Pack of 14 cards with map, quiz & teachers’ notes
Historic Royal Palaces asked me to produce a multi-lingual self-guided resource to improve the visitor experience for English, French and German teenagers at the Tower of London.
I asked wonderful artist and designer Tim Fishlock to join the project and together we created a pack of cards that illustrates and engages teens with the tales of twelve intriguing characters from the Tower’s storied past.
Update: Success of the trail at the Tower led to a second commission and the publication of a sister trail at Hampton Court Palace, ‘Courtiers, Cooks & Clockmakers’
BRIEF
Produce a self-guiding resource for 11-19 year olds (predominantly French and German) visiting the Tower of London that increases learning and improves the quality of their on-site experience.
APPROACH
The Tower of London welcomes hundreds of thousands of French and German teenagers on cultural trips to the city each year.
HRP education wanted to offer international students a tailored resource that give their (often) large groups a focus on-site, without creating bottlenecks for other visitors.
Our solution ‘Royals, Rogues & Ravens’ was a set of 12 cards, each focused on a different character from Tower history. Tim illustrated and designed the cards. I did the research and copywriting.
The pack includes historic figures such as Lady Jane Grey (‘The Martyr’) and William I (‘The Conqueror’) and some of the lesser known but intriguing characters such as Colonel Blood (‘The Thief’) and William Chaloner (‘The Counterfeiter’).
Each character’s story intersects with a special location or object at the Tower that students can visit, giving them a tangible sense history where it happened.
Students choose a route based on their interests and each card has reflective questions designed to encourage conversation.
Tim’s striking illustrations were unanimously popular with test groups, and which we hoped would elevate this learning resource into a souvenir and treasured reminder of the students’ London experience.
VISIT THE WEBSITE
The cards are available to groups visiting the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace.