21 Jan 2026
Bring history to life with Soane’s Portals to the Past, a brand-new Minecraft Education world created by Sir John Soane’s Museum London. This world and accompanying lesson plan are available for all users in the Minecraft Education library as part of our Social Studies collection.
In this thrilling world created by Block Builders, students embark on an epic adventure through the curious corners of Sir John Soane’s Museum before leaping through magical portals to ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. As they explore, they’ll unlock the building blocks of classical architecture and use them to design and build their own creations. History, architecture, and imagination collide, block by block!
Guided by Fan—the Soanes’ trusty dog—students take on interactive quests like painting Egyptian columns at the Temple of Karnak in ancient Egypt, assembling Greek columns at the Temple of Olympia in Greece, and chiseling Roman architectural details at the Pantheon. Each activity helps them discover how classical architecture shaped Sir John Soane’s work—and how these ancient styles still inspire designers today.
The journey wraps up in the Design Studio, where learners apply what they’ve seen across cultures to build their own architectural creation. It’s hands-on history that naturally powers social studies, visual arts, and design thinking in the classroom.
Soane’s Portals to the Past gives learners an opportunity to connect the past to the present moment and shape the future with creative thinking. Get this exciting new lesson and invite your students to step through the portal today!
