Education

The Education department at the Heritage and Museum service offers a range of learning experiences for everyone, whatever your age or level of interest. Activity trails, discussion trails, object handling sessions, interactive workshops and CD Rom workshops relating to the exhibitions at the Tower Museum and the Workhouse Museum are available upon booking.
Visits can be tailored to suit specific needs and the following curriculum areas are covered:

Key Stages 2- 4

· History – areas such as Monastic Derry, Spanish Armada, Plantation and Siege, Victorian Workhouse, Emigration and the World Wars.
· Science & Technology – looking at underwater archaeology and conservation.
· Citizenship and Community Relations- Promoting better cross community relationships and respect for other traditions in N. Ireland.

Teacher Training Days

Requests for teacher training days are welcome. Every support will be given to facilitate teachers using the Museum Service for training.

Activity trails (Tower Museum and Workhouse Museum)

We have a range of activity trails for young people to use while visiting ‘An Armada Shipwreck- La Trinidad Valencera’ exhibition at the Tower Museum and both the ‘Atlantic Memorial’ exhibition and ‘The Workhouse’ exhibition at the Workhouse Museum. These trails help young people to engage actively with the exhibitions. Activity trails are available for under 7s, over 7s, Key Stage 2 pupils and Key Stage 3 pupils.

Museum in Box Workshops (Workhouse Museum and Outreach)

Museum in a Box is a range of hands-on activities using real artefacts and copies of photographs and archives. The activities are designed to stimulate
active enquiry into historical evidence found in museums.
The Museum in a Box comes in three themes:
· Victorian Derry
· Wartime Derry
· Behind the Scenes at the Museum

These workshops are available for schools and groups at the Workhouse Museum. To make a booking please ring: 028 7131 8328

Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 Computer Workshop
These workshops based on ‘An Armada Shipwreck- La Trinidad Valencera’ exhibition introduces students to historical evidence, underwater archaeology and conservation. The computerised workshop uses animated characters, original and fun interactive games and short video clips from science and technology specialists to help students understand and actively engage with excavation and conservation methods as well as gaining a greater understanding of the historical period.

Object handling sessions (Tower Museum)

This workshop encourages students of all abilities and backgrounds to use their senses and develop observational questioning and problem solving skills. Recognisable and unrecognisable items from ‘An Armada Shipwreck- La Trinidad Valencera’ exhibition are handled and discussed with students. The activity brings this area of history to life in a fun and interesting way. The session concludes with an explanation of each object drawing from the observational experiences of the pupils.

Community Relations/Education for Mutual Understanding/Citizenship (Tower Museum)

Download PDF of Good Relations leaflet

Community Relations/Citizenship programme within the Heritage and Museum Service aims to provide opportunities for learning experiences, which are designed to promote better cross community relationships and respect for other traditions in N. Ireland. The programme offers schools and community groups workshops based on the exhibitions at the Tower Museum. It can be delivered over a number of sessions at the museum, starting with sessions aimed at developing collaborative friendships between young people and later working on issues of identity, prejudice and conflict awareness. We have three different types of Community Relations workshops available at the Tower museum:

· ‘Our Present Past’. This workshop is based in the computer suite. ‘Our Present past’ CD Rom mirrors the ‘Story of Derry’ exhibition in the Tower Museum. Through interactive screens and an accompanying education pack it explores the local history of Derry/Londonderry and encourages thought and debate about how the past impacts on our perspectives and viewpoints today. This resource is designed for secondary school pupils, youth and adult groups.

· ‘Thinking outside the Box’ Interactive workshop. This workshop takes a hands on approach to exploring the links between our past and present. Workshop participants are given ‘theme’ boxes with objects and images linking historical events to the present day. Different people react in different ways to the contents and discussion is encouraged to think about how the past impacts life and attitudes today. This resource is designed to be adaptable to a wide range of abilities. It has been used with upper primary school pupils, secondary school/ youth group ages and adult groups.

· ‘An Armada Shipwreck’ or ‘The Story of Derry’ discussion trails. This involves a guided tour of ‘An Armada Shipwreck’ or ‘The Story of Derry’ exhibition using a ‘discussion trail’. The trail encourages discussion and reflection on how issues around conflict or identity from history may still impact on society today. This resource is designed mainly to suit secondary school and youth groups but may also be adaptable to other groups such as upper primary or some adult groups depending on the approach taken.

How to book

All school visits and special interest group bookings must be pre-booked with reception staff at each museum.

The Tower Museum 028 7137 2411
The Workhouse Museum 028 7131 8328

Charges

Admission charges apply for the Tower Museum only. Activity trails for under 7s, over 7s, Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 are included with admission price. However there are extra charges for the education and community relations workshops.

You can also contact the Education Officer to discuss your group’s needs.
Education Officer
Margaret Edwards
Tel: 028 7137 2411
Email: margaret.edwards@derrycity.gov.uk