Glasgow students create models of Historic Scotland sites

Students at Glasgow Metropolitan College have created models of Inchmahome Priory and Edinburgh Castle as part of their HND course in 3D Model Making.

The models were officially handed over to Historic Scotland today, Friday 14th May, at Glasgow Metropolitan College on North Hanover Street, Glasgow. They will be used at Edinburgh Castle and Inchmahome Priory as part of educational activities organised by Historic Scotland to support pupils’ learning.

The students made regular visits to the sites in order to study the building structures
and surrounding environment before designing their stand-alone and interactive models.

The project included making an interactive model of Inchmahome Priory, focusing on the priory buildings and their usage by different monks.  Groups of pupils will be given a board with a plan of the priory on it. They will explore the priory, searching for markers to identify different parts of the site.

The students also designed an interactive model focusing on priory life through medicines, including natural remedies, which will cover core areas of Curriculum for Excellence such as Health and Wellbeing and Science. The activity will centre around the Cloister where herbs were grown.  Pupils will have to work out which combination of plants and herbs will cure certain ailments of that time.  They will collect models of each herb/plant and place them into compartments, labelled with different ailments, in a tray.

Another model will focus on the island’s vegetation, in particular the trees. Working in small groups, pupils will have to find marked locations and decide which are the main tree species at each location.  They will work out locations using a map and  carry moulds of tree textures along with a booklet describing each tree type in order to work out they types of tree on the island.  This activity involves orientation skills, observational techniques and team work.

Sue Mitchell, Historic Scotland’s Head of Education  said: ‘”This is the culmination of yet another mutually beneficial project with Glasgow Metropolitan College. The partnership with the college has been running for around eight years now and has been a huge success.  The students have designed amazing visual aids and interactive models which have helped inspire young people to learn about their past. We now have models created by the students at a number of our sites including Stirling Castle, Bothwell Castle, Melrose Abbey, Elgin Cathedral and Urquhart Castle.”

Gordon Kydd, Lecturer, Glasgow Metropolitan College said: “These collaborative projects are invaluable in practical terms. The students gain a great sense of achievement as they complete a real job from start to finish and see the benefit of their work.”