Schools Programme
Workshops
As Discovery visits are now FREE your class can enjoy a full day of learning at the museum, and take part in a workshop, for as little as £40!*
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.
You could also take part in one of our fantastic special events-this year we are working with BAE Systems once again to offer a special science Roadshow and will be offering a brand new Pirates Ahoy! Early Years Week for our younger learners!
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 Learning Voyages brochure contains a wealth of information about the programme we offer and is available as a PDF to download here.
*Discovery Visits to HMS Victory cost £3.55 per student
Click to view workshops for specific ranges:
Reception and Year 1 Key Stage 3
World Voyages
Where has the Navy been and what did they find there?
Target group: Foundation stage, KS1
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: Knowledge & understanding of the world, Communication, language & literacy, Creative development (Foundation stage); Geography, PSHE & Citizenship.
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 35 people.
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.
Visit the Special Events page to find out about our fun filled Early Years week in March 2012!
Remembrance Day
Why is it important to remember the sailors of World War 1 and 2?
Target group: KS1
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: History, Citizenship
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 35 people.
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! Mari-time travellers
How different are ships now compared to the past?
Target group: KS1
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: History, Science, Design and Technology
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 35 people.
Sail through time with the Navy! This interactive session begins with a story that takes pupils on an exciting voyage discovering how ship design, materials and technologies have changed over the ages. In groups they then take part in investigative activities to find out more about structure, mechanisms, forces and motion from the past and into the future.
Who was Nelson?
Target Group: KS1
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum Links: History (Famous People), Literacy
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 35 people.
Why do we still remember Nelson? Using the National Museum of the Royal Navy’s fascinating collections children discover more about Nelson the man and the hero. Using paintings and objects they develop their creative thinking skills to investigate how artefacts can tell stories.
A sailor’s home
What was it like to live on board HMS Victory?
Target Group: KS1
Venue: HMS Victory
Curriculum Links: History (Famous People), Literacy
Price: £3.55 per pupil Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 30 people.
Explore a unique old home and discover how different life was for sailors in the past. Children take part in an interactive story, using detective skills and object handling to find out more about life on board HMS Victory. Comparisons are made between the lives of Nelson and his officers and those of ordinary sailors.
Victory shipmates
What skills do you need to join Nelson’s Navy?
Target group: KS1 and KS2
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: History, Citizenship
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 35 people.
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 and now
How has the Dockyard changed and grown through time?
Target group: KS1 and KS2
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: History, Geography, English
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £70 per 2 hour workshop for up to 35 people.
With a focus on local history and the development of Portsmouth Harbour, pupils become ‘Dockyard Detectives’ investigating clues on a special tour to find out how the dockyard has adapted and grown through time. They then carry out ICT, map and language-based activities as well as artefact handling to explore how social and technological changes, such as the Industrial Revolution, have transformed people’s lives and the local area.
Colourful journeys art
Target group: KS1 and KS2
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: Art & design
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £70 per 1½ hour workshop for up to 30 people.
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.
Child sailors on HMS Victory
Target Group: KS1 and 2
Venue: HMS Victory
Curriculum Links: History, Literacy, Drama, Citizenship
Price: £3.55 per pupil Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 30 people.
Boys as young as eleven lived and worked on HMS Victory. In this interactive workshop pupils compare the lives, work and very different experiences of a Ship’s boy and Midshipman through object handling, historical enquiry and role play.
Ship shape and a square meal!
Who is the healthiest – you or a sailor on HMS Victory?
Target Group: KS1 and 2
Venue: HMS Victory
Curriculum Links: History, Science, Mathematics
Price: £3.55 per pupil Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 30 people.
Did sailors really eat maggots? How did they avoid scurvy? And how did they wash their clothes? Through a range of hands-on activities children discover what sailors ate and how they kept clean, learning about the importance of nutrition, hygiene and the links between food and health. They then compare their diets to that of the Georgian sailors to see which comes out on top!
Victory shipmates
What skills do you need to join Nelson’s Navy?
Target group: KS1 and KS2
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: History, Citizenship
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 35 people.
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 and now
How has the Dockyard changed and grown through time?
Target group: KS1 and KS2
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: History, Geography, English
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £70 per 2 hour workshop for up to 35 people.
With a focus on local history and the development of Portsmouth Harbour, pupils become ‘Dockyard Detectives’ investigating clues on a special tour to find out how the dockyard has adapted and grown through time. They then carry out ICT, map and language-based activities as well as artefact handling to explore how social and technological changes, such as the Industrial Revolution, have transformed people’s lives and the local area.
Child sailors on HMS Victory
Target Group: KS1 and 2
Venue: HMS Victory
Curriculum Links: History, Literacy, Drama, Citizenship
Price: £3.55 per pupil Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 30 people.
Boys as young as eleven lived and worked on HMS Victory. In this interactive workshop pupils compare the lives, work and very different experiences of a Ship’s boy and Midshipman through object handling, historical enquiry and role play.
Ship shape and a square meal!
Who is the healthiest – you or a sailor on HMS Victory?
Target Group: KS1 and 2
Venue: HMS Victory
Curriculum Links: History, Science, Mathematics
Price: £3.55 per pupil Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 30 people.
Did sailors really eat maggots? How did they avoid scurvy? And how did they wash their clothes? Through a range of hands-on activities children discover what sailors ate and how they kept clean, learning about the importance of nutrition, hygiene and the links between food and health. They then compare their diets to that of the Georgian sailors to see which comes out on top!
Colourful journeys art
Target group: KS1 and KS2
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: Art & design
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £70 per 1½ hour workshop for up to 30 people.
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.
Elizabethan exploration and discovery
What were the effects of Tudor exploration?
Target group: KS2
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: History, Geography, Citizenship
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 35 people.
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 the 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!
Face to Face - Kitbag Stories
What do the objects and films tell us about people’s wartime experiences?
Target group: KS2 and KS3
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: History, Geography, Citizenship
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 35 people.
Using veteran case studies and our unique, multi-media ‘Remembrance Kitbags’ pupils interpret different types of primary evidence and develop historical enquiry skills to discover more about the experiences and personal stories of servicemen and women. Resources in the kitbags include artefacts, photographs, face to face interviews, official documents, maps and reports with the option of focusing on World War Two or a range of conflicts from World War 2 to the present day.
Sonnets of sea and sail
Target Group: KS2 and KS3
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum Links: English, History, Drama
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 35 people.
Get poetic 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 surrounded by unique, unseen artefacts -the perfect place to encourage your pupils’ creativity.
Face to Face - Kitbag Stories
What do the objects and films tell us about people’s wartime experiences?
Target group: KS2 and KS3
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: History, Geography, Citizenship
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 35 people.
Using veteran case studies and our unique, multi-media ‘Remembrance Kitbags’ pupils interpret different types of primary evidence and develop historical enquiry skills to discover more about the experiences and personal stories of servicemen and women. Resources in the kitbags include artefacts, photographs, face to face interviews, official documents, maps and reports with the option of focusing on World War Two or a range of conflicts from World War 2 to the present day.
Sonnets of sea and sail
Target Group: KS2 and KS3
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum Links: English, History, Drama
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 35 people.
Get poetic 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 surrounded by unique, unseen artefacts -the perfect place to encourage your pupils’ creativity.
Slavery through Objects
Target group: KS3
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: History, Citizenship, English
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £40 per 1 hour workshop for up to 35 people.
A chance for pupils to explore the wider issues and human stories behind slavery. Through a variety of investigative 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, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, its legacy and continued impact today.
The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Royal Navy
Target group: KS3
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: History, Geography, Citizenship
Price: FREEl Discovery Visit + £70 per 1½ hour workshop for up to 35 people.
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.
The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Royal Navy
Target group: KS3
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: History, Geography, Citizenship
Price: FREE Discovery Visit + £70 per 1½ hour workshop for up to 35 people.
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:
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: FREE 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.
‘BAE Systems schools roadshow-
Science Fiction or Science Fact?
Date: October 8th and 9th, 2012
Target group: KS3
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: Science and engineering, history
Length of session: 9.30-2.45pm
Price: Free (places are limited)
Can we really build invisibility devices like the one in James Bond's car? Is it possible to look so deep into space that we might discover the presence of aliens? Is Superman's X-Ray vision possible?
BAE Systems are back at the National Museum of the Royal Navy with another fascinating session created especially to help students learn all about practical science. The day begins with a show from BAE Systems explaining how four of the most exciting technologies today work and are being developed.
After this groups will take part in three activities during which they will learn the key role science and engineering have played in the Royal Navy both in the past and present. They will control mini robots in the Lego Mindstorm challenge, discover how bio-mimicry has influenced technology and use nature to invent their own creation. There will also be a chance to explore the Victory Gallery and discover the impact of science and technology on Nelson’s Navy .
Places are limited to 3 groups of 30 each day.
Pirates ahoy! Early Years Week
Date: March 18th to 22nd 2013
Target group: Pre-school, Foundation Stage & KS1
Venue: National Museum of the Royal Navy
Curriculum links: Knowledge & understanding of the world, Communication, language & literacy, Creative development (Foundation stage); Geography, PSHE, Citizenship, Art & design
Length of session: 2 hours
Price: £4.50 per pupil
Bring your pint sized pirates to the National Museum of the Royal Navy for our swashbuckling Early Years Week!
Activities include pirate role play and singing, Percy the Parrot’s treasure hunt, fun art and craft, storytelling and the chance to explore our special desert island soft-play world!
Why not make a day of it and visit our FREE galleries to discover what life was like for sailors in the golden age of piracy?
Please note: as this is a very popular event further dates may be added to those above. Please contact the Museum for details.
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