Medieval Castle Project for Kids
Vincennes, Paris
In the Middle Ages, many people lived inside castles like this one. You can study pictures of different kinds of medieval castles, and the excellent book on castles by David Macaulay (called Castle), and then try designing and building your own model castle (as a group). Check out Kidipede's pages about medieval castles: the Tower of London, Carcassonne, the Conciergerie, and the Chateau de Vincennes.
First you'll have to decide on a site, then draw out the plan, taking into account the need for water inside the walls, and all the different things that made the castles safer to live in, in case they were attacked by enemies. Be sure to define the scale of your plan.
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(a project)
Once you have a plan, you can begin building your castle. You might use wooden blocks, or Legos, or sand if you are at the beach, or cardboard. How can you match the measurements on the plan to the measurements of your model?
Other activities:
* Making icons
* Building a castle
* Tournaments
* Making chain mail
bracelets
* Growing herbs
To find out more about medieval castles, check out these books from Amazon or from your local library:
Main Middle Ages project page
