A model ship, an afternoon gown, a bust of William Jones and a web of souls - students from 10 city schools imbued the sombre ambience of South Park Street Cemetery with life through an exhibition of installation art and storytelling.

From touring the cemetery, now a heritage site, to reading about the people buried there, the exhibition titled Our History Their Time helped students discover interesting slices of history beyond textbooks.

The first project that grabbed eyeballs was the one by Apeejay School, Park Street. Eight students created a model of a ship right next to the anchor-shaped tombstone of Captain William Mackay. "Our installation traces how Mackay and the East India Company came to India," said Anu Manjari Roy of Class IX.

Anu and her friends from classes VIII and IX were involved in research for the project. "It was fun leafing through encyclopaedias to find out more about Mackay and the East India Company," said Rajit Sen of Class IX.

An initiative of Think Arts, the exhibition was supported by the Christian Burial Board Kolkata, MACE and the Apeejay group. Ruchira Das, the founder of Think Art, Sudip Bhattacharya and Soumik Nandy Majumdar helped the students brainstorm and research.

Spandana Sen, Anurupa Das Sarma and Subhrajit Chowdhury of DPS Newtown focused on William Jones, the founder of Asiatic Society, and his contribution. Besides building a clay bust of Jones, the project involved several trips to the cemetery and the Asiatic Society. "We worked hard for three weeks. It was tough balancing school with research but we enjoyed this learning experience. We invited all our friends to tour the cemetery," said Spandana, a Class IX student.

La Martiniere for Boys had set up two installations. The first one, Web of Souls, linked three individuals - Mackay, Jones and Henry Derozio - in death. "All three are buried here. So in a way they meet in death," said Harshal Yaduka of Class XI. His team took three days to put together an installation of cloth, thread, notes and illustrations.

The second team from the school presented Past vs Present, a study in contrast of Calcutta today as against the 18th century.

Students of Lakshmipat Singhania Academy created a lore around tombs of adolescent British girls, while Sushila Birla Girls' School's The Calcutta Classics spoke about the lifestyle and fashion of the English gentry at the time.

Other participating schools were Silver Point School, South City International, The Akshar School, Patha Bhavan and Garden High International School.

Seven schools had put together a similar exhibition under Think Arts at the 18th century burial ground last year.