Lynn Museum: Crack The Crime Mystery Event

Museums offer a dynamic opportunity to show children new experiences and explore new things in an educational environment. Through interactive exhibits and hands on play, children have the ability to take get involved with their own learning and development. Yet, knowing this and it's only just occurred to me that we still haven't taken our little one to our local museum. So along with my mum, sister and her children and some of our good friends we decided to head over to Lynn Museum. But this wasn't just any day at the Museum. 

Fortunately for us we decided to go to the Museum on a special day as there was a Crack The Crime Day. Together Lynn Museum and Stories of Lynn decided to host a classic ‘whodunnit’! Parents and children got the chance to become an inspector for the day to try and help solve the mystery of the theft of a silver spoon. All the clues and evidence are taking place at Lynn Museum and Stories of Lynn who are working together presenting the evidence so we can work out who committed the crime.

The Crack The Crime Day started over at Lynn Museum which is home to the famous discovery Seahenge. It's full of medieval artefacts and object relating to the town of Kings Lynn and its maritime history, which was, at that time, a very prosperous and wealthy port, and it’s all laid out in such a way to make it a fascinating visit. We were all welcomed by Horace the tiger, with a friendly roar.

Our favourite parts of the Lynn Museum was the amazing display of the rise of the fairground rides and it’s link to Kings Lynn. As you can see the girls really enjoyed hopping onto one of the gallopers on the merry-go-round. As we went around the museum there were so many interesting finds that kept us all intrigued. It’s not a large museum and you need to give yourself two hours at the maximum I would say. It’s located right beside the bus station in Lynn so not difficult to find.

Now as for the Crack The Crime event we were greeted by a chap dressed as Sir Robert Peel who told us that he needed help in figuring out who stole the silver spoon. He told us that we would find suspects as we go around the museum and that we needed to ask them very important question to try to get to the bottom of the missing silver spoon. We were handed a notebook and pencil and headed into the Museum.

As we made our way around we soon came across our first suspect. As we began quizzing the suspect on the whereabouts of the silver spoon the girls got a chance to sit down and make their own Victorian wooden doll and cut out some clothes from fabric, everyone has an opportunity to make a dress, skirt or shirt. The girls couldn't wait to unleash their creative side with their own wooden dolls. 

As we continued to make our way around we got to quiz other suspects and look at the wall cases full of history. The museum has a large collection of medieval objects, including tiles, metal work, and stone carving as well a Pilgrim coins, badges, pots, jugs and bowls. With the last suspect at the Lynn Museum all the children got a chance to make some Victorian sugar sweets and take them home which was a lovely surprise for Daddy. It was the time to head to the Stories of Lynn for more suspects, more history and the court case.

Stories of Lynn is home to The Treasury a place especially designed to showcase some of King’s Lynn’s most impressive historic artefacts. On display is the King John Cup, a 14th-century drinking vessel, decorated in gilt and enamel; a very rare example of a secular medieval cup. We then came across our first suspect who was washing lots of clothes and so the girls rolled up their sleeves, put on an apron and began to wash the Victorian way! Each of them took it in turns to grate handmade soap, turn clothes inside out, and use fresh water and repeat the soaping, rubbing and wringing.

For us the most exciting part of Stories of Lynn was The Old Gaol House which began as a medieval prison with just four cells, then became a House of Correction, or Bridewell, housing petty criminals and debtors It was so eeries inside The Old Gaol House and we all had a chance to get into prisoner stocks and head towards one of the cells that was in use up to as recently as the 1950s. It was in here that we spoke to the last suspect who was a prisoner and the last chance to get any more clues. It was time for the court case. 

A quick game of Wink Murderer in the town hall as we were waiting for the court case to begin. We all piled into the court room and got some good seats as it was time to delivery the evidence and for the magistrate to give their verdict. After much deliberation the wrong man was accused and was sentenced to ten years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, whilst the real thief Lizzie got away with her crime and live out the rest of her days as a maid before retiring and moving away. My daughter wouldn't stop saying 'but Lizzie took the silver spoon' she couldn't understand why she wanted to tell lies.

But in a nutshell, our day to Lynn Museum and Stories of Lynn was one that we will remember. We were all taken back in time to discover a lot of history, we all got involved in questioning suspects and the girls got a chance to make their own wooden dolls, their own sweets and had a chance to wash laundry the Victorian way. The day was completely free but normally admission isn't too expensive anyway.  It was such a fun filled day and we all learned so much about that time in history.