How to choose an educational programme for your class
Start from the class, not from the topic
The commonest mistake when choosing a programme is to pick an appealing title first and only then think about who will be sitting in the room. The same historical topic has to be presented completely differently to nine-year-olds and to seventeen-year-olds, so the age group decides more than the era does.
Younger pupils respond to play and to seeing things: they need to touch, try on and move. Middle years shift towards doing it themselves — they want a turn, not a demonstration. Senior classes find the analysis most interesting: why war was fought that way, and what it says about the society. The programmes are built for those three levels of comprehension.
The three eras and the lessons they fit
"Knighthood in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania" fits topics on the Grand Duchy and the age of Vytautas the Great: the educators set up a small war camp with a display of weapons and armour, and pupils try on helmets and feel the real weight of plate.
"Nobility and warfare in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth" suits the 17th century and the hussars — it ends with a genuine drill of the period that the pupils perform themselves. "Court culture in Europe and the Grand Duchy" is different again: it is about etiquette and manners, so it fits not only history but ethics or dance lessons.
Funding: what the Culture Pass changes
In Lithuania all three history programmes are listed under the Kultūros pasas (Culture Pass) scheme, so a school can pay for them from Culture Pass funds rather than from its own budget or the parents'. In practice that means the decision sits with the teacher and the administration.
The booking procedure belongs to the scheme rather than to us, and it changes from time to time. So it is worth checking the current process before fixing a date — that avoids the situation where the programme is agreed but the payment is still being arranged.
Where it happens and what to prepare
Almost nothing. The educators arrive with all their equipment — weapons, armour and the display pieces — so the school has nothing to transport or borrow. No special hall or stage is needed either: the programme runs in a classroom, an assembly hall or the schoolyard.
We choose the space together with the school, based on the number of pupils and the weather. The one thing worth saying in advance is whether you are planning to be outdoors, because the rain fallback depends on it.
How many pupils at once — and why it matters
The right size is one full class. The reason is simple: the value of the session is that every child tries on a helmet, holds a weapon and takes part in a game. Once the group grows, some pupils inevitably become spectators and the programme turns into a performance.
So for a whole year group or several parallel classes we run consecutive sessions rather than compressing everyone into one crowded hour. That way each group gets the same level of hands-on participation.
When to book and what to write
Four things help us answer precisely: the date or week you have in mind, the class or classes, the approximate number of pupils, and the topic being studied if you want the programme to match it. With those we can suggest the era that fits rather than the first one on the list.
Autumn and spring are the densest months for schools, so those dates fill first — booking early decides whether the week you want is free at all, not the price. All three programmes are set out on the educational programmes page.