Six Innovative Ways to Learn About Prehistory

by PlanMySchoolTrip
published 19 October 2026

3 mins read

From Stone Age hunter-gatherers, to Bronze Age builders and traders, and Iron Age farming communities. When we teach children about Prehistory in Britain they explore how people lived, worked and adapted over the time periods we know as the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age.

From the Mesolithic to the Neolithic, and through to the end of the Iron Age, this is a ridiculously large 500,000 years of history, so how on earth do we explain it to our pupils? Across the UK, schools can bring the topic to life through exciting workshops and outdoor learning school trips. Here are six ideas to inspire your pupils and bring prehistory to life.

1. Bring a prehistory specialist into the classroom

In no particular order, our first suggestion is perhaps the most accessible for all schools and we have some amazing WOW day style workshops to launch or support your topic. A visiting workshop can transform the school hall into a prehistoric discovery site. Pupils might examine replica Stone Age tools or Iron Age artefacts, or take part in a mock archaeological dig of an ancient site. They could be given the task of sorting finds into a timeline, or asked to discuss what objects can tell us about the people who used them, thousands of years ago. Costumed storytelling and drama can help children imagine daily life for Stone Age people, or Iron Age farmers on the cusp of Roman occupation. Use the form below, ask us about specific topics, we can tailor your Prehistory workshop with age appropriate activities to make the session suitable for different year groups.

2. Try prehistoric skills outdoors

In-school workshops give children wonderful insights into life in the distant past, but a day visit can take your experience to the next level. The outdoor sessions we feature let children explore many of the practical skills that mattered to early communities. Your pupils can try their hand at building the kinds of shelters people may have made in Neolithic times, or practise lighting fires to keep dry and warm. As well as day to day skills like making cordage, whittling with wood, foraging and cooking food. These activities will help teach them teamwork and problem solving as well as opening their eyes to how prehistoric people would have used the natural materials around them.

3. Step inside a prehistoric settlement

Heritage sites like Butser Ancient Farm provide another interesting way to engage with prehistory. As well as educators who guide the class through the lives of hunter-gatherers and early farmers, pupils get to explore reconstructed roundhouses to see at full scale the structures they lived in. A school trip to a reconstructed prehistoric settlement allows children to try flint knapping, den building, hunting and gathering, cooking food, or making simple pottery and weaving clothing.

4. Investigate ancient sites and local landscapes

Our fourth option is taking a day visit to a prehistoric monument, such as a hill fort, or barrow. Britain is covered in prehistoric sites and while it may be more of a journey for some city based schools, there are many that will be within easy reach of an impressive prehistoric landmark. A guided walk can help pupils look closely at the features ancient people left behind and consider why they chose particular places to live or build.

5. Make, build and tell stories

What about combining history with art? Creative activities offer another great way to explore prehistoric life. We can help you with activities to create cave inspired artwork, jewellery making, or building a scale reconstruction of a model henge in your school hall!. Storytelling would have been pivotal to life throughout Prehistory. Your children could imagine a hunting trip, a journey to a new settlement or a community preparing for a seasonal celebration. These creative tasks encourage pupils to use evidence and imagination while distinguishing between what we know and what we infer from discoveries that date back to this period of British history.

6. Use immersive and interactive experiences

For a more modern idea, how about making the most of immersive technologies like a stone age virtual reality experience, mobile planetariums, or online workshops and escape-room-style activities. Imagine being able to visit a digital reconstruction of Stonehenge, or follow clues to identify artefacts or meet a presenter who brings Stone Age finds into the classroom. You can! These formats can be useful when travel is difficult, or even as a followup to a school trip.

Take a look at our main Prehistory page and let us know if you would like help finding the perfect Prehistory trip for your school. Whether you choose an in-school workshop, or an educational visit to an ancient site, the best experiences give children time to get hands on and ask questions about the past, giving them a clearer picture of how people lived and how life changed through time.