The ‘Next of Kin’ exhibition developed by National Museums of Scotland and presented at the National War Museum in Edinburgh has now embarked on a tour of Scottish venues which continues until May 2017. The touring programme includes learning activities at each museum, using a object handling resource aimed at school and community groups.

Its materials, objects and images give a powerful insight into the lives of some of the individuals and familes who felt the impact of the war. Personal stories are used by many educators as a means of illuminating the realities of the war and also helping to make sense of the huge numbers involved as combatants and  casualties.

A blog post describes the contents of the object handling resource, and gives examples of how it has been used to engage groups of pupils.