The Secret Life of the Home

The Secret Life of the Home presents a range of domestic appliances used for washing and ironing clothes, preparing and cooking food, heating and cleaning the home, entertainment and so on. Lively cartoons are used to illustrate the use of many of the objects, and hands-on exhibits help to explain how some machines work.

Use the gallery to explore the following key ideas relating to Science and Design Technology:

1. Appliances have been developed to assist a range of domestic chores.

2. The design of appliances (including the materials used to make them) has changed, especially in the last hundred years.

3. Electricity has replaced other forms of power used to operate many domestic appliances.

Some questions to encourage discussion of the exhibits:

1. What was used before flush toilets?

2. How are the carpet beater, sweeper and vacuum cleaner different/the same?

3. How is the mushroom stone (aka rubbing stone) different from the other irons?

4. How has the design of irons changed over time, and why?

5. How did the charcoal iron work? Was it a good idea? Why?

6. How do a mangle and washing machine each get water out of clothes?

7. Why do the fruit peeler, raisin stoner etc have so many cogs?

8. What was used to power a washing machine/iron/vacuum cleaner before electricity?

The gallery is also great for KS2 work relating to the Victorians because many of the items on display date from that era.

Students could choose an exhibit and design an advert for it, or prepare a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style pitch to promote their chosen item to the rest of the class after the visit.