Today, as part of our History Topic ‘The Kingdom of Benin’, Year 6 visited the British Museum. We have been exploring the big question ‘Who do the Benin Bronzes really belong to?’ so we went to see them for ourselves.
The British Museum houses the largest collection of artefacts from the Kingdom of Benin in the world. The collection includes the famous Benin Bronzes as well as sculptures and jewellery made of ivory, terracotta and coral.
Unfortunately, when we got there we found that the Africa Gallery was closed! Fortunately, a kind member of staff allowed us a short private viewing and it was amazing to actually see the artefacts after seeing so many photographs and learning so much about them.
In our English lessons. as well in our weekly debates, we have focussed on persuasive arguments, using conjunctions and giving reasons for our opinions. Everyone in the class is very confident when presenting arguments that they feel strongly about.
Recently, we have been learning how to present balanced arguments where you have to take into account opposing points of view which is very challenging! Some children volunteered to be filmed reading a part of their balanced argument, ‘Should the British Museum return the Benin Bronzes?’ when we got back to school. You can watch them in the video above.
We had a great time and learnt so much today. Thank you so much to the parents who volunteered to come with us- We really appreciate it.
Remember, Year 6: the British Museum is free to visit, so if you want to impress your friends and family with your amazing knowledge about the Kingdom of Benin, why not take them to visit the Africa Gallery in the holidays?
11 comments on “History and English: Who do the Benin Bronzes really belong to?”
I really enjoyed visiting the British Museum to see the Benin bronzes.I also liked seeing the different African cultures and what some countries in Africa are known for.
Thank you to Miss Siswick,parents and Mrs Healy for taking us.
I had a good day and I really liked it. It was sad that we did not get to see them properly but it was good and I enjoyed it. We had a great time and learnt so much today. Thank you so much to the parents who volunteered to come with us- We really appreciate it.
The Africa gallery was really interesting and it was amazing to see the Benin ‘bronzes ’ (they’re actually made of brass not bronze) and Benin heads in real life.
I actually really enjoyed the visit to the Bronzes as well as the whole Museum. The Bronzes were quite big and they were very amazing, even with my speciality of the quotes of the people of 1898-1912. I would really like to go again and have a proper good look at them.
Hi Year 6
It looks like you had a great time at the museum.
I also studied about Benin during our Africa topic at the end of the year and made a big poster. My brother also went there with my aunt a few years ago. Porto Novo is the capital, am I right ?
Penelope
🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷😜
Hi Penelope,
Porto Novo is the capital of the country Benin. We had an amazing time at the museum. I hope you found the topic Benin as interesting as we did.
I hope you are having a great time in France.
Celestine
Hello Penelope! I hope you’re having a great time in France. We really miss you and wish you went with us to the museum. The capital city of Nigeria is Abuja! I think you got confused with the country Benin. Hope to see you soon!
Hi Penelope,
Porto Novo is the capital of the country of Benin. You probably found Benin really interesting just like we did. We had a great time at the museum and the Benin Bronzes were even bigger than we thought they were! Next time you’re in London you can see them, maybe they also have some in Paris! Your brother probably found Benin really fun! I would love to go there!!
Hi Penelope, Porto Novo is the capital of Benin. Was it good when your brother went? What did they go and visit there? It must have been so fun! What else did you learn about in your African topic?
Hope you’re well,
Eugenia
I really enjoyed visiting the British Museum to see the Benin bronzes.I also liked seeing the different African cultures and what some countries in Africa are known for.
Thank you to Miss Siswick,parents and Mrs Healy for taking us.
I had a good day and I really liked it. It was sad that we did not get to see them properly but it was good and I enjoyed it. We had a great time and learnt so much today. Thank you so much to the parents who volunteered to come with us- We really appreciate it.
The Africa gallery was really interesting and it was amazing to see the Benin ‘bronzes ’ (they’re actually made of brass not bronze) and Benin heads in real life.
I actually really enjoyed the visit to the Bronzes as well as the whole Museum. The Bronzes were quite big and they were very amazing, even with my speciality of the quotes of the people of 1898-1912. I would really like to go again and have a proper good look at them.
Hi Year 6
It looks like you had a great time at the museum.
I also studied about Benin during our Africa topic at the end of the year and made a big poster. My brother also went there with my aunt a few years ago. Porto Novo is the capital, am I right ?
Penelope
🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷😜
I enjoyed going to museum and looking at the bronzes I was amazed!!!!!!!!!
Hi Penelope,
Porto Novo is the capital of the country Benin. We had an amazing time at the museum. I hope you found the topic Benin as interesting as we did.
I hope you are having a great time in France.
Celestine
Hello Penelope! I hope you’re having a great time in France. We really miss you and wish you went with us to the museum. The capital city of Nigeria is Abuja! I think you got confused with the country Benin. Hope to see you soon!
Hi Penelope,
Porto Novo is the capital of the country of Benin. You probably found Benin really interesting just like we did. We had a great time at the museum and the Benin Bronzes were even bigger than we thought they were! Next time you’re in London you can see them, maybe they also have some in Paris! Your brother probably found Benin really fun! I would love to go there!!
Hi Penelope,
I hope you are alright. We really miss you!
The capital of Nigeria is Abuja.
Bye!!!
Hi Penelope, Porto Novo is the capital of Benin. Was it good when your brother went? What did they go and visit there? It must have been so fun! What else did you learn about in your African topic?
Hope you’re well,
Eugenia