Black Country Living Museum
Step into the heart of the Industrial Revolution at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, a 26-acre open-air site recreating life in the West Midlands from the 18th century to the 1970s.
This open-air museum offers a tangible journey through history, allowing students to experience firsthand the sights, sounds, and smells of the past.
Students explore over 50 reconstructed buildings—including shops, houses, factories, a drift mine, tram depot, and canal tunnel—alongside costumed interpreters who bring local history to life. Guided or self-led trails reveal stories of colliery workers, engineering innovators, suffragettes, and craftspeople while pupils engage with living exhibits, hands-on activities, and period environments.
Subject Focuses
- History & Citizenship: Industrial Revolution, labour heritage, urban development, social campaign history
- Science & Engineering: Early steam engine, transportation systems, coal mining technology
- English & Drama: Historical storytelling, spoken accounts, interpretive role play
- Art & Design / Materials Technology: Traditional crafts including metalwork, sweet-making, woodworking
- Geography & Economics: Industrial geography, resource extraction, supply chains, trade routes
