International Bomber Command Centre

Historical Borrow Boxes

Bring history to life in your classroom with an immersive borrow box. Allow your pupils to experience the trials and tribulations of Bomber Command through the exploration of genuine, historic artefacts and real-life recounts.

As a great alternative to visiting us for those with very large classes or where a trip is not viable due to time constraints or finances, we offer two unique boxes for your students to fully immerse themselves in what life was like for those who suffered, supported and served with the Command during World War 2.

For those planning a school visit to International Bomber Command, our borrow boxes are the perfect companion to consolidate learning when you return to school or once the exciting trip is no longer fresh in their minds! Loaning the Borrow Box before a trip to the IBCC would also be valuable in preparation for your visit.

Our borrow boxes come with suggested lesson plans for both group and independent learning, which aligns with the national curriculum, to help teachers with their planning. Get in touch to book this unique, hands-on experience for your class.

Book The Borrow Boxes

Artefacts Borrow Box

Our artefacts borrow box contains more than 20 unique artefacts, including a flying helmet, an original logbook, and even an escape map! This borrow box allows your class to handle genuine historical artefacts and become inspired by local history.

“We have created a scheme of work using the borrow box looking at experiences during WW2 with the borrow box lesson being the first. This is important as it allows us to introduce our students to local history and Lincolnshire’s important during WW2” – Teacher from The King’s School, Grantham.

The artefacts borrow box is perfect for inspiring students at the start of the topic; as an assessment tool to consolidate their learning at the end or as part of their ongoing learning to gain valuable insight. There are so many ways to utilise this amazing borrow box in your classroom!

Book The Artefacts Box
Children exploring the borrow box content | IBCC
box of sounds files | images and transcripts | IBCC

Borrow Box Of Sounds

The box of sounds combines history with modern technology to bring a unique historical experience to students. Hear the stories directly from those who served as their voice fills your classroom with historical anecdotes and memories.

Students can learn more about what life was like for Bomber Command during and after World War II by utilising a simple-to-use Raspberry Pi alongside scannable tags on each image or document. This unique experience works brilliantly as a stand-alone lesson or in tandem with our artefacts borrow boxes.

There are also transcripts included and lesson ideas and guides for teachers.

“Hands-on resources (that you cannot get anywhere else) bring learning to life and increase engagement. It helped children with their history skills, e.g., asking historically valid questions.” – Teacher From Washingborough Academy.

Book The Box Of Sounds
International Bomber Command Centre

How To Book A Borrow Box.

Booking our artefacts borrow box or the box of sounds is as easy as sending an email! Contact our learning team, and we will be happy to start the process with you.

Our borrow boxes are usually loaned out for a full week, which allows you plenty of time to utilise these within your class and even rotate these to other classes or year groups. We typically loan out the boxes from Saturday to Saturday to allow teachers time to explore the contents and plan accordingly but we do offer some flexibility if the boxes are not loaned out either side of your booking.

There is a charge of £50 for the artefacts borrow box per week and £30 for the box of sounds; however, if you wish to borrow both together, we offer a £10 discount. We also ask for a £100 deposit which is refundable when the boxes are returned to us.

Book A Borrow Box