Our Museum Loans boxes include real and replica objects for children to investigate as well as lots of photos from our collections and archives relevant to Mid Devon. Many of our loans boxes also include books. We send you the worksheets and artefact lists as PDFs when you book so you can use them in your planning.

Members get 6 FREE Museum Loan boxes per year, or boxes cost £20 per box per half term. We ask you to collect Museum Loan boxes and then bring them back on time.

Children playing with museum objects
  1. Life in Victorian Times – A must for those studying Victorian history or local studies. Lots of nice objects used by Victorian people in Mid Devon.
  2. Victorian Education – Great for any projects on the history of schools and children. Includes a cane and slates along with activities for the classroom.
  3. Victorian Toys – A wonderful box of Victorian toys to play with and books.
  4. Victorian Laundry – Lots of interesting objects and worksheets to explain this process.
  5. Victorian Kitchen – Children will find out about tools and processes of the past.
  6. Victorian Home Life – Explore the lives of people in the past with carpet beaters, chamber pots and more…this box also has information about food and diets.
  7. Victorian Leisure and Health – Explore seaside items and games, as well as a clay pipe and Victorian inhaler. An interesting box for those doing leisure and/or health.
  8. Victorian Tiverton – Explore a small box of archival materials and photographs.
  9. John Heathcoat and John Amory – Small boxes with a big history for schools studying Heathcoat and the factory. (2 boxes available)
  10. Seaside – Lots of lovely Victorian seaside resources, ideal for making a seaside display.
  11. Tiverton’s Past – Objects in this box tell the story of our market town and the lives of people who’ve lived here from medieval to Victorian periods.
  12. WW1 – There are some amazing stories about WW1 from animal heroes to life in the trenches. Includes costumes to wear. (2 boxes available)
  13. WW2 At War – Explore WW2 throughout objects and archives. (2 boxes available)
  14. WW2 Home Front – Another super WW2 box of resources with a police helmet to try on.
  15. WW2 Life at Home – Home life in the 2nd World War – air raids, rationing and victory celebrations told through objects, archive documents and photographs.
  16. Remembrance – Remembering lives lost across two World Wars & other conflicts – great for a Remembrance Day display!
  17. Home Life since 1948 – Explore how things began to change after two world wars. Includes items needing electricity, fashions and photographs of Tiverton.
  18. Life in the Home – Lovely collection of home life objects with an old radio and more.
  19. Transport – Explore the history of transport including horse drawn vehicles, steam trains and other means of getting from A to B, plus maps of the area.
  20. Technology and Change – Great for 20th century history projects, or science and technology projects on electricity or mechanisms (2 boxes available).
  21. Telephones – A collection of phones from different decades.
  22. Tivvy Bumper Story Box – Photos and information about the Tivvy Bumper steam engine in the museum, plus toys, games and stories to stimulate the imagination. Ideal for EYFS & Year 1.
  23. Toys & Games – Toys for children to play with from different time periods and lovely sorting activities alongside simple information and books (4 boxes available).
  24. Fossils – A wide range of fossils including ammonites, a plesiosaur rib and fossilised fish! Also suitable for a significant individual topic about Mary Anning.
  25. Farming Life – Take a look at the seasons and the history of farming in Mid Devon. This is a really important part of our past and could be a local study!
  26. Mystery Objects – Some objects that will get the children thinking. Good for a corridor display or a gifted and talented group who want a challenge.
  27. Tiverton Local Studies – A box to accompany our in school Local Study session. Lots of great photographs of Tiverton plus artefacts related to work, leisure and policing. Includes a small canon ball fired at the castle!
  28. Cullompton Local Studies – Another box to complement our in school Local Study session. Children can explore the wool trade, markets, people and trade.
  29. Bampton Local Studies – Great for anyone looking at schooling in the past or a Bampton Local Study. Includes photographs of farming and the fair through time; good for time comparison exercises.
  30. Crediton Local Studies – A lovely box of artefacts linked to both rural life and town life. Lots of historical photos of the town and surrounding area. Ideal for a Local Study topic.
  31. Stone to Iron Age – Two boxes available containing lots of lovely materials and replica objects: the first also includes storytelling resources.
  32. Ancient Worlds – Two boxes available: one Ancient Worlds and one Ancient Egypt, each containing replica objects, photos and documents.
  33. Romans – Enjoy original and replica Roman artefacts including coins, games and items found in a Roman home. (2 boxes available)
  34. Roman Coins – A smaller box but with a big story to tell. Lots of coins and interesting information to go with them. (2 boxes available)
  35. Anglo Saxons – Find out about Anglo Saxon life – includes tools to use for spinning and weaving. (2 boxes available)

To book a box email education@tivertonmuseum.org.uk or call 01884 256295