Using the visitor centre
EXHIBITION OVERVIEW
The building and the exhibition within it opened in December 2007. Many objects are on display for the first time. The displays includes many audio-visual features, multi-media programmes and handling material for pupils. It is large exhibitions,so allow enough time for pupils to make the most of their visit here, and pace your visit so that pupils don’t become overloaded.
Two stories
The exhibition is broadly chronological – starting off with the
pre-’45 years, and finishing with a section looking at the long-term
aftermath of the battle. However, a key feature to note is that in every
part of the exhibition until the Battle Zone, the left-hand wall tells
the story from the Government point of view, while the right-hand wall
shows the Jacobite perspective. This presents interesting teaching opportunities
for more specialist learning: some pupils could follow only the story
of the Government response and army, while others follow the Jacobites.
Threshold panels
The two stories are told on opposing walls through a mixture of text panels,
pictures and object displays, interspersed with audio-visual material.
The text panels are not designed particularly for children, and we would
discourage pupils from spending time in the exhibition reading –
something they could equally well do in the classroom. Instead, our notes
for discussion focus on looking at objects or listening to dramatisations,
and drawing out teaching points from these. However, each new section
of the exhibition is introduced by a free-standing Threshold Panel, positioned
in the middle of each display. These summarize the theme of the section
and include a contemporary quotation in English or in Gaelic (with translations).
It may be worth reading these with your pupils as you go round, to introduce
each new stage. The text from these panels is included in the introduction
to each section in these notes.
The building
The building has been carefully designed to reflect aspects of the story
it tells. This is partly achieved through the choice of materials. Stone
and wood echo the landscape and traditions which surround Culloden; many
of the graphic panels are printed on to wood, and elements are carved
into stone. The wall at the first point of the Government story is composed
of jumbled planks, which reflect the confused response of the Government
in the early part of the Jacobites’ campaign. This gradually changes
as the Government army gets organised, and by the time of the Night march,
it is the Jacobites’ wall which is confused and fragmenting. Another
point to draw out with pupils is that physical turning points in the exhibition
come at key decision points in the story.
Eyewitnesses
At a number of points throughout the exhibition, there are eyewitness
audio stations. Here pupils can experience dramatised eyewitness accounts,
based on material written by real people caught up in the events of the
time. Some stations show a mixture of Jacobite and Government accounts;
others give accounts from just one side. Jacobite characters are identified
by a white cockade. Each station gives visitors a choice of between 4-8
eyewitnesses. The first eyewitness to appear at each point is one which
has been specially selected to appeal more to younger visitors. Their
accounts can be listened to in English or in Gaelic and are also subtitled.
Symbols
In the years before the ’45, any signs of Jacobite allegiance were
suppressed. Jacobites had to meet and plot in secret. Because of this,
a number of secret Jacobite symbols emerged, which revealed to those ‘in
the know’ who was on their side. Pupils will enjoy ‘cracking
the code’ of Jacobite symbols, and spotting them on objects as they
go round the exhibition. Here are some of the most commonly found symbols:
- Rose and rose bud: the rose symbolises the exiled King James and the buds his heirs, Charles and Henry. The white cockade, a white ribbon worn by many Jacobites is said to have been derived from the wearing of a white rose in an earlier Jacobite rising.
- Moth – a moth may symbolise loyalty. Moths are attracted to light, and kings are often associated with images of the sun, which provides warmth and light.
- Butterfly – the butterfly, known for its spectacular hatching from a chrysalis may symbolise hope for the Stuarts’ grand return from exile.
- Oak leaf and acorns – oaks became associated with the Stuarts after Charles II hid in an oak tree after the Battle of Worcester Sunflower – another representation of loyalty, as the sunflower constantly follows the sun.
- Bundles of sticks – representing strength in numbers.
- Medusa head – the name Medusa in Greek translates as ‘protector’ or ‘guardian‘
