouthwest.org.uk/join-us .
