Suggestions for Primary Schools

Ages 5 to 7 (Key Stage 1) and 7 to 11 (Key Stage 2)

Henry Moore at Houghton Hall is the latest in a series of contemporary art exhibitions that bring young people of school age into direct contact with ground breaking artists within the setting of an English country house. Houghton Hall was commissioned in the C18th by Sir Robert Walpole to house his art collection. It is therefore fitting that young people can experience contemporary art in this unique context, contrasting the historic and the new. There are two subject suggestions explored at each educational level, relating to the work of Henry Moore on display in the park and gardens and in the house.

ANIMAL BONES


Look at the Henry Moore drawings of an elephant skull and think about how his drawings describe what forms a real animal’s head. The elephant’s skull has an interesting combination of gaps and holes in its surfaces where tusks have been. Looking at the features of the skull get your pupils to draw their favourite cartoon character as a skeleton or imagine the character as an X-Ray.

SUGGESTED  QUESTIONS

What would your favourite animated figure look like once stripped of their outer surface? Would the skeleton still look like a cartoon?

Would the character be able to stand up and walk? Would it have paws or fingers?

If the inside of your cartoon character is soft, will its outside look smooth or will its outer skin surface be wrinkly like an elephant?

Will the cartoon character look funny or scary?