Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery

As one of the first purpose built free museums to open outside of London in 1874, Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery houses a rich and fascinating collection covering fine art, decorative art, Egyptology, coins, manuscripts, natural history, social history and South Asia.

With over 1000 Japanese prints, 5000 examples of of coins and money, 500 books and manuscripts and largest icon collection outside London, you certainly won’t be short of things to see.

Collections

• Coins and Manuscripts
• Decorative Arts
• Egyptology
• Fine Art
• Natural History
• Social History
• South Asian

Schools

Museums and galleries provide a unique learning experience that can inspire and motivate young people in exciting and memorable ways.  At Blackburn Museum we offer a range of taught sessions and other resources for schools and college groups.

Workshops

Our learning sessions and workshops are all linked to the school curriculum. They will provide an opportunity for pupils to interact with real objects and works of art. Each half-day session is available as a morning or afternoon session and will last between 1½ and 2 hours.

The following are our most popular sessions but please see our Bespoke Sessions if you want something different. All sessions below cost £2.50 per child for half day session, £5 per child for a full day session. 

WW2 – Home Front KS2

Your pupils will find out about the impact of 2nd World War on the people of Blackburn and have the opportunity to handle a selection of objects from the period.

The children have to complete two activities; firstly they have to find out for themselves about different aspects of WW2 in Blackburn – evacuees, rationing, the Blackout etc. Then they have a guided tour of a range of original objects from the war, finding out what they were used for and picking up and handling them.

Half day session

Portraits KS1

What does a portrait tell us about the sitter? Your pupils will learn to unravel the clues that can be found in the picture of a person. The children and staff are encouraged to look around the gallery, choose their favourite picture and talk about why they like it; no talking in hushed tones here…

Finally, your pupils will learn about the rules behind portrait painting before they have a go for themselves and make their own portrait which can be developed back in the classroom.

Half day session

Toys KS1

The session is divided into three parts; first, we look at toys, both old & new and explore the ways in which we can tell ‘old’ from ‘new’. At the same time the children learn how the old toys were played with.

Then your pupils get to play with the toys before, finally, sitting down and making their own toy to take back to school.

Half day session

Life in Ancient Egypt KS2

Your pupils will get the opportunity to find out all about Ancient Egypt by talking to a real Egyptologist! The children will use objects from the collection, both those on display in our Ancient Egypt room and in a handling session, to find out what objects from Ancient Egypt can tell us about the lives of the people who used them.

Finally, your pupils will take part in a craft activity.

Half day session

Beetles nature’s favourite minibeast KS1

This science workshop looks at nature’s favourite creepy crawly. The children will discover the world of beetles, and try to find out why they are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. Your pupils will spend the morning investigating our collection and then designing their own beetle, based on what they have learned. After lunch they will spend the afternoon building their own beetles to take back to school.

Whole day session

Life in a Victorian Town KS2

The session is built around a carousel of three activities. After looking at the late eighteenth century evolution of Blackburn into an industrial town, your pupils will split into three groups – to handle objects from the period, discover about working in a weaving shed and different aspects of life in a Victorian mill town.

Half day session

Bespoke sessions

It may come as a surprise but almost half our sessions are effectively ‘one off’ devised in collaboration with a teacher to meet the requirements of their pupils. These have covered a wide range of topics and we are happy to work with teachers on the development of new sessions; one of our most popular outreach sessions came about as the result of one such request. Bespoke sessions can be whole or half-day sessions.

Self Guided Visits

If you want to visit the museum with a group but do not want a taught session, please contact us beforehand and we will help to facilitate your visit. This is to avoid multiple groups wanting to use the same gallery at the same time