What are they and what do they involve?
Museums are venues with the primary purpose of exhibiting items of interest, often of a historical nature. The exact focus of a museum will vary, but they always offer educational insights into their artefacts and can include extra activities such as workshops and guided tours! Nationally-recognised museums dominate the school trip agenda and often feature amongst the most visited venues in Britain.
Incredibly there are museums for pretty much everything you can think of in the UK - from Prams to Anaesthetic, Radar to Pencils, Locks to Lawnmowers, Mustard to Surfing, Straw to Dog Collars (the canine kind), Teapots to Gas, or Magic to Embroidery. Search our list of venues for topics these fantastic, quirky places feature and you'll be surprised what pops up! It might inspire a new approach to a curriculum topic or a different slant on your locality.
What are the benefits?
A museum can be a highly educational place, especially for those with prior interest in the subjects on display. Taking a student group that have been covering a specific historical event or time period to a relevant museum will enable them to really connect with the subject and create an extra dimension to their education.
What students is it suitable for?
Provided the content of the museum is suitable for the age group, all students can benefit from a trip to a museum!
Costs?
Some museums are free for the public to access but there are some venues that have admission costs due to the specific nature of the exhibit – make sure to thoroughly check out the prices of museums in your area.
Safety Implications?
Museums can be quite large and confusing venues, so make sure your group of students is properly supervised to ensure nobody gets separated from the group!
Accreditations?
There is a national accreditation scheme in operation for museums - find out more HERE about Accredited Museums.
Based at Nottingham's old county gaol, the Museum explores the fascinating history of crime and justice through time.
Education
This unique museum houses three courtrooms, a prison and police station plus a collection of over 40,000 legal, police and prison-related historical objects and artefacts, including the HM Prison Service collection.
THE MUSEUM IS NOW CLOSED.
Dedicated to the industrial, social & family history of Pinxton and South Normanton, and particularly John King & his invention of the mines cage safety detaching hook. The museum keeps records of any historic event, news papers, old photos and mining memorabilia.
Birthplace Project - The David Livingstone Centre is currently closed for refurbishment
The world famous JORVIK Viking Centre is a ‘must-see’ for visitors to the city of York and is one of the most popular visitor attractions in the UK.
The 25 rooms of this unusual museum evoke the evolution of the washing techniques from Antiquity to present times. Old washing machines that still function, the reconstitution of a laundry, the ironing method, the history of soap and entertainment for children.
A museum dedicated to telling the story of William Booth, his wife Catherine, their family and role they played in the formation of The Salvation Army.
The William Booth Birthplace Museum is open by appointment only, generally Tuesday-Thursday, 10am-4pm. Please telephone or email for appointments.
The Dylan Thomas Centre is a beautiful building in the Maritime Quarter near to Swansea's museums.
The interactive displays tell the story of the work, life and cultural context of one of the twentieth century’s most significant writers and poets, and the exhibition includes a learning space, activities for children, and a temporary exhibition area.
The Victoria and Albert Museum offers a huge range of exhibits covering aspects of art and design such as ceramics, fashion and clothing, furniture, gless and jewelry, as well as much much more.
The V&A is free to visit but you need to book in advance for self-directed group visits and for any programmes on offer.
The museum is located in a former sail loft and is part of the Nottage Maritime Institute which aims to improve nautical, sailing and navigation skills. There is a fine collection of paintings, personal possessions, photographs and models all with local connections to the River Colne and its fishing, yachting and boat-building heritage.
Housed in the Low Lighthouse, an 1818 construction with commanding views over the harbour and its unending movements, Harwich's Maritime Museum reveals the town's vast maritime history.
This exhibition is focused on promoting British cartoon and comic art. With a collection that dates from the 18th century to the present, visitors of all ages will find something exciting here. If you’re an avid fan of the Bash Street Kids, Billy Whizz, or Dennis the Menace, or if you’re looking for something a little bit more politically minded, this is a place for you!
A wide range of natural and social history exhibits, the more exciting of which include the interactive dinosaur gallery and gardens, and the special family drop in sessions.
The Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum tells the harrowing tale of the Martyrs' arrest, trial and punishment, which led to the foundation of modern day trade unionism.
20 Maresfield Gardens in Hampstead was the home of Sigmund Freud and his family when they escaped the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938. The centrepiece of the museum is Freud's library and study, preserved as it was in his lifetime. It contains his working library, his desk and the famous couch.
Education
York Museums Trust’s award-winning* museums and art gallery offer inspiring, interactive and hands-on learning opportunities that directly support the National Curriculum.
We welcome school groups to York Art Gallery, York Castle Museum and the Yorkshire Museum & Gardens and offer help and advice to parties who wish to visit.
Somerset House is a major arts and cultural centre in the heart of London. During summer months 55 fountains dance in the courtyard, and in winter you can skate on London's favourite ice rink. Somerset House also programmes contemporary art and design exhibitions, free displays, family workshops and guided tours.
Learn ancient skills in an authentic landscape, from building ancient structures to blacksmithing and fire-making.
The Museum covers 50 acres (20 ha), with nearly 50 historic buildings dating from the thirteenth to nineteenth centuries, along with gardens, farm animals, walks and a lake.
The MAD (Mechanical Art and Design) Museum is the only specialist attraction of its kind in the UK. Based in the centre of Stratford upon Avon, the museum was launched in March 2012 and showcases the world’s finest pieces of Kinetic Art and Automata belonging to pioneering artists from all four corners of the globe.
Built in 1820, Winchester House on Southwark Bridge Road was home and workplace to London's chief fire officers between 1878 and 1937.
This building now houses one of the most comprehensive collections of firefighting equipment and memorabilia in the country.
It was Britain's deadliest conflict and one which shaped our modern world. Why did brother take up arms against brother and how did a once all-powerful monarch lose his head to the axeman?
Housed in the local library, this collection of local history material contains archaeological finds of national importance. Includes a small and varied collection of British and foreign firearms, swords and daggers, shot and powder flasks and a few pieces of armour.
Bexhill Museum offers something for everyone from local history and archaeology to fashion and Bexhill’s motor heritage.
The unique collections are housed in a distinctive building which combines a traditional Edwardian museum with a modern extension.
The Ashmolean has worked in close partnership with Worcestershire County Council, other local organisations, and the Keil family, to transform a historic building in the Cotswold village of Broadway, Worcestershire, into
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.