Dewa Roman Experience, Chester
Since moving to Chester two months ago, wevre been making an effort to explore both the 'things the locals do' and the more touristy side of the city.
A couple of weeks ago, we spent the morning at a museum I remember fondly from being a child. I remembered the Dewa Roman Experience Museum was good, I remembered I had been to it, but that was about it.
The museum promises to help you 'experience the sights, sounds and smells of Roman Chester', and it certainly delivers. For a fairly small museum, they certainly pack in a lot of information and a lot of interactivity.
The experience starts in a darkened ship, with a voiceover telling the stories of Roman Chester, with signs on the wall beginning to set the scene and give you context. There's plenty to look at as you walk through this first section, which brings you to a room with a video screen. Here, a short film sweeps you back through time to the days the Romans walked through Chester, and really captures your imagination. We were in the room with a young girl and what we assumed was her auntie or grandmother and I honestly think all of us were as excited as one another! It's a short film but beautifully captures the history of this amazing city.
From there, you descend down into the start of my favourite section: an exploration of archaeology. I went through a short period when I was younger thinking archaeology was the path for me, and it's hard not to be amazed at the things on display in this museum. They've got things like coins and vases, but what's most interesting is the fact you're looking at archaeology in action. You're looking at an excavation site, and you can see the pavements of different eras all layered on top of one another. It really brings the worlds of history and archaeology to life.
The final section of the museum is really interactive. There are games, there's a section where you can smell things from lavender to a soldier's sweaty feet (steer clear of that one!) and amongst all that there are lots more artefacts recovered from the world lying beneath modern day Chester.
I left the museum really impressed. It's small but so well put together, and the archaeology aspect really brings the whole thing to life. It's a fab visit with children, but I really enjoyed it as an adult, too. They've done a fantastic job of telling Chester's oldest tales.
Sophie x
A couple of weeks ago, we spent the morning at a museum I remember fondly from being a child. I remembered the Dewa Roman Experience Museum was good, I remembered I had been to it, but that was about it.
The museum promises to help you 'experience the sights, sounds and smells of Roman Chester', and it certainly delivers. For a fairly small museum, they certainly pack in a lot of information and a lot of interactivity.
The experience starts in a darkened ship, with a voiceover telling the stories of Roman Chester, with signs on the wall beginning to set the scene and give you context. There's plenty to look at as you walk through this first section, which brings you to a room with a video screen. Here, a short film sweeps you back through time to the days the Romans walked through Chester, and really captures your imagination. We were in the room with a young girl and what we assumed was her auntie or grandmother and I honestly think all of us were as excited as one another! It's a short film but beautifully captures the history of this amazing city.
From there, you descend down into the start of my favourite section: an exploration of archaeology. I went through a short period when I was younger thinking archaeology was the path for me, and it's hard not to be amazed at the things on display in this museum. They've got things like coins and vases, but what's most interesting is the fact you're looking at archaeology in action. You're looking at an excavation site, and you can see the pavements of different eras all layered on top of one another. It really brings the worlds of history and archaeology to life.
The final section of the museum is really interactive. There are games, there's a section where you can smell things from lavender to a soldier's sweaty feet (steer clear of that one!) and amongst all that there are lots more artefacts recovered from the world lying beneath modern day Chester.
I left the museum really impressed. It's small but so well put together, and the archaeology aspect really brings the whole thing to life. It's a fab visit with children, but I really enjoyed it as an adult, too. They've done a fantastic job of telling Chester's oldest tales.
Sophie x
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