Today, we were incredibly excited to visit the Florence Nightingale Museum!
In school, we have been learning all about Florence Nightingale’s early life, her time in the Crimea and her lasting legacy. We have used pictures to compare hospitals before Florence’s work, the Nightingale wards she helped to design, and the hospitals that we see today. Alongside this, we have also been learning about Mary Seacole, another important nurse during the Crimean War. Mary Seacole was a Jamaican-British nurse who travelled to Crimea using her own money after being refused official support. She set up the “British Hotel,” where she cared for wounded soldiers by providing food, medicine and comfort. She was known for her bravery, often travelling onto the battlefield itself to help injured soldiers, and she is remembered today for her compassion, determination and dedication to helping others.
We travelled by bus through Trafalgar Square, past Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament, before heading south of the river towards St Thomas’ Hospital, where the Florence Nightingale Museum is located – directly opposite Big Ben!
When we arrived, we first enjoyed our lunch together in the lovely park beside the hospital, where we were able to see the Mary Seacole Memorial Statue. It was wonderful to recognise Mary Seacole after learning so much about her in class, and we reflected on how she is now rightly celebrated for her important contributions to nursing and her care for soldiers during the Crimean War.
After lunch, we made our way to the museum where, to our amazement, we were met by Florence Nightingale herself! We took off our coats and bags and felt very lucky to discover that the museum was open just for us.
We sat down together as Florence began to tell us about her life. She spoke about growing up with her sister, Parthenope – whom she called “Pop.” Some of us really impressed Florence because we could pronounce Parthenope correctly! She reminded us how passionate her father was about education and how he always encouraged her to read and learn.
Some children had the opportunity to act out important moments from Florence’s life, taking on the roles of her father, mother and sister as she shared her dream of becoming a nurse. At first, her family hoped she would change her mind and even sent her travelling, but Florence remained determined. Eventually, she was allowed to complete three months of nurse training in Germany. Later, Sidney Herbert, the Minister of War, asked her to lead a group of female nurses to Scutari Hospital during the Crimean War.
We also saw Florence’s famous lamp, called a Fanoos. Florence explained that many paintings of her are not completely accurate because people in Britain did not know what she or her lamp really looked like at the time. The Fanoos is actually a Turkish lamp, which we found fascinating!
Afterwards, Florence sent us on a scavenger hunt around the museum. We searched for many exciting objects, including her lamp, dresses, medals and even her pet owl! (Our teacher isn’t a big fan of taxidermy, so carefully avoided that part!) We also had the chance to dress up in different costumes, from Florence’s dresses to Crimean soldiers and modern-day nurses.
At the end of our visit, we learned more about Florence’s legacy – what she is remembered for today. We explored how the uniform she designed for her nurses still influences what nurses wear now, including hats or caps similar to bonnets and badges showing their role and responsibility.
Finally, we made our way back onto the bus, very happy after such an exciting and memorable day. We loved bringing our learning to life and sharing this special experience together.
We would like to say a huge thank you to the wonderful parent volunteers who joined us on the trip. We had such a fantastic day and hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!
