Museums

Museums

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.

Venues for this Category

Discover the true spirit of the characters from South Molton's past, through the exhibits and interactive displays. The collections reflect the life and times of the town and the surrounding countryside. Local trades, agriculture and domestic history are also strongly featured. 

Dartmouth Museum is a small, fascinating and interesting museum housed in an atmospheric old merchant's house, built in approximately 1640.

The Brixham Heritage Museum and History Society was founded in 1958 for the purpose of recording, saving and displaying the heritage of the historic town and fishing port.

Since 1976, the Museum has been located in what was once the Police Station and Sergeant's House, built 1902.

Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre is a 45,000 square foot indoor attraction that provides a unique opportunity to view our Fairground Heritage in a beautiful rural location. It is a facility unique in the UK, designed to capture the magic of a bygone age through exhibits, vintage engineering and stunning artwork displays - offering a great day out for all the family.

The displays in Dawlish Museum are changed regularly and aim to represent life past and present in the town, for example the acclaimed display of the February storms which severely damaged the railway.

Children as well as adults are catered for and there are activities especially for them.

A small collection of artifacts and bones recovered from the caves at Buckfastleigh Devon and interpretation of the geology and speleology of that area.

On our public guided walk you can see our Lime Kilns, 120,000 bone deposits and meet our Greater Horseshoe bats.

The Museum of British Surfing has what’s believed to be the largest & most comprehensive public collection in Europe. Our policy with vintage surfboards is to collect at least one example of each British shaper. We also take in foreign-made surfboards if they have an important connection with British surfing.

The Society was formed in February 2000 to further understanding of the geology, occurrence and properties of the ball clays of Devon and Dorset and to preserve the history and heritage of clay production, transport and use. 

Ranked among the finest in South West England, Torquay Museum is a journey of discovery for all ages. Experience the sights and sounds of country living as you walk through a reconstructed Devon farmhouse, wonder at the prehistoric artefacts excavated from nearby Kent's Cavern or become an explorer on our interactive trail. 

A treasure trove of models, paintings, photographs and artefacts which tell the story of Salcombe’s links with ships and the sea from ancient times to the Second World War.

There is plenty to amuse and engage younger visitors including tales of local smugglers and pirates as well as dressing-up box in the ‘young sailors corner’.

A glimpse of the museum from Runnymede Gardens, which is situated next to The Landmark Theatre on Ilfracombe's seafront. A fascinating place to visit come rain or shine and one of the best value for money attractions in North Devon.

The North Devon Maritime Museum offers a fascinating insight into the rich shipbuilding and seafaring history of the area. It is housed in a fine, Georgian Grade II listed building which has been the home of several ship owners and master mariners in the past 200 years and is situated in the picturesque village and sea port of Appledore.

The Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon is the perfect way to find out more about North Devon. Our collections and displays cover the natural and human history of this beautiful part of the country. Highlights of the Museum include the Tarka Gallery, the Story of North Devon and the Regimental Collection of the Royal Devon Yeomanry.

In the Old Grammar School you find an historic building, a range of collections and a local history archive. Each one of these would be worth visiting on its own, but to experience the three is exceptional. The collections are displayed over 8 galleries and cover mainly the social history of Kingsbridge and the surrounding area.

The Whimple Heritage Centre is managed and maintained by an enthusiastic group of volunteers interested in Whimple's past and also its present.

“I have looked further into space than any human being did before me.” William Herschel

Welcoming over 400,000 visitors through its doors every year, the V&A Museum of Childhood in London's Bethnal Green houses the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection of childhood-related objects and artefacts, spanning the 1600s to the present day.

Limavady Museum's collections reflect both the local and social history of Limavady as well as the rural and industrial heritage of the Roe Valley.

A great little local museum with plenty to discover such as a panoramic view of Victorian Louth, the story of the Ghost of the Green Lady, rock and fossils, plus 200,000 years of local archaeology!

Louth Museum will take you on an amazing journey of discovery, with several galleries, plus a courtyard to explore.

A charming museum where you can discover the many different aspects of the apple and what can be done with it, including the cider making process. Historical artefacts, vintage film clips, plus other memorabilia to see.

The Museum of English Rural Life houses the most comprehensive national collection of objects, books and archives relating to the history of food, farming and the countryside.

The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum offers fun and inspiring primary visits and outreach sessions covering literacy, history and more. Meet Kitty and Lucy the family servants, find out how books are made with Michael Johnson, handle original objects, dress up as a Georgian, join Hodge's Alphabet Hunt and make your own Dictionary!

Milford House Museum is located at 57 William Street. Housing an old master paintings, beautiful furnishing and family possessions. Discover the extraordinary world of Milford House and the people who lived there. Across the street is the William McCrum Park where football's penalty kick was invented.

A must for kids studying local history, a visit will let you help out with their schoolwork and spend some quality time together. Special quizzes and hands-on trails take them through Bunyan's amazing life at their own pace.

Roman Alcester is the exciting exhibition interpreting and displaying objects from Alcester's Roman past.

Alcester is one of the most investigated Roman small towns in the country, with over 100 archaeological digs in the last 80 years.

Pages

Login/Sign Up

Latest News

Schoolboy Falls From 60ft Cliff on School Trip

A 15-year-old boy fell 60ft over the edge of a cliff whilst on a geography school trip, miraculously only suffering minor injuries.