The Creative Core, a leading visitor experience designer for museums, heritage and culture, has helped to invite imagination and wonder at the National Trust’s Sudbury Hall in Derbyshire with the addition of a new Children’s Country House experience.
The 17th-century mansion was originally the home of the Vernon family and is now cared for by the National Trust. It is a popular destination for families and features a Museum of Childhood in the former servants’ wing.
Working with children during the design process
Children provided the inspiration for the new visitor experience at the attraction, as John Orna-Ornstein, director of curation and experience at the National Trust, explains: “We invited children to take a look at the Hall itself and the historic rooms and decoration to develop an experience through their eyes.”
More than a hundred Child Ambassadors worked with staff at the Hall and artists to test ideas for the experience, taking part in both digital and in-person workshops. Based on the outcome of these sessions, the Core team created a set of concepts for new activities, themed environments and hands-on engagements. The designs were presented to the Child Ambassadors for feedback and prototyping, meaning that they had input all through the process, helping to shape the new visitor journey.
According to Jodie Lees, the general manager of Sudbury Hall, this process allowed the Trust to engage with its younger audiences in a new way: “The children have been part of this process and enjoyed sharing their ideas, thoughts and feedback, but above all, they love that this is somewhere tailored for them.”
“We jumped at the chance to take on this amazing brief and help develop a country house just for kids,” adds Nichola Ward, creative director at Core. “We wanted to explore the idea of learning through play by creating self-led and open-ended activities that encourage children to follow their instincts and see where the experience takes them.”
A range of fun and educational activities
The activities across the house reflect the historic uses and stories of each space. For example, children can use model ships on a mapped carpet to plan their own Grand Tour in the Talbot Room or use customisable portrait selfie booths to create a historic portrait of themselves in the Long Gallery. There is also a mystery escape room experience for older children in the family apartments, featuring riddles and challenges that are inspired by child evacuees who stayed at Sudbury Hall during the Blitz.
As they journey between floors, guests can observe the opulent craftsmanship of the restored grand staircase and can see more of its grand painting and plasterwork ceiling thanks to a rotating convex mirror. As well as exploring the history, art and architecture of the Hall, young visitors can also learn more about the work that takes place to conserve a historic house like Sudbury with the ‘Pantry of Destruction’. This is a room full of heritage hazards such as floods, fire, theft and pests.
Sparking a love of heritage in children
For this project, Core made use of its in-house facilities to prototype different solutions and manufacture the final displays. This was a key strength of the design process says Barry Yearsley, lead designer at Core:
“Having the ability to test exhibit prototypes and draw on our team’s production expertise meant we could be confident in the real-world performance of our designs, both in terms of durability, visitor experience and consideration for the Hall’s historic interiors.”
Orna-Ornstein says: “I hope that the Children’s Country House will spark a lifelong love of heritage in the children who step through its doors and that it will continue to delight all who visit with its creativity, magnificent beauty, and for the window it gives us into the day-to-day lives of the people who lived, worked and played in its rooms.”
Ward adds: “This is truly a country house like no other, where kids come first and feel empowered to explore without barriers. What could be more fun?”
Earlier this year, The Creative Core celebrated the shortlisting of Derby’s new Museum of Making as a finalist for Art Fund Museum of the Year 2022. The firm worked alongside the team at Derby Museums to design and co-produce the new museum with local communities.
Top image credit: National Trust Images/Annapurna Mellor
