Themed Weeks

We'll Meet Again - A Unique Wartime Day for Schools

Twice a year STEAM runs its very successful two-week ‘We’ll Meet Again’ wartime event for schools. Bookings are being taken for:

• Monday 5 March to Friday 16 March 2012
• Monday 24 September to Friday 5 October 2012

About the Day

Live the War for a day and immerse yourself in the sounds and sights of the Home Front. The displays at STEAM are transformed to recreate the era of the Second World War. All staff dress in period costume and teachers and pupils are also encouraged to arrive dressed 40s style to add to the wartime atmosphere. You could even bring a rationed lunch! Many more ideas will be found in the 'We’ll Meet Again Support Materials' on the Planning Your School Visit page of the website .

We have a superb collection of original handling artefacts and authentic costume from WW2 for the children to enjoy and try on throughout the day, as well as a meticulously researched reconstruction of a public Air Raid Shelter and an Evacuation Carriage.

Each class is allocated a Minder who will greet you on arrival, escort you around the carousel of five interactive workshops and manage the timings of your visit. All of the experiences are delivered in different styles and planned to provide a range of diverse learning opportunities, including role-play, simulation, story telling, dressing up, speaking, listening and questioning, empathy, observation, imagination and reflection.

The Pupils’ Experience

• Meet the ARP Warden. Sound the air raid siren and the All Clear and run for cover inside the public shelter. How will you pass the time through the long and terrifying night? What will you find outside after the raid?
• Share the anxiety and excitement as your class become evacuees on the station platform and climb aboard a WW2 carriage. Unpack an evacuee’s suitcase and lunchbox. Impress your host families on arrival in the countryside.
• Join the Home Guard, ‘Take Your Gas Mask Everywhere’ and solve our Propaganda Puzzle.
• Meet the people who lived through the War and find out their childhood memories.
• ‘Dig For Victory’ in the Land Army and ‘Look Out In The Blackout’. Discover how ingenious tricks helped families to cope with shortages and ‘Make Do And Mend’.
• Find out what happens to Betty’s family when War breaks out. Work for the Women’s Voluntary Service or in the munitions factory.
• New for September 2011 Discover what wartime would have been like for you as a child.

Further Information and How to Book

To find out more or to make a booking call 01793 466640 or e-mail steameducation@swindon.gov.uk.

There are some answers to frequently asked questions by teachers on the Teachers' FAQs page of the website.

Teachers' materials to support We'll Meet Again can be found on the Planning Your School Visit page of the website (see PDF files 'We'll Meet Again Support Materials' and 'WW2 Support Materials').

Please note that during September and October and during the first two weeks of every new term, we experience an extremely high volume of phonecalls concerning school bookings and potential visits.PLEASE check the Teachers' FAQs page before you call.

If you reach voicemail it means all lines are busy.  Please leave one message only with a name and phone number and we will return calls in strict date received order. This may take up to a week. Phone calls take priority over emails at these busy times.

Similar Experiences

Places on this event are limited. You may be interested in our World War II Discovery Sessions, which are available all the year round. For details please see: Discovery Sessions.