What we offer to schools
As a team we offer school visits, videoconferencing sessions and teaching resources on the Aztecs/Mexica and on the Maya (KS2 History) and on the Spanish Conquest 1519-1535 (GCSE History).
Since 1980 we have used music, dance, drama, costumes, artefacts, crafts, slides and other media to bring Mexican history and culture alive to some 220,000 British school children.
Both our current team illustrated presentations on the Aztecs and on the Maya are a cross between an illustrated talk, workshop and full-scale theatrical performance. In a single morning the team bring a term’s study of the Aztecs or the Maya to life in a way no book or static exhibition possibly can.
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Graciela, co-Director at work |
Find out more by going to our main Aztec or Maya pages (click on Aztecs or Maya at the top of this page). For booking details and charges, please ring the team on 020 7622 9577 or email info@mexicolore.co.uk.
“Mexicolore ... the highly successful teaching team”
British Museum Education Service
Here's what others have said:
45 At 10.42pm on Saturday January 27 2024, Gaby wrote:
Hello, from México.
While I was doing some research about my thesis, I found out this website, it’s so nostalgic this aesthethik.
i’ll keep an eye on your site, see what this is about, sounds cool and interesting.
PS. My thesis is about vanilla
Mexicolore replies: ¡Hola, Gaby! Thanks for visiting. Let us know when you finish your thesis - if it’s on vanilla we’d consider uploading it to the website...
44 At 7.59pm on Thursday January 26 2023, Auden wrote:
Thank you for your research on simple ancient machines made by the Aztecs. It helped me with my STEM IV research project.
43 At 4.11pm on Wednesday February 19 2020, Mr Bebbington wrote:
When I saw the Mexicolore presentation last year I was spellbound. This year - it was even better! So much information, presented in such an interesting and memorable manner. I asked our history coordinator to think about next year’s booking already. If you are studying the Maya - this is a must!
Mexicolore replies: Thank you for your kind words: we owe you a bottle of tequila...! Ferndown Middle is truly a superb school, we have sensed and admired the positive, warm, friendly, supportive whole school ethos on each of our visits to you. The pupils are particularly fortunate to be a part of such an excellent learning community.
42 At 9.09am on Wednesday March 6 2019, Kate wrote:
Omg it was so cool
41 At 9.07am on Wednesday March 6 2019, Macoto wrote:
This is amazing
40 At 10.49am on Friday June 8 2018, Shemsi Warboys wrote:
You came to my school in Birch Hill today and I absolutely loved your presentation. I enjoyed playing the drums and dressing up and it was nice to help you pack away at the end. Thanks for coming,
Shemsi x
39 At 2.24pm on Wednesday January 10 2018, Amalia Pickles wrote:
We had Ian and his granddaughter, Johanna, visiting our school in December as part of our Maya civilization topic. What a treat! Year 6 were absolutely enthralled by the whole experience. Fascinating facts, interactive activities, music, dance, rituals; we all had a wonderful time and learnt so much about Mexico and its rich culture. Gracias, Mexicolore!
Mexicolore replies: ¡Gracias a Uds! It’s feedback like yours that keeps us going. We enjoyed very much working at Northumberland Heath Primary.
38 At 9.02am on Monday June 19 2017, J Paddle wrote:
Hi Ian and Jo! What an amazing experience you gave us. Thank you so much for the wonderful Aztec workshop you provided for our Year 4 girls this morning. They had the most amazing time!
Mexicolore replies: Many thanks, Juliette. We much enjoyed working with you - despite the tropical heat! We were impressed by the girls’ behaviour and keenness to learn. They asked some perceptive questions!
37 At 3.32pm on Thursday February 9 2017, Dave jones wrote:
Hi there, our sons school is welcoming you in the coming months, the school is charging £6.50 per child for your services, so that acquaites to around £780 for your visit. I am finding it difficult to understand the cost of this visit with what you bring to the children’s education and can only imagine that if you want to educate the children then surely you would be providing a cheap or free service. Please enlighten me !
Mexicolore replies: Jeez, £780??!!! We wish we were paid that much for a visit! We charge roughly half that amount for a full team visit. This is a flat rate no matter how many kids are involved. We often present to 1,2,3,4, even 5 classes or more together in the school hall, so the fewer the kids in the group the more expensive per child. They all take part. The programme is physically exhausting for us (wait till you see it!) and requires arriving at the school around 7.30 am in order to be set up and ready (often involving travelling a couple of hours from our base in London just to get there). This is our living. Quite how you expect us to do it for free leaves me perplexed.........!
36 At 3.57am on Thursday March 10 2016, Mrs Hereward wrote:
Thank you for coming to Danes Hill. It was an amazing morning.
35 At 12.49pm on Saturday June 20 2015, Atheshan wrote:
Thank you for coming to Lathom Junior School
34 At 3.25pm on Monday March 16 2015, Lucy-ann Morton wrote:
Thank you Ian and Joanna for providing a wonderfully engaging, informative and entertaining workshop to our group of Year 4 children today. You have have a wealth of knowledge and an impressive array of artefacts. Thank you for sharing with us!
Mexicolore replies: Thank you, Lucy-ann, for inviting us to Norwood Green Junior School today! We thoroughly enjoyed working with you all and were impressed with the kids’ enthusiasm and thoughtful questions...
33 At 2.28am on Thursday November 27 2014, James knight wrote:
Hi Ian it’s james I really enjoyed when you came to us on Monday it was really fun thank you.
Mexicolore replies: Cheers, James, thanks for your message! We too enjoyed our visit to St. Paul’s in Thames Ditton. Enjoy the rest of your Aztecs topic...!
32 At 4.02pm on Wednesday June 25 2014, chicazteca wrote:
Hola. Me topé con esta página de Internet navegando en internet. ¡Qué buena fuente de información! Me encantaría ver este sitio modernizado sin perder la calidad que lo caracteriza. Me encantaría ver eventos relacionados con Mexicolore en el área de West Midlands y poder colaborar. Saludos cordiales.
Mexicolore replies: ¡Gracias por tus comentarios! Sí, estamos concientes de que hay que modernizar el sitio: un día de estos... (en serio). Mientrastanto, si te encuentras un día en Londres, pasa a vernos y podemos intercambiar ideas y posibles colaboraciones. Muchos saludos y gracias de nuevo.
31 At 8.08am on Friday February 15 2013, James lord wrote:
I saw mexicolore two days ago and it was amazing. I wish i could see it again
30 At 11.51am on Wednesday February 13 2013, Jamie Higgins wrote:
Mexicolore is exciting and great fun. It teaches you a lot about the Aztecs.
29 At 11.36am on Wednesday February 13 2013, Sachin Wadhwani wrote:
I have just come back from a thrilling, exciting Mexicolore Aztec exhibition. It was quite interesting and intriguing.
28 At 7.01am on Saturday February 2 2013, leoni wrote:
Hi! you came 2 my scool bovingdon primary academy a few wks ago-please can u tell me about their religion?
Mexicolore replies: Hi Leoni. Thanks for writing. We love coming to Bovingdon!
We’ve recently added a page for kids called ‘Basic Aztec facts: AZTEC GODS’, which should give you a good introduction. Click on our Kids site and you’ll see it...
27 At 5.57pm on Thursday December 13 2012, Frypan Xocoyotzin wrote:
I wish u could come to my school :-D
You’re awesome
26 At 5.39am on Sunday December 2 2012, Orla wrote:
Thank you so much for coming to St.Georges school. We all loved it. I learnt loads!
25 At 5.38am on Sunday December 2 2012, Orla wrote:
Thank you so much to coming to my school. It was amazing. All my friends have been talking about how fun it was!
24 At 2.24pm on Tuesday May 29 2012, samiha wrote:
Hi! Do you remember coming to our school.Lathom Junior school.It was really fun especially all the drama and the slide show and also the pictures.They were beautiful!It was a shame that Graceila couldnt come though. Thank you for coming and i have learnt an AMAZING amount of history about the Aztecs and about Mexico. Thank you.
Mexicolore replies: We certainly do remember Lathom Primary! A great atmosphere there and delightful kids... Thanks so much for writing in!
23 At 11.56am on Tuesday May 22 2012, Sachi wrote:
I was so impressed with the way you made the Aztec culture “live”, engaging every single boy in the workshop at Donhead today. The culture is so rich, so deep and so interesting! We have still lots to learn from. Thank you! Sachi
22 At 10.34am on Friday March 2 2012, Elieza wrote:
Thank you so much for your amazing workshops and teaching the children about Mexico, they had a fantastic time which we will never forget!
21 At 1.55pm on Wednesday February 29 2012, Ellie wrote:
you came to my school (royal masonic)it was lots of fun i really enjoyed it!Unfortunatly your wife was poorly and unable to come but it was still very fun.[I got to play a drum!!!!]
20 At 12.18pm on Wednesday February 29 2012, Millie wrote:
You came to our school [Royal Masonic School for Girls]and I loved it!
19 At 1.40pm on Thursday July 1 2010, Sarah wrote:
You came to my school a few weeks ago (GMS All through school) because we were having International Week and the presentation you did was AMAZING! I loved all the Mexican aretefacts! We’re learning about the Aztecs and I really enjoy doing this topic! I hope you come again so my younger brothers can see it too!
Mexicolore replies: Thanks, Sarah, we enjoyed our visit to Great Missenden (even though it was a baking hot day!) Keep in touch...
18 At 12.20pm on Thursday March 25 2010, holly wrote:
hi i go to oak farm school u came to my school today i thought u were great and intresting THank iu for visiting x x x
Mexicolore replies: Thanks for writing Holly! We enjoyed working with you all this morning: Oak Farm is one of our all-time favourite schools: we’ve been coming to your school since 1995... Enjoy your Aztecs topic!
17 At 8.19am on Friday February 26 2010, lorenhunter wrote:
Thank you for a great time from loren hunter, Emmer green primary school Pupil
Mexicolore replies: You’re welcome, Loren!
16 At 7.46am on Friday November 13 2009, Colden Common Primary School Class 8 wrote:
We thoroughly enjoyed your presentation on the Aztecs this morning. Comments from the children:We love Mexico, It rocks, Can you come again?, It was great fun, I liked being the Sun! We learnt lots!
Mexicolore replies: Thanks for inviting us back, Jon! We much enjoyed working with you today and were VERY impressed with the way every single child and teacher dressed in ‘Aztec’ costume - talk about entering into the spirit of things...
15 At 12.51pm on Thursday November 12 2009, Lana wrote:
I saw you today at the British Museum..I thought you were fantastic and I learnt a lot about Mexico and Aztecs. Thank you for a great day! Love Lana at AB xx
Mexicolore replies: Glad you enjoyed the session, Lana! Thanks for writing in. Hope you enjoyed seeing the Moctezuma exhibition and that you weren’t too late getting back to Staffordshire this evening... All the best from Ian & Graciela
14 At 8.17am on Monday July 27 2009, Maria Martinez wrote:
Thank you for the fantastic workshops you did at Claycots School last May! The children learnt and enjoyed so much!
Mexicolore replies: You’re welcome, Maria. We greatly enjoyed working with you all...
13 At 2.39pm on Friday March 13 2009, emily wrote:
Can you remember coming to our school??? St.Andrews! we hope you are still traveling and helping kids understand all about mexico and the aztecs! happy cooking!!!!! emilyxXx St.Andrews school Chinnor
Mexicolore replies: Of course we remember you! One of our favourite schools - we’ve been coming to St. Andrew’s every year since 2004.
12 At 1.34pm on Tuesday December 2 2008, gemma & chloe wrote:
hi can u please come back 2 gcms please please come back like we said before cause was away every1 luved it can u email us back on the emails plz and put who u are luv chloe & gemma
Mexicolore replies: Thanks again, guys! This is Ian and Graciela, writing from Mexicolore! We’d love to come back to your school (we’ve been to Great Cornard 13 times already!!) You’ll need to ask your teachers to invite us again... Take care, I & G
11 At 1.31pm on Tuesday December 2 2008, chloe wrote:
hello u ok ?? plz come back 2 gcms. i was away so was my friend everyone says it was really good.please come back from chloe & gem
10 At 4.20pm on Sunday November 30 2008, lauren farthing wrote:
i loved having you 2 at GCMS it was so cool and so interesting :)
9 At 7.07pm on Friday November 28 2008, Tim Jones wrote:
it was so fun playing the shell and thanks for coming to GCMS
Mexicolore replies: You were great at blowing the conch, Tim - well done!
8 At 5.43pm on Friday November 28 2008, Georgia warsap wrote:
hello luv ya website it is so cool me and chloe peacock we where about to send u a email and then it was the end of brake time so hope u come back soon did u get emmas and chelsey email??? luv from georgia
7 At 1.58pm on Friday November 28 2008, chelsey and emma wrote:
hello it was very cool and fun could u send us some facts (emma wrote tht). i think we all had fun we luved it so much plz plz come bak next year h3h3 Luff Chelsey and emma
Mexicolore replies: Check out our Aztec quizzes section - there are some amazing facts there! Thanks again for writing in, and keep in touch...
6 At 5.36pm on Thursday November 27 2008, Adedayo wrote:
thank u for coming to redriff school we had fun dressing up and learning how to cook and speaking some spanish too thank you lots of wihes graciela and ian
Mexicolore replies: Cheers, Adedayo, thanks for writing. Redriff is one of our great favourites! Keep visiting our site to learn more about the Aztecs...
5 At 4.26pm on Thursday November 27 2008, georgia warsap wrote:
i loved tht u came to GCMS it was so cool dressing up in the aztecs clothes hope u come again luv georgia
Mexicolore replies: Hope we get invited back next year! See you then?! All the best, Ian & Graciela
4 At 12.58pm on Thursday November 27 2008, gemma ayres and chloe peacock wrote:
This is a really good website. wel luved tht u came 2 are school. hope u come again for my friend was away. so thanks luv chloe and gemma
Mexicolore replies: Maybe see you next year?! Keep chanting: Aztecs, xxx, Aztecs, xxx...!
3 At 5.04pm on Sunday November 16 2008, sophie thompson wrote:
i think your website is very intresting, i realy enjoyed browsing sophie age 10
Mexicolore replies: Thanks for writing in, Sophie! We hope your interest in the Aztecs will continue for a long time...
2 At 7.38pm on Friday October 3 2008, daniel stubbington wrote:
i loved it when you came to freegrounds i helpt you tide up
1 At 5.21pm on Monday September 29 2008, ellie wrote:
this is great website love it so much it is so good