December 18, 2014
Children’s Audio Guide for British Library’s Magna Carta Exhibition
We’re delighted to announce that the British Library has received a grant of £10,000 from the Magna Carta 800th Committee to produce a children’s audio guide to be used in our exhibition, ‘Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy’, which runs from 13 March – 1 Sept 2015.
Working with the production company Acoustiguide, the British Library will develop a ‘voice’ of the exhibition designed for younger visitors aimed at 7-11 year olds. Visitors under 16 will be offered free entry to the exhibition and free use of the audio guide.
The guide will focus on 10-15 key objects from the exhibition, which traces the dramatic 800 year history of the Magna Carta. The exhibition will draw on the British Library’s rich historical collections, as well as borrowing celebrated international documents including Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten draft of the Declaration of Independence and an original copy of the Bill of Rights.
The audio will draw on professional actors to bring the story of the exhibits to life, encouraging children to interact with the content by asking questions and re-imagining scenes from history.
Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy, which is sponsored by the law firm Linklaters, marks the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta and will run from 13 March 2015 until 1 September 2015.
The children’s audio guide will complement a range of other resources designed to offer young people an engaging introduction to Magna Carta and the stories that surround it, including a schools programme and a new website to launch next year. The audio guide will be offered alongside a separate one for adult visitors.
Clive Izard, Head of Exhibitions at the British Library said:
“We’re lucky to have 800 years of history to work with in this exhibition, encompassing a host of characters and stories which have the potential to capture the imaginations of young people – from medieval serfs and barons, all the way through to more familiar figures like Thomas Jefferson and Nelson Mandela.
We’re grateful to the Magna Carta 800th committee for funding this specially-designed audio guide, which will be a key way to enhance the experience of families and young people visiting the exhibition.”
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