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.
The museum is a former town house c1750, visited by Jane Austen.
Andover from prehistoric times to the present day. Enjoy an exciting programme of temporary exhibitions, including art, craft, photography, history and more... visit the museum and then relax in our coffee shop.
School visits to Andover Museum
Set in a handsome Tudor house with 21st century displays, this museum tells the remarkable story of Thetford and the Brecks. Discover rich collections alongside audio guides, films and animations.
Meet local people from Thetford’s past, from the revolutionary philosopher Thomas Paine to the Sikh hero Maharajah Duleep Singh and from rabbit warreners to railway workers.
Amersham Museum is an award winning museum located in a 15th century building in the heart of old Amersham. It is a hidden gem with a collection spanning 2,000 years of local history.
Our museum building is the oldest in Honiton with an interesting history. Documents show a chapel called Allhallows existed here before 1327. From the 16th century the building was used by Allhallows School until 1938 when the school moved to Rousdon. The chancel of the old chapel is now the Murch Gallery which houses many items of local interest.
IWM is unique in its coverage of conflicts, especially those involving Britain and the Commonwealth, from the First World War to the present day, covering all the armed forces - Army, Navy and Royal Airforce (RAF).
The Aldeburgh Museum is housed in one of the most important timber-framed public buildings in England. Dating from the first half of the 16th Century it originally contained six small shops on the ground floor and a spacious meeting chamber on the first floor. The Town Council still meets here today and it provides an attractive display area for the Museum.
Discover Eastleigh’s past, and meet Mr and Mrs Brown a local locomotive engine driver and his wife. There is always something new to see with a regularly changing programme of special exhibitions, workshops, talks and events, plus Family Friendly activities, cafe, and gifts.
Discover what a Bristol sugar plantation and slave owner’s home might have looked like around 1790. Eleven rooms spread over four floors reveal what life was like above and below stairs, from the kitchen in the basement where servants prepared meals to the elegant formal rooms above. Free entry.
This unique collection interprets the rich architectural history of Bath and the men who transformed a provincial town into the world famous Georgian Spa. It demonstrates how classical design influenced the buildings and illustrates the construction of a house from the cellars to the rafters.
We cater for Key Stages 1 to 4.
Set in beautiful parkland the Museum and Art Gallery has something for everyone. Alongside our temporary exhibitions programme we have galleries depicting the rich and diverse history of the area using our amazing collections.
Charnwood Museum features a wide range of exhibits reflecting the history, geology, archaeology and industries of Charnwood and the surrounding area. Permanent displays include ‘Coming to Charnwood’, ‘The Natural World of Charnwood’, ‘Living off the Land’ and ‘Earning a Living’.
The museum features the geology and prehistory of the area, maritime and piracy, a local history gallery and the Story of Tenby Gallery as well as two art galleries, one featuring the permanent collection, the second exhibiting changing temporary exhibitions.
Explore the amazingly vast history of South Tyneside, come face to face with exotic snakes, spiders and lizards and admire fantastic works of art at South Shields Museum & Art Gallery.
The Museum is housed in Fleckney Centre also known as Fleckney Library; the building was formerly the village school. The Library is located in the centre of the village opposite the duck pond and chicane. There is on-site parking and also a public car park close by (60yds).
Admission is free!
Immerse yourself in the fascinating and surprising history of mid-Antrim. As soon as you enter the Museum's fourteen metre high atrium, you'll begin to see mid-Antrim in a whole new light! The entrance contains special installations designed to open your eyes to the links between people and place, local history and local identity.
The Inniskillings Museum is situated in the 15th Century Keep and 18th century Military outbuildings of Enniskillen Castle. The Museum tells the story of the town of Enniskillen's two regiments - the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards and the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.
Fermanagh County Museum is a registered museum, under the MLA Accreditation Scheme for museums. The museum is located within and around the historic Enniskillen Castle and was established in 1976 by Fermanagh District Council. The museum collections reflect Fermanagh's history, culture and environment.
Housed in the Old Custom House in the dock area, one of the oldest buildings in the town. The museum illustrates the history of the major industries which the town has been home to - whaling, fishing and petroleum.
The Museum collection reflects all of these aspects of the town's history, but focuses particularly on the maritime history.
Groups and schools welcome.
Discover the history of lead mining in the Peak District and how it has shaped the landscape since Roman times. Interactive exhibits and climbing tunnels for the kids. Lots of relics to see, plus hundreds of rock and mineral specimens.
Fairlynch Museum and Arts Centre is one of the very few thatched museums in the UK. The building, a typical example of a 'marine cottage orné' and Grade II listed, dates from 1811.
The museum opened in 1967. It aims, for educational and general interest to exhibit artefacts and information about the history and development of Budleigh Salterton and the Lower Otter Valley.
Most of the Society’s archive is housed, by kind permission of the family of the Boer War hero, General Sir Redvers Buller, at their home, the historic Downes, on the edge of the town. Access to this is by appointment only and material is usually brought to the museum in High Street for examination.
Strabane District Council established its Museum service in 1997. The core of the councils museum collection is formed by "The Dunbar Collection". This is a collection which encompasses several collection areas such as photography, Victoriana, Militaria, fine arts and folklife.
Topsham Museum is housed in one of a group of late 17th century buildings overlooking the Exe Estuary. Following completion of a stunning new River Gallery, the Museum was 'long-listed' for the Art Fund Prize in 2008.
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.