Explore the World's Knowledge

Details

Age group: All ages.

Available: All year.

Length: 90 minutes. Please allow more time after your workshop to explore the galleries and public spaces.

Group size: minimum of 10 participants

Key Skills

Information literacy, critical thinking, research, enquiry

Workshop outline

Take a creative journey through the British Library, including the galleries and public spaces, asking questions about libraries, collections and knowledge.

Using discussion and playful activities, this workshop invites participants to ask challenging questions about the role of the Library. The workshop asks visitors to look at the British Library as a collection of ideas from different times and places.

During your workshop you might:

Use the objects in the British Library's collections to examine how we carry out research
Explore the development of the written word
Examine how knowledge is stored and used
Look at the building itself to consider how ideas are communicated

After the workshop, you'll see the British Library in a completely different way!

Following your workshop, we recommend spending time exploring the galleries and public spaces in more depth.

NEW - Until July 2008 your workshop can also include an exploration of our new small exhibition 1968 On Record: A Year of Revolution. The exhibition uses images and sound recordings from the British Library's collections to evoke the flavour of a fascinating and pivotal year - one of huge political upheaval, countercultural experimentation and worldwide protest. Please state your interest when booking.

Pre-visit activities

Use the Research Skills area of our website and think about more imaginative ways to approach research.

Post-visit activities

Look at the Ideas Storage Zone on our website and explore further the concept of the British Library as a repository of knowledge and ideas, as well as thinking about how we categorise and classify information.