In this section
Even when you're at home...
… you can enjoy these activities, downloads, videos and audio recordings about Viking life and culture!
Scroll down for lots of content for children (including educational activities and videos), fascinating information about the Vikings and vintage video and audio from the original Coppergate excavation.
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Our new digital learning offer is now available. Find out more here.
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We are owned by York Archaeological Trust, an educational charity with a mission of ‘Building Better Lives Through Heritage’. The coronavirus crisis is causing unpredictable and significant concerns for JORVIK Viking Centre, our sister attractions and York Archaeological Trust as a whole. We have reacted to this challenge by developing a brand-new virtual engagement programme that will deliver similar on-line experiences to school classes, which we want to launch during the autumn term.
To help us create this valuable new offer for school children across the UK who cannot now visit our attractions, we need to purchase the technical equipment and learning resources to deliver it. If you enjoy this content, we would be hugely grateful for your support helping us raise £120,000 to cover the costs of developing and running this exciting and beneficial new project.
Great for Children
Activities and downloads for little and not-so-little Vikings, all created by JORVIK's Learning Team. Check out the sections below too, about Viking History & Culture and the Coppergate excavation.
WATCH and DO: Our Viking-themed ‘Shaking Hands With The Past’ video series
Discover amazing artefacts from the Viking Age. Alongside the videos, download the Curator’s Diary activity booklet (PDF, 1.98MB) to get children thinking about what they learn. Teachers, parents and educators can follow this guide (PDF, 2.19MB) to help with these activities.
WATCH: Thor’s Duel with Hrungnir
Sindri, one of JORVIK’s resident skalds (storytellers), shares a story about the famous Viking god, Thor, and a peculiar Viking superstition about sharpening stones. In this tale, Sindri tells the story of how Thor challenged the strong giant, Hrungnir, to a duel. Whose side would you be on?
WATCH: Virtual Vikings: Learning about Padlocks
Join Will from our DIG team and Oddny the Viking as they discuss the use of padlocks in Viking York. The replica padlock shown in the video is based on a real find from the excavation of Viking-age finds at Coppergate in York.
Parents/teachers/educators: use this guide (PDF, 675KB) to do some activities alongside the padlock, comb and animal bone videos
WATCH: Virtual Vikings: All About Combs
Join Will from our DIG team and Oddny the Viking as they discuss the decoration of combs and their possible use as a mark of status.
Parents/teachers/educators: use this guide (PDF, 675KB) to do some activities alongside the padlock, comb and animal bone videos
WATCH: Virtual Vikings: Uses for Animal Bones
Join Will from our DIG team and Oddny the Viking as they discuss the many uses for animal bones in Viking York.
Parents/teachers/educators: use this guide (PDF, 675KB) to do some activities alongside the padlock, comb and animal bone videos
WATCH: The Archaeology of Animal Bones
Join Sarah from our DIG team as she shows you some of the animal bones we study to learn about how animals were used in the past. Discover how archaeologists identify the illnesses and injuries of the animals, learn about their age or notice changes in their development over time.
MAKE: a Viking helmet mask (PDF, 483KB)
Download and print at home
COLOUR: Scenes from the Viking Age
Download and print at home
Jorvik Wharf (PDF, 1.11MB)
Viking shields (PDF, 0.98MB)
Vikings on the moors (PDF, 1.45MB)
Street-sellers on Coppergate (PDF, 1.63MB)
A Viking comb (PDF,140KB)
Viking artefacts (PDF, 1.63MB)
Viking people and animals (PDF, 728KB)
DO: Viking wordsearch (PDF, 378KB)
DO: Viking-themed puzzles (PDF, 425KB)
TRY: Viking Writing and Runes (PDF, 386KB)
TRY: Making your Viking name (PDF, 850KB)
Explore Viking History and Culture
Curious about Viking life? Read, watch and listen to content for adults and children alike
IMAGE GALLERY: Viking artefacts
See amazing finds from the Coppergate excavation, that reveal day-to-day life in 10th-century York
WATCH: The Viking invasion of England
WATCH: Viking Ships and Voyages
WATCH: Viking Food and Cooking with Leoba
Zoe (also known as the Viking Leoba) is a member of our JORVIK Viking Centre team – join her as she explores the interesting topic of Viking food and cooking.
WATCH: Viking Pottery with Wulfruna
Fiona (also known as the Viking Wulfruna) is a member of our JORVIK Viking Centre team- join her as she discusses the remains of Viking pottery found in York and how it brings us closer to understanding the lives of the Vikings.
WATCH: Viking music and instruments
Watch re-enactors sing and play replica Viking instruments, in the style we think the Norse would have used 1000 years ago.
READ: The Three Kings of Viking York (PDF, 2.24MB)
READ: The Viking City of Jorvik (PDF, 716 KB)
Why not do these colouring sheets of the Jorvik wharf scene (PDF, 1.11MB) and the street-sellers of Coppergate (PDF, 1.63MB)
READ: The Viking capture of York (PDF, 977KB)
READ: Viking place names and personal names (PDF, 1.92MB)
Plus try the Viking writing and runes activity (PDF, 386KB)
READ: Viking weapons (PDF, 1.06MB)
Plus download and make a Viking helmet mask (PDF, 483KB)
READ: Where did the Vikings come from?
READ: How did the Vikings live?
READ: Viking place names in the world around us
READ: The people you might have met in Jorvik
As exhibited at JORVIK Viking Centre
READ: The flora and fauna of Viking-age York
READ: Viking houses (PDF, 251KB)
READ: Viking foreign trade (PDF, 206KB)
READ: Viking coins and coin-making (PDF, 180KB)
Plus explore our image gallery of artefacts to do with trade and commerce
READ: Viking ships and sea-faring (PDF, 177KB)
Plus watch the video above
READ: Viking dress (PDF, 200KB)
Plus explore our image gallery of fashion artefacts, and do this colouring sheet
READ: Viking textiles (PDF, 179KB)
READ: Viking jewellery (PDF, 179KB)
Plus explore our image gallery of fashion artefacts
READ: Viking glass (PDF, 151KB)
READ: Domestic animals in the Viking Age (PDF, 93.5KB)
READ: Wildlife of Jorvik (PDF, 75.4KB)
READ: Written sources for the Viking Age (PDF, 175KB)
READ: Runes in the Viking Age (PDF, 163KB)
Plus try the Viking writing and runes activity
Discover the Coppergate Excavation
See the faces and hear the voices of the people who were at the once-in-a-lifetime excavation that uncovered 10th-century Jorvik
LISTEN: Voices from Coppergate
Hear from the people who excavated and conserved the Viking city in the late 70s and early 80s (4 clips)
WATCH: The Timbers of Coppergate
Some of the best-preserved Viking timbers ever found
WATCH: The Coppergate Helmet (2 hours 15 minutes)
An in-depth look at the discovery, excavation and preservation of the astonishing helmet found at Coppergate, now on display at the Yorkshire Museum.
WATCH: The Vikings Return
An extract from a 1984 documentary about the opening of JORVIK Viking Centre, explaining how the settlement was reconstructed. JORVIK has changed a lot since then!
WATCH: The Vikings Return
An extract from a 1984 documentary about the opening of JORVIK Viking Centre, with Dr Peter Addyman describing the race against time to excavate and preserve precious artefacts and knowledge.
WATCH: Legendary TV presenter Magnus Magnusson talks about his involvement with the dig
READ: The Time Tunnel – how did we go back in time? (PDF, 127KB)
READ: Preserving the finds of Coppergate (PDF, 103KB)
WATCH: Prince Charles visits the Coppergate dig (no audio)
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We are owned by York Archaeological Trust, an educational charity with a mission of ‘Building Better Lives Through Heritage’. If you would like to show your support and offer a donation to York Archaeological Trust to help assist us during this difficult time it would be appreciated enormously.