What is it?
A workshop is a brief but intensive event focused on a specific topic, with the aim to vastly improve skills or knowledge in a short space of time.
What does it involve?
Workshops can revolve around almost any topic, but the basics generally concern themselves with achieving a target or a setting a problem for the group to solve. The leader of a workshop is usually an expert in the set area, and provides the plan for the session and guides the participants though.
Why do it and what are the benefits?
Attending a workshop can be great for really engaging students in a subject they may not have had an interest in beforehand! Setting a short term target, encouraging teamwork and the promise of a rewarding outcome can all really involve students in workshop activities, and increase their enjoyment of a topic while improving their abilities.
What equipment do we need?
Workshops do generally need some equipment, but if you're using an activity provider they will probably supply everything you need - make sure to check beforehand if you need to bring anything.
Who is it suitable for?
Generally suitable for all ages as the topic and complexity can be varied to fit all needs!
Costs?
The costs of a workshop will depend on whats involved in it and if you have to pay for supplies, but the general price per student shouldn't be too high.
Issues/Things to think about? (unsuitable for age groups, medical conditions etc)
Make sure to tailor the workshop to the students, and not vice versa - this activity can be incredibly effective if utilized in the right manner, and you should be certain that you can get the most out of the session.
How do we include?
As long as you make sure the workshop is the right one for your group, it should be easy to include everyone! The main component of a workshop is engaging with what's going on around you, and if the fellow particpants are familar to those with disabilties it should be easy to make sure everyone has a good time.
Doing it abroad?
Workshops can be found all around the world in varying forms - most popular museums will have some kind of activity available to learn more about the topic of interest.
Main website:
Consult individual websites to see what activities a venue can provide.
Wander through the elegant home of Susanna Shakespeare and her husband, Dr John Hall. Enjoy the luxurious rooms and beautiful decoration of this fascinating house, befitting a wealthy physician of Dr John Hall's status.
Relax in the beautiful gardens and breathe in the fragrant herbs as used by Dr Hall in his remedies.
Highlights at Hall's Croft
This museum is located on the site of the Scottish Archery Centre in North Berwick. The museum is named in honour of the Borders longbow archer Dick Galloway.
The water flumes and wave machine are a big hit with kids of all ages and the leisure pool provides fun and frolics as well as swimming lessons.
Twickenham is home to the England rugby team and its museum celebrates the players' successes.
The World Rugby Museum, in the East Stand of Twickenham Stadium, formerly opened as ‘The Museum of Rugby’ in 1996. It became the World Rugby Museum in 2007.
A stark symbol of power, Chirk Castle was completed in 1310 during the reign of the conquering Edward I to subdue the last princes of Wales. Built on an outcrop above the meeting point of the rivers Dee and Ceiriog, the imposing silhouette of the castle was a brooding statement of English intent in these disputed lands.
Coughton Court has been the home of the Throckmorton family since 1409. It holds a unique place in English history with its close connections to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
The Manx Museum is bursting with artefacts and treasures unique to the Isle of Man. The Island’s 10,000 year history is presented through film, galleries and interactive displays. The perfect starting point on your journey of discovery around our Island and its Viking and Celtic past.
Dudley Leisure Centre is a modern leisure complex centrally situated in the town of Dudley. Comprising of pools, sports halls, fitness suite, squash courts & rooms, the centre caters for sports, fitness and recreation activities. Our facilities also allow us to cater for meetings, birthday parties & functions.
Gym
One of the finest surviving medieval halls which contains the legendary Round Table.
Round Table
The Round Table has been famous for centuries for its links with the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
Queen Eleanor's Garden
A re-creation of an enclosed medieval garden.
Schools
Old Trafford cricket ground in Manchester is home to the Lancashire County Cricket Club Museum.
Lancashire cricket history dates back to the Manchester Cricket Club, set up in the early 19th century. The county side was established in 1864.
A grand country house near Glasgow city centre, Pollok House is Scotland's answer to Downton Abbey and gives a real taste of upstairs/downstairs life in the 1930s.
Children can learn through activity what it was like to live in the House and be a servant in Victorian times. Cost £2 per head (or £1 per child if your school has an educational membership of the Trust).
Set in the peaceful Wiltshire countryside beside a lake, Old Wardour Castle, near Tisbury was once one of the most daring and innovative homes in Britain. It was built in the 14th century as a lightly fortified luxury residence for comfortable living and lavish entertainment. Today the castle ruin provides a relaxed, romantic day out for couples, families and budding historians alike.
This 400-year-old castle in the former mill town of Menstrie at the foot of the Ochil Hills is part of the Clackmannanshire Tower Trail.
The ground floor houses a fascinating slice of Scottish-Canadian history in a museum dedicated to the founding of Nova Scotia by Sir William Alexander, who was born here in 1577.
Ever wanted to see behind the scenes at the home of Stoke City Football Club? Well now you can!
Tours of the Britannia Stadium are available throughout the week and give supporters full access to rooms and suites that most will have never seen before.
Tucked away behind stone walls in the charming village of Inveresk, this delightful hillside garden offers an oasis of calm and a year-round feast for the senses.
School visits are arranged through the ranger service.
Swansea Museum is a real treasure house of the ordinary and the extraordinary from Swansea past and present, and is a focus for the future of the city and its people, as well as providing a visitor experience that we hope you find enjoyable. You are able to visit Swansea Museum at four locations - the Museum itself on Oystermouth Road, the Tramshed in Dylan Thomas Square in the Marina, the Muse
Step back to the early 1900s and enjoy a grand day out, Edwardian-style! Play our hickory lawn game and a spot of croquet, try your hand at billiards, outwit your chums in fun parlour games and more.
The site provides Insight into rural Scottish life 200 years ago. Housing one of Scotland's finest folk collections, this museum shows exactly how the country's rural workforce used to live. Children can experience a Victorian classroom, see how people lived and worked, and dress up in traditional costumes. Groups will be split into small groups of no more than 10 pupils.
Shirehall Museum is in a 16th century building that was built as a hostel for important visitors to the Augustinian priory next door. In the 1770s it became Walsingham’s court house and the court room, which was in use until 1971, is still intact.
Witness two opposing kings - Robert the Bruce and Edward II - whose tactics in 1314 changed the path of Scotland's history, forever.
The Tenement House provides a rare glimpse into life in Glasgow in the early 20th century, in the faithfully restored four-room house lived in by Miss Agnes Toward for over half a century.
School visits must be booked in advance by telephoning the property. Weekday mornings (March to October) are available for visits by school groups and other large parties.
Located at the western tip of the Ardmeanach peninsula on the island of Mull, this nature reserce is recognised as a National Scenic Area and a Special Area of Conservation, but is probably best known for being home to MacCulloch's fossil tree. Ranger-led activities to meet curriculum requirements can be organised by arrangement.
Windsor Castle, an official residence of The Queen and one of her favourite homes, is the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world. Since the building of a wooden fortress here at the time of William the Conqueror, the Castle has been transformed over the centuries into a splendid palace, while still retaining much evidence of its turbulent past.
It was in this house that Thomas Carlyle, the great Scottish social historian and one of Britain's most influential writers and thinkers, was born in 1795.
Many of Carlyle's belongings are still in situ, along with domestic items of the time, providing an authentic glimpse into Victorian life and a fascinating insight into Thomas Carlyle's early years.
The Bushcraft Company offer residential school trips with a difference, taking students into the wild and giving them real back-to-nature experiences they will never forget.
A 15-year-old boy fell 60ft over the edge of a cliff whilst on a geography school trip, miraculously only suffering minor injuries.