New
New
Year 2

The Great Exhibition

I can describe what the Great Exhibition was and why it was significant.

New
New
Year 2

The Great Exhibition

I can describe what the Great Exhibition was and why it was significant.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Many people in Victorian Britain were proud of new inventions that were introduced at that time.
  2. Prince Albert was one of these people; in 1851, he organised the Great Exhibition to celebrate new modern inventions.
  3. The Crystal Palace, a huge steel and glass building, was built for the exhibition.
  4. Albert invited inventors from all over Britain and the world to show off their inventions.
  5. More than six million people, roughly a third of Britain's population, visited the exhibition.

Common misconception

Pupils may think that the Crystal Palace is still standing or that it can be seen or visited today.

The Crystal Palace was a temporary structure built for the exhibition. It was relocated and rebuilt in another part of London but was later destroyed by fire. The surrounding area was then named Crystal Palace to show how important the structure was.

Keywords

  • Invention - an invention is something new that has never been created before

  • Modern - something to do with the present or current time is described as modern

  • Exhibition - an exhibition is a public show of art, crafts, products, or skills

Many items we use every day and would struggle to live without were invented by Victorians. Pupils may be surprised to hear that the computer, phone, lightbulbs, heating, lawn mowers and even the first ice cream maker were all invented by Victorians.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Cities were not very polluted in Victorian times.
True
Correct answer: False
Q2.
Historians know lots about changes during Victorian times because there are lots of…
houses
children
trains
Correct answer: paintings
Q3.
Why did people move from the countryside to the city in Victorian times?
Correct answer: to work in factories
to go to school
to go on holiday
Q4.
London looks like a very nice city in Gustave Doré’s picture “Over London By Rail”.
True
Correct answer: False
Q5.
Who worked in factories in Victorian times?
Correct answer: children
Correct answer: women
Correct answer: men
Q6.
A Victorian factory would have a very tall with lots of smoke coming out of the top of it.
Correct Answer: chimney, chimny, Chimney

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the words to the correct meaning.
Correct Answer:modern,something to do with the present or current time

something to do with the present or current time

Correct Answer:invention,when someone makes something brand new from a clever idea

when someone makes something brand new from a clever idea

Correct Answer:exhibition,a public show of art, crafts, products or skills

a public show of art, crafts, products or skills

Q2.
Who organised the Great Exhibition?
Queen Victoria
Correct answer: Prince Albert
Queen Elizabeth II
Prince Charles
Q3.
The Crystal Palace, a huge steel and glass building, was built for the exhibition.
Correct answer: True
False
Q4.
More than __________ million people visited the exhibition.
2
4
Correct answer: 6
8
Q5.
Albert invited inventors from all over Britain and the to show off their inventions.
Correct Answer: world, globe, other countries, countries
Q6.
Which of these were invented in Victorian times?
Correct answer: flushing toilet
Correct answer: electricity
Correct answer: light bulbs

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