Materials that turn a visit into a lesson — free to every teacher.

A museum visit without preparation is a nice day out; a museum visit wrapped in good teaching is real learning that sticks. The difference is almost entirely the materials around it, so the trust makes those materials free to any teacher at all — whether or not you have booked a visit with us, whether or not your school is anywhere near our museums. Getting good learning into classrooms is the whole point, and we will not put a price on that for any teacher, anywhere, member or not. This page sets out what is available and how to use it.

The three kinds

Before, during, and after the visit.

The resources follow the shape of a good visit — preparation, the visit itself, and the work that carries the learning home. Each is curriculum-linked and free.

Pre-visit lessons

Short lessons to run before a visit so the class arrives knowing what they will see and why it matters. A prepared class engages from the first minute instead of wandering in cold and leaving none the wiser.

In-gallery activities

Activity sheets and tasks for use during the visit — things to find, sketch, compare and discuss — that turn looking into active learning and keep thirty young people purposefully busy rather than restless.

Follow-up work

Classroom work to do after the visit, so the experience becomes a lesson with a conclusion — writing, projects, discussion prompts that consolidate what the students saw and felt.

Linked to the curriculum

Made by teachers, mapped to what you teach.

The resources are not generic museum hand-outs — they are written by teachers, for teachers, and mapped to actual curriculum topics across subjects: history above all, but also language, art, geography and citizenship, because a good museum visit touches many subjects at once. Sameh, who leads the school programme, was a classroom teacher himself, and the materials reflect that: they assume real classrooms with real constraints, they are quick to use, and they do the planning work that a busy teacher rarely has time for. You can use them as they are or adapt them; either way, they save you hours and raise what your class gets from a visit.

Crucially, you do not need to book a visit, hold a pass, or pay anything to use them. A teacher anywhere can take the materials and use them around their own museum trip, or even as classroom lessons in their own right. We give them away because the trust's mission is learning, not revenue — and the more classrooms that use good museum-learning materials, the better, wherever they are. If you book a school visit with us, the relevant resources come bundled automatically; if you do not, they are still yours.

Teaching materials laid out for a museum lesson

Resource questions

Using the materials.

Are they really free with no catch?

Yes. No payment, no membership, no booking required. The materials are free to any teacher because spreading good museum-learning is the mission. Request them through the contact page and we will send what fits your topic.

Can I use them without visiting your museums?

Absolutely. Many are useful around any museum visit, or as classroom lessons on the region's heritage in their own right. They are not locked to our partner museums, though they pair especially well with a visit to one.

Which subjects and ages do they cover?

History most fully, but also language, art, geography and citizenship, across school ages. Tell us the year group and topic when you ask, and we will send the materials that fit rather than a generic bundle — and if we do not yet have something for your exact topic, we will tell you honestly and often make it.

Take the materials — they are yours.

Tell us your year group and topic and we will send what fits.

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