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Collections for Schools
In order to decide which of your collections are suited to the needs of schools it would be useful to:
- have a discussion with curatorial staff
- decide what are the strengths of your collection
- look at which collections might be used for school-age children
- contact your Museum Development Officer or someone from your Hub museum to discuss where there is good practice by museums with collections similar to yours. Look at this page of our website to find Museum Development Services in the South East.
- consult with other museums with similar collections
- arrange to visit and watch a session and talk to the education officer at the museum
- consult with teachers
- arrange to visit your local school to see how children are being taught today
- invite teachers to your museum to look at and discuss the collections and how they might be used.
How to begin?
- Look at the National Curriculum and the Schemes of Work.
- Think about which parts of your collection are most relevant and suitable for the needs of teachers and pupils.
- Start with the History Curriculum and then explore ways of linking to other Curriculum areas.
- Look at Choosing Objects for Handling to help you decide on which objects are suitable.
Downloads
Matching your Objects to the Needs of Schools (Julie Allaway, Word DOC, 114Kb).
Using Objects to Link Curriculum Areas (Julie Allaway, Word DOC, 54Kb).
Useful Websites
All the links below will open in a new window. Close that new window to return here.
Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) website to find out what
topics
schools are recommended to study for the History Curriculum.
Cornucopia a database developed and managed by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) with information about over 6,000 collections. Search the database to find other museums with collections similar to yours.
Association of Independent Museums (AIM) to find Museum Advisers and Development Officers nationally.