Medusa is a Gorgon in Greek mythology who had snakes for hair! If anyone looked into her eyes, they would turn to stone. The Greek hero Perseus chopped off Medusa’s head and it was placed on Athena’s shield. Minerva was the Roman equivalent of Athena, and she too has a Gorgon on her shield. There was also a Gorgon directly over the entrance to Minerva’s temple, on the temple pediment. Can you make a snake-y Medusa Headband?

Watch the video and have a go at making a perpetual calendar! The original Roman calendar only had 10 months of the year. The Roman ruler Numa Pomoilius introduced Januarius (January) and Februarius (February) so the calendar contained 12 months. The last 6 months of the were named after the Latin words for numbers 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

Watch the video and have a go at making a Minerva Mask. The Roman Baths has a statue of Minerva. Minerva is the goddess of wisdom and cleverness in war. Her statue once had a tall helmet which has never been found.

A short instructional video, part of our Art Club Series, that combines visual and written instructions to create a Roman style helmet, as worn by the Roman goddess Sulis Minerva. Sulis Minerva was the Roman goddess worshipped at The Roman Baths. You can see the statue of the Roman goddess in the Roman Baths Museum today.

Bath is built within the hollow of the hills. There are green views in every direction from the city centre. The countryside is very close to the city centre. The landscape was used by architects who built elegant terraces and villas along the hillsides as the city expanded in the 18thcentury. In this activity sheet, find out more about the green setting of the city of Bath, explore artistic interpretations of the landscape, and have a go at producing your own drawing or painting.

The way Bath developed in the 18th century was directly related to the activities and interests of the wealthy visitors who spent several months in Bath each year for the ‘Bath Season’. in this activity sheet, find out more about the leisure pursuits in Georgian Bath, explore early cartoons and caricatures, and have a go at designing your own comic strip.

Bath’s Georgian buildings are built in the ‘neo-classical style’, which was a fashion for using ideas of symmetry, balance and ornamentation from the past, many of which had been used in ancient times by the Romans and Greeks. Top architects of the day designed buildings for Bath using classical principles set out by the famous Italian architect Andrea Palladio in the 16thcentury. In this activity sheet, learn more about the details of Georgian architecture, and have a go at designing and building your own architectural columns.

In the 18th century Bath became a fashionable place to visit and spend leisure time, catering for health and entertainment needs. The old walled Medieval town did not have the facilities or the space to house the visitors so the city expanded dramatically. Higgledy-piggledy Medieval buildings and narrow streets were cleared and Bath was transformed into a spacious and beautiful city. Terraces were designed and built in a uniform way using the honey-coloured limestone mined to the south of Bath at Combe Down. In this activity sheet, learn about the designing of the City of Bath as we know it today, and have a go at designing your own town.

Some of the more fancy Roman houses (villas) and public buildings like the Roman bath house had floors decorated with colourful mosaics made from very small tiles called tesserae arranged to show patterns and pictures. In this activity sheet, learn about mosaics and have a go at creating your own monster-themed mosaic designs.

Bath has the only hot springs in the whole of Britain. There are three springs in the city centre, with 1.3 million litres of water flowing through every day. This is enough water to fill up your bath tub every 8 seconds! In this activity sheet, find out more about the hot springs, have a go at creating a fizzing bath bomb, and mix a rainbow of paint colours.

A series of 5 lessons based around preparing, visiting and reflecting on a visit to the Roman Baths, building language and comprehension skills. The first two lessons can be completed before / without visiting the Roman Baths in person, using the suggested video clip.

There are two addresses associated with Mary Shelley in Bath. The first is 12 New Bond Street (adjoining the bottom of Milson Street), and though Mary used this address for much of her private correspondence, she also used 5 Abbey Churchyard and its associated reading room to begin writing. In this fact sheet, find out how the locations, lectures and learning in Bath inspired Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein.

Originally written as a series of stories published weekly, The Pickwick Papers is Charles Dicken’s first publication and tells the exploits of a group of men as they travel by coach around England . It has a connection to Bath, and mentions a number of locations and leisure pursuits. In this fact sheet, find out how the locations and past-times in Bath inspired Dicken’s writing.

Although he is more associated with his native Dorset, Thomas Hardy does have a few connections with Bath. In June 1873 he visited Bath with his wife to be Emma Gifford. She was staying in the city with Miss d’Arville who would chaperone them. He was inspired by his stay to write the poems ‘Midnight on Beechen,187_’ (1873), and ‘Aquae Sulis’. In this fact sheet, find out more about the city of Bath and how it inspired some of Thomas Hardy’s writings.

Featuring original footage from the excavations that took place at the Roman Baths in 2018, join us for a behind-the-scenes look at the excavations and meet some of the archaeologists and volunteers that were involved. In this series of videos you will be able to find out more about geophysics, excavating, recording methods, community archaeology and finds, and see some of the exciting discoveries that were made! For further reading, the geophysical report is also included.

Learn about the origins of Saint George, and have a go at making your own soldier helmet and dragon.

Find out how Romans used to measure, and have a go at making your own Roman Ruler.

Find out how Romans used weaving to create fabric. Have a go at weaving activities inspired by the Romans. Weave a paper plate rainbow, and create a woven owl inspired by the sacred owl of the Roman goddess Minerva.

Be inspired by a Roman cup that features a hunting related design. It was found on the site of a Roman villa at Combe Down near Bath. Have a go at making your own mosaic inspired by Roman design.

Have a go at these mosaic related activities. Complete the mosaic patterns, use the key to discover a mosaic pattern, create your own designs and follow our suggestions for making your own patterns.