Kids' Area
Welcome to the kids' area, where you can learn about England’s history. Within each historical period you can discover more about everyday life in the past, including real people from the rich and famous to the general population, our properties and key historical events. There are online magazines under each section, plus videos, activities, games, recipes and much more.
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Competition: Design an English Civil War recruitment poster for your chance to win a £100 goody bag!
Learn all about the English Civil Wars and make a recruitment poster for your favourite side. With just a sheet of paper, some pencils, pens or paints and your imagination, you’ll soon be rooting for either the Roundheads or the Cavaliers – who are you going to choose?
Enter now!Spotlight on: The English Civil Wars
Explore our guide to the English Wars to find out what life was like: read about castle sieges, make your working model of Roaring Meg and discover some 17th century cures for smelly breath, wind, warts and more!
Plus: videos to watch, how-to guides, and a downloadable game!
Explore the English Civil WarsSpooktacular Halloween activities
Get ready for Halloween with our selection of activity ideas! Do you know why we carve Halloween pumpkins? Read our history of pumpkins to find out, then have a go at carving your own! Plus, get creative and make a scary mythical beast mask, cook up some spooky recipes or light up a dark night with a crafty castle lantern!
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Terrifying tales: discover the Byland Abbey ghost stories
Monks and nuns loved scaring each other with spooky tales. On this page, discover the story of Byland Abbey, find out about medieval ghost stories and then have a go at writing your own using our top tips!
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Why did people fear witchcraft? | History in a Nutshell | Animated History
We think we all know witches, with their black cats, broomsticks and bubbling cauldrons. But do witches really exist? Watch this video to discover the magical history of witches.
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HALLOWEEN HISTORY: WHY WE CARVE PUMPKINS
Will you be carving a pumpkin lantern this Halloween? Discover why we create creepy carvings each year and follow our instructions to make a lantern using the original vegetable of choice. Can you guess what it is?
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HALLOWEEN COLOURING
Get creative with our spooky Halloween colouring sheet! Click below to download, then use pencils, pens or paints to create your own gothic Whitby Abbey scene, as Dracula visits the ruins at midnight...
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Make a 3 course Halloween meal
Ask an adult to help you make these tasty recipes! Start with a warming bowl of pumpkin soup, whip up a 5 vegetable mash o' nine sorts and dip some delicious Halloween toffee apples for dessert.
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How To Make A Spooky Castle Lantern For Halloween
Watch our video and download the templates to make your own silhouette castle lantern! Choose your favourite English Heritage castle and follow our step by step instructions for this crafty project.
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How To Make a beastly Halloween mask
Make your own Halloween mask inspired by mythical beasts and heraldry. Simply download our templates, choose your mythical beast (or create your own!) and follow the instructions to create your mask.
TIMELINE OF ENGLAND'S HISTORY
Explore 500,000 years of the past with our expandable timeline, taking you on a whistlestop tour through some of the most famous moments in England's story. You'll meet emperors and conquerors, hear tales of fire and famine, discover inventors and adventurers, unearth prehistoric bones and come face to face with kings and queens.
Explore the timeline
THE KIDS RULE! History timeline posters
Travel down the riverbank and discover the changes each period brings, as you create your own mega-timeline of English history with our series of downloadable posters. Or, colour your own using our printable sheets.
Download your posters