The pre-school children enjoyed a visit to the Shetland Museum last week. While walking to the museum, we spotted six Scottish flags along the way, which sparked an interesting discussion about the World Cup and Scotland’s match against Brazil.

The children are familiar with walks in the local community and understand the importance of walking safely with a partner and following road safety rules. They confidently shared reminders such as:

‘Wait for the green man.’     

‘It’s safe to cross.’

‘Stop, look and listen before you cross the road.’      

Mari welcomed us to the museum and gave us a tour, where we explored a variety of interesting objects and artefacts while learning about Shetland’s rich heritage and past. The children listened very carefully and were eager to answer questions, as well as ask thoughtful questions of their own.

The museum was very busy with visitors and one lady took the time to comment on the children’s excellent behaviour, which was lovely to hear.

Some of the children’s comments included:

‘It’s a map with lots of blue sea.’

‘I’ve been to the Clickimin Broch.’

‘The pot is cracked, so it must be old.’

‘Lots of shiny treasure!’

‘We saw Vikings at Up-Helly-Aa.’

‘It’s a very old house.’

‘What’s a trow?’

After the tour, we enjoyed a snack in the learning room before Mari showed us how to card fleece belonging to sheep. It was a little tricky at first but the children quickly developed the skill and soon got the hang of it. They then coloured in a picture of a sheep before gluing on the yarn they had carded.

Some of their comments during the activity included:

‘Look, I’m brushing the wool.’

‘It’s a bit tricky.’

‘It feels so soft.’

We had a wonderful visit and would like to thank Mari for helping us learn about Shetland’s past and for making our experience at the museum so engaging and enjoyable.