We're very please to welcome Zoolab UK to host another of their popular Tudor animal workshops today, this time at Shakespeare's Birthplace. We talked to Zoolab's Georgie Jefferies to find out more about what she does and how it relates to Tudor times.
Zoolab is a National Educational Company carrying out workshops to Primary and Secondary Schools, Nurseries, Historical Venues, Events and the Care Sector with small animals. These workshops form part of the National Curriculum and are presented in a style that is suited to the audience.
Zoolab carry out Tudor workshops at all of the sites of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in school holiday times. These workshops are fun, engaging, involve small animals and enable the viewer to learn some fantastic historic facts without feeling the pressure of learning. I dress in character and carry out the workshops in a style of an urchin boy living in the time of Shakespeare's youth, comparing my life to that of Shakespeare's at the time. We cover subjects like Tudor dress, diseases, medicines and information on Shakespeare's family and home.
How do the animals link in? The animals link in to the workshop in the following way:
- RAT - this links in nicely with the plague and everyone gets to meet Bubsy, my favourite rat!
- SNAIL - In Tudor times, the Royal Colour Purple existed and could not be made using modern day dyes as we have in these times but Sea Snails were boiled instead to get this colour.
- TARANTULA & FROG - Tudor medicine mainly consisted of herbal remedies, but there were also some more outlandish remedies too - 'If you had asthma you should swallow a frog and a spider! , Oh don't get me wrong, you can have some butter to help it go down...
These workshops can be seen at the house on Weds 21st Dec between 12-4pm. Hope to see you there!
- Georgie Jefferies
Look out for more Tudor animal workshops in 2017!