Maths, Art and Business at the Museum of Brands

The Museum of Brands brings a history of consumer culture together, with over 12,000 original items on display.

It also offers a dedicated learning programme, which includes a one-hour workshop followed by a self-directed tour of the Time Tunnel with activity sheets for learners to discover how some of the most recognisable brands have evolved from the Victorian era to the present day.

On display and to be used as part of students’ discussion are brands such as Rimmel cosmetics from the 1890s, World War One Oxo Cubes, Mars Bars, Rolos and KitKats from the 1930s and a 1970s Chopper Bike.

Curriculum links to Art & Design, History, Business Studies, Maths and English can be made, and the museum’s dedicated learning officers can also work with teachers beforehand to tailor the session to meet specific requirements and class topics.

The museum and education programme are suitable for all Key Stages. Here, School Travel Organiser looks in more detail at exactly what pupils can gain from the workshops at the museum, which is situated just around the corner from Portobello Road Market in London.

Key Stages 1 & 2

Suitable for Key Stage 1 and 2 students, the UK/US Comparison and Weighing workshop is an interactive handling collection activity linked to the Maths curriculum. Pupils will compare and contrast chocolate brands and products from the UK and US markets using balance scales and will also look at the differences in terms of packaging and size.

The Packaging Design workshop, available for both Key Stages, will challenge pupils to design their own packaging, as well as brand and product name. They will focus on colour, pattern, texture, line, shape and form in this workshop, which encourages creativity and is linked to the Art & Design curriculum.

Available for Key Stage 2 students, the 20th Century Leisure & Entertainment workshop can be offered as either a look into seaside holidays, where students will consider the persuasive devices used in advertising posters for seaside holidays, or as a radio session, where pupils will explore the history of radio before producing a radio segment based on the 1930s children’s radio club, The Ovaltineys. Both versions of the workshop will look at the changes in social history within the 20th century.

Key Stage 3

The Packaging Design workshop can also be adapted to suit the Art & Design curriculum for Key Stage 3. Students will be required to analyse the visual language of popular packaging in different decades of the 20th century, before designing their own packaging for a fictitious brand in a given decade. This session links with the curriculum aim of developing knowledge of how art and design both reflects and shapes our history.

Schools can also choose the Consumer History workshop for Key Stage 3 pupils, which explores original items from over 150 years of consumer history. Students will handle and analyse products, looking at the materials and language used, before taking on the challenge of dating the products chronologically.

Key Stage 4

Business Studies students can take part in the Customer Profiling session, which asks them to analyse branded products in terms of their market position before creating visuals of their primary target customer.

Students will learn how an understanding of customer needs and lifestyle preferences carries importance for brand communication and sales promotion.

The Brand Evolution workshop uses objects from the Museum’s collection to illustrate the different journeys of some of the nation’s most recognised brands. Students will analyse the products and trace their positioning over time before proposing an imagined incarnation of their chosen brand.

For a full list of workshops visit the Museum of Brands Sessions and Workshops page online. Familiarisation visits are also available.

For more information contact bookings@museumofbrands.com.