Beamish The Living Museum of the North
Visit Website
Email us
Beamish, , County Durham, DH9 ORG
MONTHS OPEN
DAYS OPEN
AGE GROUPS SERVED
Listed under: Day Trip Destinations | Business Studies | Citizenship | Drama / Performing Arts | English | Engineering | History | Mathematics | PSHE | Science | Historical Heritage | Museums | Outdoor Education | Picnic Areas | Science Discovery Centre | Themed Attraction
What we offer on a school trip
Beamish Museum offers truly unique learning experiences and is a fantastic location for inspiring learning across the curriculum. The museum offers a wide range of educational activities, from early years to GCSE and beyond.
A visit to Beamish is the perfect way to engage students by bringing classroom learning to life through hands-on experiences they will never forget. Enquiry-based activities and immersive learning give pupils the opportunity to ask and reflect, enquire and learn, know and understand.
Costumed staff are at the very heart of Beamish and the opportunity to question, interpret, interact and empathise makes learning at Beamish truly memorable.
What makes us a great choice for education?
Beamish is unique. Objects aren’t locked away in glass cases, we offer a truly hands-on experience. Buildings from throughout the North East have been brought to Beamish, rebuilt and furnished as they once were. Costumed staff bring these buildings to life, telling the story of North East England in the early 1800s, early 1900s and 1940s.
For primary school pupils, a whole variety of curriculum themes can be explored: history, local history and chronology, English, science, technology, engineering, art and creativity. KS2 and KS3 students can develop their history, local history and chronology and cross-curricular knowledge, participating in a wide range of enquiry-based activities and becoming immersed in the past.
What is typically included on our school trips?
Many schools undertake a self-guided visit to Beamish, usually split into smaller groups of children. Some are following up a topic started in the classroom and have specific themes they wish to explore during the visit; others are using a visit to introduce a new area of work.
There are four main areas at Beamish:
1820s Pockerley - Explore the new house at Pockerley Old Hall, compare it with the old house next door and stroll round the pretty, terraced gardens. Take a steam train ride through the Georgian Landscape on the Waggonway and visit the beautiful St Helen's Church. Learn about early industrialisation and investigate the murder of Joe the Quilter.
1900s Town - Find out who lives in Ravensworth Terrace, explore the Masonic Hall, savour the tasty handmade bread in the bakery, pop into the chemist's shop and photographers’ studio. Dare you pay a visit to Mr. Jones, the dentist?
1900s Pit Village - See what is cooking in the pit cottages, catch a lesson in the village school and meet the pit ponies. Explore The Colliery Yard and go underground at the drift mine to see how coal was worked.
1940s Farm - Meet Land Girls and the Home Guard and explore life on the Home Front during the Second World War, from make do and mend and cooking with rations to evacuees, a pillbox and an air raid shelter.
Increasingly, schools book one of the many educational activities on offer. These are delivered in period areas by experienced costumed staff. Activities last between one and one and a half hours and can be tailored to the needs of individual groups.
A selection of our fascinating learning activities can be found below. Full details of these and other activities, along with costs, are available at www.beamish.org.uk/learning.
Group Sizes Catered For
Minimum group size for educational rates - 10 pupils.
Beamish is a very large open air museum and can accept whole school bookings.
Materials, Resources & Information Provided
Online Resources - The Beamish website, www.beamish.org.uk/learning gives details of all the activities on offer. A wide range of supporting teaching resources, linked to activities, can be downloaded from the website and used in the classroom before or after a visit to Beamish Museum. Further information, including hazard identifications to support teacher risk assessments, how to book and outreach is included.
CPD and Training - Throughout the year, the museum organises development days exploring aspects of the wider curriculum, supporting teacher needs. These are for teachers from all key stages, full details are available on the website - www.beamish.org.uk/learning.
Loan Boxes - A limited number of loan boxes are available for teachers to use in the classroom. Boxes are themed, e.g. childhood, washday, school days, shopping and include a range of items which can be used to start conversations and spark imaginations.
Complimentary Tickets - Complimentary tickets are available to teachers who have booked a visit to assist with planning.
Photography, Filming & Audio Restrictions
Beamish welcomes photography for personal use. Children and teachers are welcome to take photographs and record audio and video both indoors and outdoors. Please note, the use of tripods, monopods or supplementary lighting is not permitted.
Risk Assessment Details
Hazard identifications for school visits can be downloaded from the museum's website to support teacher risk assessments. Complimentary tickets are available to teachers once a visit is booked to undertake risk assessment.
Education Officer Information
Beamish has an innovative Learning Team, led by Simon Woolley, Head of Learning.
Email: simonwoolley@beamish.org.uk
Pricing Information
£6.50 per child/student in full time education.
Under 5s – Free.
Children/students must be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times. One adult is admitted free with every 5 paying children/students aged 5 to 16. If you are bringing under-fives, adults enter at a ratio of 1 to every 3 children.
Additional adults pay £13.50.
Clothing Requirements
You will be outside for a significant part of the day. Suitable clothing and sturdy shoes/trainers are essential. Please come prepared for the weather e.g. warm clothes, waterproofs, sun hats, sun cream and bottles of water as appropriate.
First Aid Information
Beamish has a number of qualified first-aiders across all areas of the museum.
Available Facilities
Beamish has a number of catering outlets - the Tea Room in The 1900s Town is a self-service restaurant and there is a coffee shop in the Entrance. Take-away snacks are available at The 1940s Farm and The 1900s Pit Village and ice creams are available at The 1900s Town kiosk.
There are many open spaces, some with picnic tables, around the museum which can be used for picnics. A number of free indoor lunch spaces are available. Please note that these must be booked in advance.
The Jubilee Confectioners in The 1900s Town sells a wide range of sweets, many of them handmade on the premises. Traditional bread, cakes and biscuits are made and sold in Herron's Bakery in The 1900s Town.
Gifts and souvenirs are available in the stationer's shop and Co-op shops in The Town. The Gift Shop at the Entrance sells a wide range of books, postcards, souvenirs and gifts.
Accessibility & Disabled Facilities
Beamish is a large open air museum with many historic buildings, some of which are not completely accessible to visitors. It is a hands-on museum. Many sounds, smells, tastes and textures can be experienced; and objects, surfaces and textiles handled, making for a multi-sensory experience.
To create an authentic feel, there are a variety of ground surfaces, some of which are uneven by nature. There are steep slopes in places, and some buildings and exhibits have stepped access.
Free wheelchair hire is available from the Entrance Building. As numbers are limited and available on a first come first served basis, please contact the museum in advance to reserve to avoid disappointment: 0191 370 4000 (Lines open Mon-Fri, 9am-4.30pm).
The Accessible Bus, with a rear tail lift, can securely carry up to four wheelchairs. Please note the Accessible Bus is not able to securely anchor and transport motorised scooters. A weight restriction (250kgs) also applies to the use of the tail lift. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
A comprehensive guide to accessibility at Beamish can be downloaded from the website - http://www.beamish.org.uk/accessibility/
Accessible toilets are available at the Entrance Building (with Invacare Reliant 350 Stand Assist); the 1900s Town; Pockerley Old Hall; Pockerley Waggonway; 1940s Farm; Pit Village; Colliery and Fairground.
Beamish also has Changing Places Facilities, including a wash and dry toilet, hoist, changing bench and adjustable basin. Changing Places are enhanced disabled toilet facilities for people with severe disabilities.For Health and Safety reasons we do not provide slings. Customers are asked to bring their own which should be compatible with the loop system.
Opening Hours & Information
Beamish is open all year (except Mondays and Fridays, January to mid-February). April to October 10am to 5pm, November to March 10am to 4pm. Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
Testimonials
Teacher whose class did Joe the Quilter – Early Industrialisation activity:
“A fabulous day out for children and staff. The impact on learning from visiting the museum must not be underestimated. Can’t wait for our next visit! Practical experiences help children learn and retain information. Real life hands on experience for the children with the opportunity to talk to staff and ask questions about life in the past.”
Teacher whose class took part in the Evacuees activity:
“It was like travelling back in time. The children thoroughly enjoyed the day. A great day. Would definitely recommend.”
College lecturer with Business students:
“As business students, most were viewing the museum with a view to their assignments rather than a history angle. They were all talking about the things they saw on the bus on the way home which, in some ways, sparked their imaginations further than just for their assignments. Great day out and invaluable in terms of information the learners gained.”
Teacher who uses a visit to Beamish as part of a week’s residential programme:
“The staff were excellent and all activities were hands on with resources to support in each area, we couldn’t have asked for a better visit. The children learnt so much during their visit and remembered lots… We have visited many times and each year, the visit gets better.”
Teacher whose class did the James White – Local History activity:
"Our history topic is Victorian Working Children with a particular focus on children in mines. We are writing newspaper reports linked to the James White session and the work they have produced is great – this is probably because the story had been brought to life for them."
Teacher’s whose class did the Traditions of Christmas activity:
“The children felt like they had ‘gone back in time’. The attention to detail was incredible. Right across the museum it was obvious that your staff knew a lot about the eras and they communicated it effectively to the children. On returning to school the children have been able to remember details which has enhanced their topic work (Victorian Christmas).”
