Visiting and booking
Every year, the Maison du Souvenir welcomes more than 3,000 schoolchildren and their teachers. We would advise booking your visit as far in advance as possible so that you can be given a wide choice of dates. The most popular period is from the end of February to the end of June.
The Maison du Souvenir team is available to help teachers draw up their educational project before bringing their classes.
School syllabuses
Visits to the Maison du Souvenir form part of the history-geography-moral and civic education curricula from the last year of primary school (10-11 year olds) onwards. They can also make a meaningful contribution to French and art lesson plans. The new modules in the last year of high school (17-18 year olds), especially “history and remembrance”, can directly tie in with visits to the Maison du Souvenir too. Visits and activities are always tailored to the stage the schoolchildren are at.
To book: Please complete the form below or call +33 (0)2 47 65 24 89
Resources
The permanent exhibition
This exhibition provides an insight into the background of the massacre, how it unfolded and then the consequences of this tragedy for the village. The visitor trail explores nearly 200 archival documents and photographs and ends at a space given over to civilians in contemporary conflicts. The Maison du Souvenir stands in the village center, in the old café Métais, one of the few buildings to have escaped the destruction.
The permanent exhibition can be visited by school groups by appointment. Once the school has confirmed the booking, the Maison du Souvenir will send all of the documents needed to plan for the visit as well as an educational guide for designing a questionnaire for the pupils to answer.
The temporary exhibition
In a dedicated space, the Maison du Souvenir unveils temporary exhibitions all year round, on a historical, artistic or civic theme.
An information booklet
This booklet helps you to best plan for your visit and arrival on-site is sent out beforehand.
An educational booklet
The Maison du Souvenir provides each school with an educational guide Le sort des populations civiles en temps de guerre : Maillé, un massacre oublié (The fate of civilian populations in wartime: Maillé, a forgotten massacre). The first section is for the teacher’s attention, providing guidance in planning the visit, then there is a “questionnaire for the pupils” and ideas for teachers interested in the subjects raised during the visit to explore further. It is also possible to design your own questionnaire. The Maison du Souvenir team is available to help you draw up a new one.
A document of practical information relevant to different subjects (please enquire)
this can be used to work on approaches factoring in the new history and moral and civic education curricula. These modules have been designed to allow different educational approaches to be taken, giving each teacher extensive choice. Based on the most important documents in the exhibition rooms, this booklet suggests several lines of enquiry and related documents for delving further into a given theme, such as mass violence, remembrance around the massacre or repression. A wide range of teaching aids are available.
Our touring exhibitions
The Maison du Souvenir has produced a variety of exhibitions on themes to do with the village of Maillé’s history. These exhibitions are available for hire by schools, based on availability. Transportation and insurance costs must be borne by the hiring venue.
A database
The Maison du Souvenir gives its visitors, members of the public, teachers and students access to a database containing documents in connection with the village’s history, the background behind the massacre and World War II.
Bibliography
The Maison du Souvenir provides a list of reference publications bearing on the village’s history.