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.
Explore what life was like for Hampshire people in the past by wandering through Milestones’ old cobbled streets. And as you wander round you may also encounter some of our costumed characters…
Enthusiasts will enjoy our collection of beautifully restored vintage vehicles - and so will kids of all ages!
Housing the Robert Opie collection, the world's largest collection of packaging and related materials.
Learning
The UK's largest volunteer-managed aviation museum with 75 aircraft and cockpit sections from across the history of aviation. 2 large Display Hangars housing more than 50 airframes; engine / artefacts displays; cafe and large shop. Regular special events and education programmes available.
Education Provision - Building for the Future
Everything you thought you knew about the world - but didn't! Find out about your world and yourself in our ten themed, hands-on galleries. Surprising! Hard to believe! And sometimes downright disgusting!! The perfect day out.
Selly Manor is a museum steeped in history, in one of Birmingham's oldest buildings. Dating back to the 1300s, in 1907, busy establishing his vision of a Bournville village, local chocolate maker and philanthropist, George Cadbury, saved it from demolition and employed architect William Alexander Harvey to oversee its relocation, to Bournville Green.
A unique little museum with over 5,000 objects relating to the Birmingham Steel pen trade and the history of writing. Very interactive, you can make your own pen and try your hand at calligraphy.
When the proprietors of the Smith & Pepper jewellery manufacturing firm decided to retire in 1981 they ceased trading and locked the door, unaware they would be leaving a time capsule for future generations. Tools were left strewn on benches; grubby overalls were hung on the coat hooks; and dirty teacups were abandoned alongside jars of marmite and jam on the shelf.
Housed in a Jacobean mansion, St John’s Museum showcases the social history collections. Galleries include a Victorian Kitchen and Schoolroom (used by local school children during term time for activities and learning sessions), displays on childhood, toys and games, costume and an under 5s discovery room.
Warwickshire Museum is the name for the body which operates both the Market Hall Museum and St John's Museum in Warwick. It is part of Heritage and Culture Warwickshire.
The National Motorcycle Museum is recognised as the finest and largest motorcycle museum in the world.
It is a place where ‘Legends Live On’ and it is a tribute to and a living record of this once great British industry that dominated world markets for some sixty years.
Focuses on Kidderminster's international carpet supplying history and includes a great many textile examples, plus informative displays and exhibits.
A fascinating working museum set in a restored leather factory, where you can watch live demonstrations of traditional leather craft and maybe have a go yourself!
Walsall Leather Museum will help you and the kids to discover why Walsall was known as the capital of leather goods in Britain.
It is free to visit, and is run by a team of friendly and knowledgeable volunteers.
Located on the edge of Hednesford Hills, the Museum of Cannock Chase illustrates the rich industrial heritage of the area, and the social and domestic life of times past.
Trace the history of Cannock Chase in our Local History gallery. Visit our Coal Mining Gallery to discover how coal shaped our area.
Ford Green Hall is a 17th century timber-framed farmhouse complete with period garden. An award-winning museum, the Hall offers visitors a fascinating insight into the life of the 17th century. The rooms are furnished with an outstanding collection of textiles, ceramics and furniture.
Etruria Industrial Museum is the last steam-powered potters’ mill in Britain. The mill is ‘in steam’ several times a year when the 1903 boiler is fired and historic machinery can be seen working. Situated in a pleasant location at the junction of the Trent & Mersey, and Caldon Canals the museum is also a perfect stop-off for walkers, cyclists and boaters.
In the Roald Dahl children's gallery you can boggle your eyes and baffle your brain and let your imagination run wild!
Buckinghamshire County Museum is an award winning County Museum in the attractive old town area of Aylesbury in beautifully restored buildings, some dating from the 15th century.
A branch of the main Natural History Museum in London.
Discover the fascinating animals collected by Lionel Walter Rothschild, in our beautiful Victorian Museum. It is home to the world-class research and collections of the Natural History Museum's Bird Group.
Education
Here you can enjoy hands-on activities, exhibitions and special events in a lively and friendly atmosphere. As members of the Thames Valley Museums Family Friendly campaign Wycombe Museum is committed to giving you a warm welcome whenever you visit. General entry to the Museum is FREE.
Waterside House, Oxford Island houses a local history reference library which has a collection of books, journals, maps and photographs relating to the local area. The library also holds a collection of books from the Ulster Quarterly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends and a collection relating to Methodist history in Ireland.
The Pitt Rivers Museum is famous for it's period atmosphere and outstanding collections from many world cultures, past and present.
Primary schools
A classic series of collections housed in stunning architecture. Among its most famous features are the Oxfordshire dinosaurs, the dodo, and the swifts in the tower.
The game of badminton is celebrated at the National Badminton Museum. The museum is housed at the National Badminton Centre in Milton Keynes.
Try the working period telephones and switchboards. Visit the Victorian Parlour and Schoolroom. Listen to an air raid in the Museum's Anderson Shelter. Make toast in the period kitchen. Visit the street of period shops. Visit the Hall of Transport.
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.