Old things and new things
History · Early Years · The School
Clues that something is old
Worn edges, faded colour, rust, an old-fashioned shape, materials we do not use much any more. Look at two of the same kind of thing — two telephones, two toys — and say which is older and HOW you can tell. The 'how you can tell' is the history part.
Objects tell stories
A worn-out shoe tells you someone walked a long way. A chipped cup tells you it was used every day. Objects that survive from the past are called ARTEFACTS, and historians read them the way you read a book.
Museums
A museum keeps artefacts safe so people can look at them. Things are behind glass because hands wear them away — even gentle hands, thousands of times. If you have been to one, say what you remember; if not, many museums put their collections online for free.
Put in order, oldest first: a wind-up tin car, a scratched plastic toy, a wooden spinning top, a battery robot. Most people put the scratched plastic toy early because it looks worn. But plastic toys did not exist before about 1950, and the wooden top and tin car are much older. LOOKS old is not the same as IS old. Ask what it is made of, not how battered it is.