Children investigate what a bathing machine is and why people used them using Learn with Objects Seaside Holidays: 2, 10, 13 and 16 and other sources.
They are told the year is 1875, and a new and improved bathing machine design is required to keep Folkestone ahead of its rivals.
Working independently or in teams, their challenge is to create a sketch design and working model, to meet the design criteria below:
Competition for a New and Commodious Bathing Machine
Prize 10 Guineas!
A new and improved Bathing Machine is required for the prestigious sea-bathing resort of Folkestone in Kent, to be superior in all respects to those presently in use at rival resorts on the South Coast. In particular the new machines must have:
- A well-appointed changing room
- A way for users to get easily in and out of the water
- A means to prevent bathers being seen entering or leaving the sea
- An easy method of hauling the machine up and down the beach
- Safety measures to keep non-swimmers safe from drowning
- A device by which bathers can alert operators they want hauling back in
- An imaginative way to advertise them and stand out from rivals
Designs and models to be submitted to the Town Clerk, Folkestone Town Council, The Guildhall, Folkestone by 12 March 1875.
