Years 5 to 8

Galleries-based 90 minute sessions

Delve into Drafting

After a galleries challenge to learn more about Roald Dahl’s life, you’ll discover how he was the master of re-drafting! Explore his Writing Hut, where you’ll see real examples of the changes he made to his work and find out about James’s other giant fruits. Then use these processes to make your own re-drafting decisions.

Building Biography

Explore the galleries to learn about Roald Dahl’s biographical writing techniques from Boy and Going Solo. Discover the ways that he made the everyday seem special through real-life letters, headlines and extracts. Use what you’ve learnt as well as one of our ‘special objects’ to create your own bit of biography.

Unlocking Inspiration

Get creative in our interactive Story Centre to collect ideas for a class Ideas Book. Explore the galleries to find out about Roald Dahl’s inspiration for the worlds of Charlie and James. Then discover the author’s own Ideas Book with real examples that grew into stories like Matilda!

Archive-based 180 minute sessions

All of our archive-based sessions use examples from our collection of Roald Dahl’s drafts, letters and notebooks that your group won’t see elsewhere in the Museum. You will visit the galleries but this is for a limited time and the focus of your session will be in our learning space.

Explore the Archive: Re-drafting Roald Dahl

Discover Roald Dahl’s re-drafting process with examples from the archive throughout this session, including characters from the Chocolate Factory that you won’t have met before. Complete some hands-on editing activities, gobblefunk around with words like the BFG and hunt around the Museum for re-drafting examples from the master storyteller. Put all you’ve learnt into practice as you become an editor: turn Roald Dahl’s text into your own and send your feedback!

Explore the Archive: Ways To Create

How many ways are there to be creative? In this session, you will find out more about the creative processes that Roald Dahl used by trying out the same kinds of activities yourself. You’ll gobblefunk around with words like the BFG did and transform the Trunchbull. Explore different creative versions of Mr Fox’s story, then make your own version of a room from the Chocolate Factory that you won’t have encountered before. You will need to work together closely to create something amazing!

Village Trail

You can combine all our sessions with our self-led Village Trail which will allow you to explore Great Missenden and its connections with Roald Dahl.