Location:
The Great Hall with Westgate Museum
Cost:
£12 per person
Date:
5 Mar 2026
Category:
Children & family activities
Guilty or innocent? Step into the dock and discover crime & punishment through the ages! Set in Winchester's Great Hall, which was once a courtroom, learners will meet our judge, become our jury and escape our executioner as they consider a variety of criminal cases through time. Learners will take on the role of the court and criminals to discover more about crime and punishment through the ages in this immersive experience, which includes a visit to Westgate Museum (formerly a debtors' prison) and artefact handling.
Learning Outcomes:
| Develop knowledge of how crime has been viewed and punished over time /Understand how historical punishments have influenced modern systems of law and order |
| Study artefacts to understand what they can teach us about crime and punishment through different time periods |
| Encourage learners to question whether historical punishments were acceptable |
This workshop is adapted from a KS2 programme.
At Hampshire Cultural Trust, we welcome Home School families to our venues for self-led visits throughout the year. We also offer a series of dedicated home education days in which we invite you to travel in time to enjoy an immersive learning experience led by our expert team of facilitators. The sessions take the format of our curriculum-based workshops, though they are more relaxed so that a wider age range of learners can attend with siblings as required.
Things to know prior to booking:
- All children must be accompanied by an adult who is responsible for them at all times, including during facilitated workshops
- In the event of an emergency, you are responsible for the children in your group
- We require at least one adult for every 3 children
- You are responsible for the supervision and behaviour of your children at all times
- If you are looking to book younger/ older siblings into the sessions, please be aware that the content may not be pitched at their current learning level.
- We regret that under 5’s are not permitted at Home Education events at Gosport Museum and Art Gallery.
- These are facilitated sessions and not ‘drop-in’ experiences, so will start promptly according to the scheduled time
- The schedule for the day will be provided prior to arrival
- Lunch slots are fixed, and you will be notified of these within the schedule
- A breakout room will be provided at allocated times for you to bring your own lunch or you are welcome to purchase food from our Café
- Food and drinks are not permitted anywhere on the museum floor or in our immersive Learning Rooms
- Mobile phones and photography are strictly prohibited within the session due to safeguarding
- Our facilitators reserve the right to ask participants to leave if their behaviour is deemed unsafe or inappropriate for the setting
- We advise that participants take a comfort break before the session begins, as children can not be left unsupervised while their accompanying adult takes one child to the toilet.
