Schools Programme
Workshops
All our workshops link directly to the National Curriculum. They are based around items in the Museum’s collection offering a great opportunity to learn directly from historical objects and documents .
The sessions are cross-curricular, interactive and fun! By involving groups actively, they encourage pupils to use thinking skills and historical enquiry to investigate topics.
Some of the workshops are available as Outreach. If you are interested in an Outreach Visit to your school please click here to email us.
Our new Learning Voyages brochure contains a wealth of information about the programme we offer and is available as a PDF to download here.
Click to view workshops for specific ranges:
Reception and Year 1 Key Stage 3
World Voyages
Target group: Foundation stage, KS1
Venue: Royal Naval Museum
Length of session: 1 hr
Curriculum links: Knowledge & understanding of the world, Communication, language & literacy, Creative development (Foundation stage); Geography, PSHE & Citizenship.
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £40 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
Sailing around the world, pupils follow in the footsteps of the early Navy to explore life in different countries. From Africa to Australia, India and beyond this interactive session gives pupils the chance to discover more about different cultures through storytelling, role-play, and object handling.
New! Remembrance
Target group: KS1
Venue: Royal Naval Museum
Length of session: 1hr
Curriculum links: History, Citizenship
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £40 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
Pupils take part in a series of activities exploring the theme of remembrance. Learning what it was like to be a sailor during the two World Wars, they handle artefacts and investigate images before making a poppy as a symbol of remembrance.
Each year in March the museum opens its doors to the under 5s during ‘Early Years Week’. To find out more visit our Special Events pages.
New! Remembrance
Length of session: 1hr
Curriculum links: History, Citizenship
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £40 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
Pupils take part in a series of activities exploring the theme of remembrance. Learning what it was like to be a sailor during the two World Wars, they handle artefacts and investigate images before making a poppy as a symbol of remembrance.
New! Who was Nelson?
Length of session: 1 hour
Curriculum Links: History (Famous People), Literacy
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £40 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
Why do we still remember Nelson? Using the Royal Naval Museum’s fascinating collections children will find out more about Nelson through paintings and objects to discover how artefacts can tell stories.
Victory Shipmates
Length of session: 1 hrs
Curriculum links: History, Citizenship
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £40 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
Come and join us for an action packed, activity-based session in which pupils will be ‘trained’ for life at sea. From object-handling, simple navigation, dressing up, knot tying and sending signals, pupils discover first-hand what life was like in Nelson’s Navy.
Dockyard: Then & Now
Length of session: 2 hrs
Curriculum links: History, Geography, English
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £70 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
A chance to find out about local history and the development of Portsmouth Dockyard. Pupils tour the Dockyard, investigating areas not usually open to the public to find out about changes through time. They then complete language-based activities to produce short poems and take part in an artefact handling session to discover more about the different types of work carried out across the ages.
Colourful journeys
Length of session: 1½ hrs
Curriculum links: Art & design
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £70 per workshop for up to 30 pupils.
The Museum galleries, sea charts, paintings and views from the Museum of the Dockyard and harbour itself are all used as inspiration for this art workshop. During the session led by a professional artist, pupils explore adapting colour, textures and techniques to create their own collage of a journey at sea.
Victory shipmates
Length of session: 1 hrs
Curriculum links: History, Citizenship
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £40 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
Come and join us for an action packed, activity-based session in which pupils will be ‘trained’ for life at sea. From object-handling, simple navigation, dressing up, knot tying and sending signals, pupils discover first-hand what life was like in Nelson’s Navy.
Dockyard: Then & Now
Length of session: 2 hrs
Curriculum links: History, Geography, English
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £70 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
A chance to find out about local history and the development of Portsmouth Dockyard. Pupils tour the Dockyard, investigating areas not usually open to the public to find out about changes through time. They then complete language-based activities to produce short poems and take part in an artefact handling session to discover more about the different types of work carried out across the ages.
Tudor exploration & discovery
Length of session: 1hr
Curriculum links: History, Geography, Citizenship
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £40 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
From the time of the Tudors and the early Navy sailors have been taking to the high seas to discover and explore new territories. Through investigative activities using ‘Discovery Boxes’ pupils follow in the footsteps of these explorers, finding out about their journeys and the discoveries that changed life back home. Pupils also learn how to use navigational instruments and present a report of their findings to the monarch!
New! Special event. Witness to history
Dates: November 2009
Length of session: 2hrs
Curriculum links: History, Geography, Citizenship
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £70 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
As part of this special workshop for Remembrance Month students will investigate compelling personal stories from different servicemen and women involved in conflicts from World War 1 to the present day. They will then have the opportunity to interact first hand with a veteran to discover more about their individual experiences and viewpoints.
Note: Bookings for this workshop must be made at least one month before your visit.
Slavery through Objects
Length of session: 1 hr
Curriculum links: History, Citizenship, English
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £40 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
A chance for pupils to explore the wider issues and human stories behind slavery. Through a variety of activities focusing on artefacts, replicas and creative writing pupils work together to explore characters and events, leading to group and class discussions on Human Rights issues, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, its legacy and continued impact today
Art workshops
Colourful journeys
Length of session: 1½ hrs
Curriculum links: Art & design
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £70 per workshop for up to 30 pupils.
The Museum galleries, sea charts, paintings and views from the Museum of the Dockyard and harbour itself are all used as inspiration for this art workshop. During the session led by a professional artist, pupils explore adapting colour, textures and techniques to create their own collage of a journey at sea.
Literacy workshops
New! Sonnets of Sea and Sail
Length of session: 1 hour
Curriculum Links: English, History, Drama
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £40 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
Get poetic at the RNM with this new workshop which uses artefacts, images, personal stories and examples of maritime rhyme to inspire pupils to create their own super stanzas! The session includes time in our atmospheric attic store-the perfect place to encourage your pupils’ creativity.
New! Special event. Witness to history
Dates: November 2009
Length of session: 2hrs
Curriculum links: History, Geography, Citizenship
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £70 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
As part of this special workshop for Remembrance Month students will investigate compelling personal stories from different servicemen and women involved in conflicts from World War 1 to the present day. They will then have the opportunity to interact first hand with a veteran to discover more about their individual experiences and viewpoints.
Note: Bookings for this workshop must be made at least one month in advance of visit.
Slavery through Objects
Length of session: 1 hr
Curriculum links: History, Citizenship, English
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £40 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
A chance for pupils to explore the wider issues and human stories behind slavery. Through a variety of activities focusing on artefacts, replicas and creative writing pupils work together to explore characters and events, leading to group and class discussions on Human Rights issues, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, its legacy and continued impact today.
The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Royal Navy
Length of session: 1½ hrs
Curriculum links: History, Geography, Citizenship
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £70 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
A unique chance to develop historical enquiry skills, whilst discovering more about the role of the Navy in investigating and suppressing the slave trade. In this session pupils work in groups to interpret fascinating primary sources including images, official reports, diaries and maps. The evidence is then used to create and present a mini-display.
Literacy Workshops
New! Sonnets of Sea and Sail
Length of session: 1 hour
Curriculum Links: English, History, Drama
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £40 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
Get poetic at the RNM with this new workshop which uses artefacts, images, personal stories and examples of maritime rhyme to inspire pupils to create their own super stanzas! The session includes time in our atmospheric attic store-the perfect place to encourage your pupils’
The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Royal Navy
Target group: KS3 & above
Length of session: 1½ hrs
Curriculum links: History, Geography, Citizenship
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £70 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
A unique chance to develop historical enquiry skills, whilst discovering more about the role of the Navy in investigating and suppressing the slave trade. In this session pupils work in groups to interpret fascinating primary sources including images, official reports, diaries and maps. The evidence is then used to create and present a mini-display.
History in evidence: Archive Access Sessions
Target group: AQA GCSE History A, B & C, Edexel GCSE History A, B & C, OCR GCSE History B & C, AQA, Edexel & OCR AS/A level History, University Students
Venue: Royal Naval Museum
Length of session: 2 hrs
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit (for Post 16 add 25p pp) + £70 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
Incorporating behind the scenes tours, gallery visits and focused activities these tailor-made sessions provide students with a unique opportunity to access the museum archives and examine primary sources relevant to their course of study. Topics available include: Maritime exploration & the development of England; Nelson, Napoleon & Trafalgar; the Royal Navy & the Transatlantic Slave Trade; World War I: blockades, Jutland & the Gallipoli campaign; World War II: the battle of the Atlantic, Dunkirk, D-Day & the Forgotten Fleet; The Falklands Conflict; Women and their changing role in the Navy; History around us: Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
Leisure & Tourism at the Royal Naval Museum
Target group: AQA & Edexel GCSE, GNVQ & AVCE Leisure, Travel & Tourism, OCR GNVQ & AVCE Leisure & Tourism
Venue: Royal Naval Museum
Length of session: Half day
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit (For Post 16 add 25p pp) + £70 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
In this activity-based session students learn about the Museum (the oldest in the Dockyard) as a visitor and heritage attraction. In groups they investigate target audiences, marketing and evaluation materials, go on a tour of the galleries, conduct a SWOT analysis and produce a piece of promotional material customised for a specific audience.
Note: This session can also be extended to include a detailed presentation on customer services, marketing and promotion.
New! Witness to history
Dates: November 2009
Target group: KS2 & KS3
Venue: Royal Naval Museum
Length of session: 2hrs
Curriculum links: History, Geography, Citizenship
Price: £2.25 per pupil Discovery Visit + £70 per workshop for up to 35 pupils.
As part of this special workshop for Remembrance Month students will investigate compelling personal stories from different servicemen and women involved in conflicts from World War 1 to the present day. They will then have the opportunity to interact first hand with a veteran to discover more about their individual experiences and viewpoints.
Note: Bookings for this workshop must be made at least one month in advance of visit.
‘Sea your World’ Early Years Week
Date: March 22 to 26 2010
Target group: Pre-school, Foundation Stage & KS1
Venue: Royal Naval Museum
Length of session: Half day
Curriculum links: Knowledge & understanding of the world, Communication, language & literacy, Creative development (Foundation stage); Geography, PSHE, Citizenship, Art & design
Price: £4 per pupil
Once again the Royal Naval Museum is throwing open its doors for a week of fun-filled activities designed especially for Early Years and Foundation Stage groups. Each day children will have the opportunity to investigate themes connected to the sea, life under and across the sea through a series of creative, hands-on activities including art, dressing up, object-handling and story telling. An ideal tool for nurseries and schools, each day aims to increase curiosity and imagination as well as stimulate interest in the sea around us!
Please note: as this is a very popular event further dates may be added to those above. Please contact the Museum for details.