History and the environment take on a new slant at Origins in Norwich. The centre is designed to bring local history to life while highlighting curriculum themes. Children are encouraged to find things out for themselves using interactive activities.
A journey through time and the changing environment culminates in a spectacular film show. Media walls show a constantly changing procession of images.The first floor shows the successive waves of invaders over 2,000 years of Norfolk history. These are divided into areas - The Romans, Saxons and Vikings, The Normans and the Medieval Realm, The Dutch arrivals and The Americans in World War Two. Each area has local artefacts and interactive installations. A replica World War Two radio has to be tuned in, complete with crackling noises, to listen to pilots tell their experiences. Or touch cloth samples to discover the difference between camlet, bombazine and worsted - all fabrics once made by Dutch settlers.
Computer games lasting up to 20 minutes help children to understand the Roman, Saxon and Viking worlds. Children take a boy on a journey to collect a list of objects. Each person he passes talks about their work - building roads, farming or trading. The second floor focuses on the environment, local industries and heritage. With a coastline prone to flooding, children are made aware of the potential disaster. Water has to be cranked up to a tank, then they must choose which model of the fens will show the true extent of flooding.
Other displays let visitors hear folk stories such as Anne Boleyn and the Headless Horseman of Blickling Hall, The Potter Heigham Drummer or the Heart of Tuesday Market Place. Or you can choose a Norfolk character, listen to the dialect, and then record yourself speaking it.
Another display looks at Norfolk heroes and heroines - Nelson, Edith Cavell, Robert Kett and Will Kemp, who danced the Morris non-stop from London to Norwich.
The third floor has objects found in excavations and two film shows. One shows archive film about old Norfolk. The other is a spectacular 180 degree panorama, filmed using helicopters, boats and special cameras. You can see the view from the pilot’s seat as a plane takes off from Norwich Airport, drift along on wherries, bank fast around a corner of Roman Caister, walk in the busy marketplace or explore the Octagon chapel built by Quaker bankers.
Angela Youngman Contact Origins. Tel: 01603 727921.
