EXPLoRE: Mansion House
The Explore: Mansion House Team Explore: Mansion House is an exciting project aimed at re-enlivening Doncaster Mansion House as an educational gateway into Doncaster’s architectural history. A team of nine students from the University of Sheffield have been working in partnership with Doncaster Civic Trust and the Friends of the Mansion House to develop an educational resource for all sections of the community, especially children, with the wider aim to engage locals with the building following the Council’s departure in 2012. This project was one of a series of ‘live projects’ carried out with the University’s School of Architecture, creating a link between academic design and professional practice and working with clients and organisations to make a difference within the local community. Doncaster Mansion House is one of only three in the UK and has a rich architectural and social history. We engaged with locals throughout the process to create an educational pack aimed at primary school children which explores the Mansion House within its wider context. The pack provides downloadable and physical resources to enable children to learn
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Photography: Warren Draper ©2015
about the building. The project also suggests exciting proposals for the future, demonstrating how the current pack might be expanded and how a programme of events and strategies might positively influence the legacy of the Mansion House. The educational pack is themed around four key areas - make, play, draw and exhibit. The tasks were designed with reference to Bloom’s Taxonomy, developed with teachers and piloted at Woodfield Primary School. The different activities are part of a coherent structure in which different tasks are linked and learning is consolidated through these relationships. ‘Make’ encourages spatial awareness and teaches the basics in Palladian style architecture, such as symmetry, column types and Palladian elements. Skills in constructing, spatial understanding, creativity and teamwork are furthered. The paper activity sheets are downloadable, allowing schools to choose resources to use both within the classroom and at the Mansion House itself. The project website (www. mansionhousedoncaster.com) presents
the history of the building and enables these educational resources to be downloaded. Teacher’s notes are also available for each task, facilitating use within the classroom. The site allows the client to advertise upcoming events and encourages locals to join the Friends of the Mansion House. Doncaster Mansion House is a rare and important building which is well worth a visit. Check out the website and head to the Mansion House for an event or explore its rich history on one of the open days. If you are a teacher and interested in organising a visit, please contact the Mansion House via the website and make use of our educational pack.
As a team we are excited by the potential of this project to encourage further interest in, and activity within, Doncaster Mansion House. A building much loved by the people of Doncaster. End Find out more at: www.l ive p ro je c t s .o rg