Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) first opened in 1885. It is housed in a Grade II* listed city centre landmark building. There are over 40 galleries to explore that display art, applied art, social history, archaeology and ethnography:
History
History
History tells stories about people, places and things to help explain to young people of any age why the world is as it is as they grow up and begin to question it.
Schools will choose different periods and settings and topics to cove during different Key Stages, but all of them are pretty well guaranteed to be rooted in actual places that can be visited, explored and enjoyed.
It has been a curious fact that for many years primary classes have studied the Roman, Anglo-Saxon and medieval periods, while secondary school syllabuses have been more engaged in post-medieval periods. For a while secondary courses involved a great deal of ‘topic work’. While this discipline still exists, the recent examination syllabuses have returned to an emphasis on historical periods and links.
But all periods and topics provide fantastic opportunities for school visits. We are so lucky that so many general and specialist museums and visitor centres exist in the UK. The problem is not a shortage of possibilities but how one sifts through the available opportunities to make choices.
The Historical Association website carries information about course, conferences, study tours, and the Association has published ‘The Historian’ magazine for many years. Handsam is also happy to help, please contact us on 03332 070737 or email info@schooltripsadvisor.org.uk.
Most venues will have teaching materials and activities geared to students’ different ages and aptitudes whether at primary or secondary level. All of them will set out to develop students’ ability to understand, analyse and evaluate key features and characteristics of historical periods and events studied.
Some venues will be easy to identify because they fit neatly with the period and topic being studied but others may offer new possibilities, not least to the teachers themselves. Teachers need and deserve their own stimulation.
Over the next four years there will be an upsurge in visits to the First World War battlefields. Because of this there will be an increase in companies offering visits and requirement for battlefield guides, especially in northern France and Belgium. There are bound to be discrepancies in guides’ knowledge and experience. Close research into the credentials of the company you are contracting with, and the company’s guarantees about guides, will ensure that your group will not be disappointed.
Main organisations:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Inclusion: NASEN
Thought of visiting?
Roman Vindolanda and Roman Army Museum at Hadrian’s Wall
Viriconium, Wroxeter, Shropshire
The Jorvik Viking Centre, York
Offa’s Dyke Trail and Chirk Castle
The National Trust for Scotland
Clan Donald Visitor Centre, Isle of Skye
Bosworth Battlefield Visitor Centre
Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin
Exeter Cathedral Education Centre
The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
The Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth
East Anglia Railway Museum, Colchester
The National Tramway Museum, Matlock
Venues for this Curriculum
Carefully restored, atmospheric 19th-century courtyard of working people's houses
An atmospheric glimpse into the lives of the ordinary people who helped make Birmingham an extraordinary city.
On a fascinating guided tour, step back in time at Birmingham's last surviving court of back to backs; houses built literally back-to-back around a communal courtyard.
The history of Birkenhead goes back beyond Victorian years. The oldest standing building on Merseyside, Birkenhead Priory encapsulates so much of the town's history within a small, enclosed site. Founded in 1150, the monks of this Benedictine monastery looked after travellers for nearly 400 years and supervised the first regulated 'Ferry 'cross the Mersey'.
Big Pit Amgueddfa Lofaol Cymru
Big Pit is a real coal mine and one of Britain's leading mining museums. With facilities to educate and entertain all ages, Big Pit is an exciting and informative day out.
Underground Tours
The Last Working Mill in Yorkshire
Skidby Mill is a working four-sailed tower windmill, the last working mill in Yorkshire. It is set in an acre of land and has magnificent views over the Wolds. The mill is unusual in still having all its original outbuildings around the courtyard. Some of these buildings have been converted to form the Museum of East Riding Rural Life.
Sewerby Hall is a Grade I listed Georgian country house with Regency and Victorian additions set in 50 acres of picturesque park. The Hall contains an important collection of Amy Johnson memorabilia and galleries in which a temporary exhibition programme is displayed.
Goole Community Museum is located on the first floor of the Goole Library building, and explores the history of the historic port town of Goole through permanent displays and a temporary exhibition programme. The museum welcomes visits from schools and community groups, and has a dedicated Education Room in which pupils and visitors can work with the museum collections.
The Beverley Guildhall is a Grade 1 listed building which has had a long and fascinating history. Originally purchased by the Beverley town keepers in 1501, it has been in continuous civic use since then. Today it is run as a historic building and community museum but is still used for ceremonial civic occasions.
The East Riding Treasure House is a heritage centre providing museum, library and archive facilities under one roof, plus access to the adjoining Edwardian exhibition spaces of the Beverley Art Gallery. The Treasure House tower provides splendid views over the rooftops of Beverley.
Learning
Have fun and learn about the history of Berwick-Upon-Tweed as you walk through the alleys of the old town recreated in the Window on Berwick displays. Meet some of its fascinating characters and find out about the old ways of life including the Mayor’s power to sentence to death!
Made famous by John ‘Iron Mad’ Wilkinson, a leading figure in the Industrial Revolution, the once noisy Bersham Ironworks now nestles quietly in the attractive Clywedog Valley, two miles outside Wrexham in north-east Wales.
School history workshops for KS2 - KS3 pupils.
Neo-classical mansion with fine interiors, set in landscape grounds
Get creative in our den building area; join a garden, parkland or architecture tour; and explore the family rooms and see how the servants moved around the house unseen by the family and guests!
The museum contains a well displayed and comprehensive collection tracing the history of the Regiment since its beginnings in 1794.
The Royal Berkshire Medical Museum is part of the Berkshire Medical Heritage Centre which was founded in 1997.
Our aim is to preserve and display items of historical medical interest particularly those with a local connection.
The museum is based in the former USAF hardened command post o the former Bentwaters airfield. We believe this is the only such building open ot the public in hte UK and Europe.
A family home for 500 years
Situated on a plateau above the gorge of the River Severn, this fine stone house has mullioned and transomed windows, a stunning interior with carved oak staircase and decorated plaster ceilings and oak panelling.
Castle built by one of Scotland’s most powerful families, the Crichtons
Built in the 15th century by one of Scotland’s most powerful families, the Crichtons, Blackness was never destined as a peaceful lordly residence; its enduring roles were those of garrison fortress and state prison.
Highlights
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Blackness Castle stands in for Fort William in series one of the TV show Outlander.
Pleasure palace of the royal Stewarts
Built and developed over two centuries by successive Stewart kings of Scotland, Linlithgow Palace was a comfortable and attractive retreat from affairs of state, conveniently placed between Stirling and Edinburgh. Both James V and his daughter Mary Queen of Scots were born here, overlooking the tranquil beauty of the loch and peel (park).
Burial site dating to 3,000 BC
Cairnpapple was used from about 3,000 BC to 1400 BC firstly as a ceremonial site then several centuries later as a burial site.
Cairnpapple Hill is located 5km north of Bathgate, 2km from Torphichen.
Highlights
Glorious gardens surround this baroque mansion with National Portrait Gallery paintings
Inspired by his Grand Tour, John Bourchier created Beningbrough, an Italian Palace nestled between York, Harrogate and Leeds. The impressive rooms are a perfect backdrop for the rich collection of portraits on loan from the National Portrait Gallery, Beningbrough’s long-term partner.
The Ben Uri Collection is the world's most distinguished body of work by artists of European Jewish descent.
Schools
Ben Uri is dedicated to providing inclusive learning programmes for schools, families, communities and adult learners.
The Perfect English Country House?
Begun for Sir John Brownlow in 1685, Belton was certainly designed to impress and across its 300 year history, each generation of the Brownlows left their creative mark.
Why not pop along and see this stunning building which tells the story of its former residents.
From the Cluniac Monks in the 13th Century to the Victorian Scratton family, the last people to live in this wonderful home.
Central Museum is in the heart of Southend on Sea. Home to collections of local and natural history and archaeology. It has a changing programme of exhibitions and events throughout the year. Entry to our exhibitions and building is free.
Central Museum houses the collections of local and natural history and archaeology.
Southchurch Hall is a fascinating place to explore and unwind.
A short walk from Southend on Sea's busy seafront and High Street, the house, gardens and archaeology are a green oasis captured in time.
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