Scalloway Museum is owned by a charity, the Shetland Bus Friendship Society (SBFS), and run by volunteers. The charity was formed in 2001, to instate a memorial to those who served and died in Shetland Bus operations during World War II. The memorial was unveiled in 2003. The group continued, and went on to achieve the museum you see before you today.
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
Visit Unst Heritage Centre in Haroldswick and discover the unique story of Unst, the northernmost island in the UK.
Bearing in mind Unst’s special position as the northernmost outpost of the UK, the centre has a display about the lighthouse at Muckle Flugga, and a range of interpretive displays about geology, crofting, fine lace knitwear, the Shelties, etc.
This 18th century fishing böd, located on the outskirts of Lerwick, is the birthplace of Arthur Anderson, co-founder of the P&O shipping company. Two rooms have been restored to how they looked 200 years ago, in the time of Arthur’s childhood. They also contain displays explaining the history of the whitefish industry at that time, when the böd was a fishing station house and warehouse.
Different aspects of life in Northmavine through the years are illustrated by using a mixture of artefacts and photographs. Part of the display has a new theme every year.
Maritime History of Shetland
The Boat Haven is dedicated to the maritime history of Shetland boats.
The collection consists of original wooden boats of various
types that have been in use over the past one hundred and forty
years.
Old tools, fishing gear, documents etc bring to live the era of fishing at
the Far Haaf in open boats and the herring fishing at its peak in 1905.
A community museum addressing many aspects of local history, including crofiting, fishing, Viking occupation, blackhouses, trades and crafts, archaeology and finds, and the Lewis Chessmen, with extensive genealogical information.
The Kildonan Centre in South Uist is a heritage and cultural amenity which includes a museum, a
Situated literally on the on the seas edge in the village of Lochmaddy, on the Isle of North Uist, Taigh Chearsabhagh welcomes countless visitors each year to experience the arts, culture and heritage of the Uists. The centre is focus for life in North Uist and dedicates itself to a constantly changing programme of heritage and art exhibitions.
An impressive archive of documents, genealogical records, photographs, video and audio recordings and artefacts.
This collection comprises some 500 artefacts illustrating the social, economic, cultural and religious life of Ness. Its strengths lie mainly in the fields of domestic life, social life, fishing and the sea. The material dates from the 19th and 20th centuries.
A new museum and archive will create a major visitor destination and a gateway to the Gaelic-rich cultural heritage of the Islands. Located in a modern purpose built extension to the restored Lews Castle it will open in the summer of 2015.
Exciting new galleries will look at the stories of the Islands and Islanders. Visitors will be able to
Little is known of the early history of this Northern Scottish town but there is ample evidence in the surrounding countryside of Neolithic/Bronze Age settlement and the shelters and defences of succeeding Ages. However, it was the Vikings that gave Wick its name (from the old Norse vik = bay).
Situated in the High Street in the heart of the historic town of Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, The West Highland Museum’s collections tell the story of the region and its history. Our most renowned and unusual collection relates to Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite cause.
Award-winning Highland Museum. Housed within a unique former Telford Parliamentary Church, it provides a stimulating insight into the life of a Highland parish. Large screen audiovisual presentation of Lochbroom. Local archives, records, genealogy and photos. Touchscreens. Exhibitions. Six European languages.
Timespan Heritage and Art Centre comprises a museum, storytelling room, contemporary art gallery, community workshop and riverside garden
Timespan was founded in 1987 with the main aim of providing the community and visitors with an insight into the fascinating history of Helmsdale and its surrounding area. It has since developed from a small local heritage centre into an award-winning museum and the only (non-private) contemporary art gallery in Sutherland.
The Highlanders’ Museum (Queen’s Own Highlanders Collection)covers three floors of Fort George’s former Lieutenant Governors’ House. The museum has roughly 20,000 artefacts and an estimated 10,000 documents and photographs. The museum is the largest regimental museum in Scotland, outside of Edinburgh. Browse through the menus to feel the experience.
Fort George is one of the most outstanding fortifications in Europe. It was built in the wake of the Battle of Culloden (1746) as an impregnable base for King George II’s army. It took 21 years to complete, by which time the Jacobite threat had been largely extinguished.
The Tarbat Discovery Centre is a museum, learning and activity centre dedicated to displaying and preserving the heritage of the Tarbat peninsula. Housed in the refurbished Old Parish Church, it is the site of the only Pictish monastic settlement excavated in Scotland to date.
Tain & District Museum is an independent, volunteer run museum in the North of Scotland. We serve the area of Easter Ross; helping to perserve and interpret our past and provide locals and visitors alike with a high quality experience when they visit.
Once a church, this highland museum contains a fine collection of objects depicting a past way of life in this remote but magnificent part of Scotland. One room contains Clan Mackay memorabilia. Posters painted by local children tell the story of the Strathnaver clearances. The churchyard contains the Farr Stone which dates from the 8th-9th centuries.
Nairn Museum offers visitors and locals alike a fascinating insight into the life and times of the town and surrounding area over the centuries. The wide range of permanent displays featuring various aspects of Nairn's history are well laid out and informative and, in addition a huge collection of archive material is available for study.
Discover the history of the Highlands and Islands through the story of Clan Donald, its most powerful clan, at our award-winning museum.
A treasure trove of stories, films, collections and displays, all telling the story of West Lochaber, its people and landscape
Twelve centuries ago, West Lochaber was a buffer zone between native Picts, Norsemen and Scots. Briefly part of the Norse Kingdom of Man, it then became the eastern boundary of the powerful Lordship of the Isles.
Learn about Scottish history and discover how the Highlands are linked with the rest of the world.
Experience Highland contemporary art and crafts and unlock a medieval chest.
Hugh Miller's Birthplace Cottage & Museum in Cromarty celebrates prominent 19th-century Highland polymath, Hugh Miller - an eminent geologist, writer and social commentator.
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