Musée du
Compagnonnage
de Tours

Objectives: Discovering how materials from out of the ground are transformed into construction materials: from gypsum to plaster, from clay to brick, from quarry to dressed stone…

Procedure: In the company of a workshop leader, the children are given an introduction to the history of the guild system in the museum. Following this, a range of building trades is focused upon through the materials used in them. But where do they all come from - the roofers’ slates, the mason’s bricks and the stone-dresser’s stones?

Duration of visit: 1½ hours

All about the framework

Objectives: The workshop helps children understand how the houses they live in are constructed. This essential step in the process is presented in the form of a model framework, enabling them to imagine the successive stages in the creation of their homes, and the various specialised trades required. The timber-framed house, a medieval architectural style common in our region, is an excellent way to introduce them to our history. They come to understand how medieval houses were built, and can compare the processes with those employed today. They get to handle the raw materials, and their awareness and imagination are put to work through use of crayons.

Procedure: In the company of a workshop leader, the children first of all pay a visit to the part of the museum appropriate to the workshop, presenting the various specialised building trades (house carpenters, carpenters, stone dressers, plasterers, etc.). The workshop leader then goes on to bring children into direct contact with the materials through models of frameworks to be assembled like three-dimensional puzzles. Following this, narration of a short story helps them refocus their attention on the theme of the session and put it into context. A black-and-white reproduction of a timber-framed house is then distributed, and with a little help from the workshop leader the children colour in the parts that seem to them to have been built of wood. They return to school with their productions.

Duration of visit and workshop: 1½ hours

Objectives: Discovering how materials from out of the ground are transformed into construction materials: from gypsum to plaster, from clay to brick, from quarry to dressed stone…

Procedure: In the company of a workshop leader, the children are given an introduction to the history of the guild system in the museum. Following this, a range of building trades is focused upon through the materials used in them. But where do they all come from - the roofers’ slates, the mason’s bricks and the stone-dresser’s stones?

Duration of visit: 1½ hours

Rally in the medieval heart of Tours

Objectives: The rally is designed to get children to do fieldwork in discovery of Tours’ architectural heritage – a fun-filled activity teaching them to look, observe and recognise the architectural features that make up the city’s urban history. Work carried out by specialists is to be seen in many places in the city centre. After having first paid a visit to the museum to familiarise themselves with what to look for, they try to find signs of work by house carpenters, stone dressers, and so on.

Déroulement: In the company of a workshop leader, the children are given an introduction to the history of the guild system in the museum. They then gather in rue de la Serpe, the rally’s departure point, where they are handed out logbooks that they must read carefully in order to avoid going about their search in too much haste. They split up into teams of 5 or 6, each with an accompanying adult, and set off. As questions lead to more questions, they are led through the city’s medieval district, to Place Plumereau. After counting up points scored, a winning team is named and the workshop leader awards each child an “apprentice’s” diploma.

• There must be one accompanying adult for every 8 children
• The rally can be held in French or German

Duration of visit and workshop: 2½ hours minimum

A discovery game, teaching children to observes details of masterpieces on exhibition.