Museums: who owns what?

A leading human rights lawyer has accused the British Museum of being "the world's largest receivers of stolen property". Should museums return artefacts to their place of origin?

Published 08 September 2023

This lesson is more than a year old. Please check the facts before teaching to ensure they are up-to-date and still correct.

Use this one-hour lesson to help your students:

  • Understand why some museums have been criticised for the artifacts they display
  • Explore examples in the news
  • Discuss the rules that museum curators should follow to decide whether or not an artefact should be displayed.

This Headline develops

  • Step 9:

    I develop ideas by asking myself questions

  • Step 10:

    I develop ideas by considering different perspectives

  • Step 12:

    I can identify some common themes in a news story, for example - power and injustice

Find out more about the Topical Talk skills and knowledge framework here.

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