Image: Submission from British School Milan
As part of the Stay Home Stories research project, children and young people have been creating maps which record their experiences of home during COVID-19.
You can view a selection of these maps on our website in a gallery. The maps have been divided into three themes: hybrid spaces, boundaries, and spaces within spaces, highlighting the variety of approaches taken and the creativity of responses we have received. From simple outlines of spaces to artistically and philosophically intricate representations of experience, every map has brought a personal and important aspect to the project.
Steve Brace, Head of Education and Outdoor Learning at the Society, said in a written piece for the Stay Home Stories website, “These maps provide more than a guide to help a viewer orientate around a particular place or location. They also illustrate how young people share their individual geographical consideration of the world, bringing their own meaning to fill in the blank ‘space’ of an undrawn map, through how they conceptualise and identify features and experiences. There has been much discussion of the impact of the pandemic on the COVID generation and the Mapping home strand of this project has provided an intimate exploration of children’s experiences of this unprecedented event.”
Get involved and take part
Stay Home Stories is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council as part of the UKRI rapid response to COVID-19. The project is led by Professor Alison Blunt, Queen Mary University of London, the Mapping home strand is led by the University of Liverpool in partnership with the Society and National Museums Liverpool.
The Society has also created a series of online resources to help teachers undertake their own mapping home activities with their pupils, which are available on our website.
Find out more about Stay Home Stories and follow the project on Twitter @stayhomestories.