Part of Sudbury Hall is the National Trust's Museum of Childhood. The museum looks at children through the past few centuries but mostly as they play with toys.
The very first room has a lot of classical toys on display as well as some simple toys to play with. J tried his hand at a marbles game where he had to shoot a marble through an arch to score points. It was surprisingly easy for him.
Life for children wasn't all fun and games. Further displays showed the various jobs children were put too. In one room, they had a climb-in chimney through which children could crawl to come out another chimney. The lady offered to blacken Js nose with some soot but he declined. Later, we caught up with Mommy and L and discovered that L was too afraid to go through on her own. J showed her the way and they had fun.
The museum also has a mock-class room but it was full of other visitors so we did not go in. The kids didn't want to go to school on a Saturday anyway. Upstairs we found more displays of toys, including some fantastic doll houses.
Other typical toys include castles and farm sets.
The final room is a large play area with all sorts of games. J and L gravitated toward the tic-tac-toe (or naughts and crosses as it is known here) board that has brown and yellow snails for playing pieces. I won one out of four games against them. Not such a good record.
We were sure it was an excellent museum because the kids protested when it was time to go. If you have little ones, don't skip this one while at Sudbury Hall!
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| Outer building of Sudbury Hall, now the Museum of Childhood |
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| Museum entrance |
The very first room has a lot of classical toys on display as well as some simple toys to play with. J tried his hand at a marbles game where he had to shoot a marble through an arch to score points. It was surprisingly easy for him.
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| Old time toys |
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| Classics--diabolo and sticks, jump rope, balls |
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| J shooting marbles |
Life for children wasn't all fun and games. Further displays showed the various jobs children were put too. In one room, they had a climb-in chimney through which children could crawl to come out another chimney. The lady offered to blacken Js nose with some soot but he declined. Later, we caught up with Mommy and L and discovered that L was too afraid to go through on her own. J showed her the way and they had fun.
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| Another display--working in a wash room |
The museum also has a mock-class room but it was full of other visitors so we did not go in. The kids didn't want to go to school on a Saturday anyway. Upstairs we found more displays of toys, including some fantastic doll houses.
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| More like a doll manor house |
Other typical toys include castles and farm sets.
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| Castle |
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| A detailed farm |
The final room is a large play area with all sorts of games. J and L gravitated toward the tic-tac-toe (or naughts and crosses as it is known here) board that has brown and yellow snails for playing pieces. I won one out of four games against them. Not such a good record.
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| L gets a head start |
We were sure it was an excellent museum because the kids protested when it was time to go. If you have little ones, don't skip this one while at Sudbury Hall!
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