Step-by-step guide

Basic steps

1. Talk to other museums and providers in the area. Go and watch their sessions in action before you start to plan your own.

2. Identify any support system in your area eg. hub museums or local heritage officer. Take full advantage of anything that is on offer.

3. Identify your local ‘market’. Who will want to use your museum?

4. Talk to local teachers and group leaders to identify needs. Refer to the National Curriculum and identify any local initiatives.

5. Identify the strengths of your collection. Do you have suitable handling or loan items? Is your interpretation adequate for varied groups? Can things be taken out of cases? Are the most suitable items for trails in a visually accessible place?

6. Identify what type of activities suit the space available. And organise the space appropriately including convenient storage.

7. Prepare activities in detail and acquire necessary resources.

8. For more formal sessions write out notes of what you will say and do. Prepare a ‘prompt’ sheet for you to refer to during workshops.

9. For schools workshops prepare information sheets or a teacher’s pack.

10. Prepare admin system – bookings, evaluation, invoices, receipts etc.

11. Produce Child Protection Policy and associated guidelines.

12. Have your site checked by a Fire Safety Officer and ensure that everyone knows the procedure to follow in the event of a fire.

13. Ensure that there will be someone on site with First Aid training.

14. Organise police checks for all staff working with young people.

15. Do risk assessments for the site and planned activities.

16. Market sessions only when planning is compete.

17. Evaluate sessions as you go along. Keep records of successes, failures, numbers, demographics of visitors, income, etc.

What works

Lesley Allen (Education Officer) demonstrating how telegraphy equipment works to a group of school children in the demonstration area of the museum tunnels

Image: A 'how things work' session.

Having sessions with lots of variety of activity.
Doing things which are ‘different’ to the normal experience and which cannot be easily done at school or home.
Making sure the session is fun! Children learn better this way.
Always having an ‘extra’ activity tucked up you sleeve in case things are completed more quickly than anticipated to avoid boredom. Keep them busy!
Keeping things simple.
Making sure that every last detail is prepared well in advance.
Working in partnership with other organisations where possible.
Concentrating on your strengths as a museum.
Keeping records so you can refer back to them
Forging links with other museums in the locality for mutual support and information sharing.

What doesn't work

Keeping younger children sitting still for too long.
Giving visitors an activity that is so difficult they give up!
Stepping outside of your known knowledge base or experience.
Expecting visitors to react to your exhibitions on the same academic level as you do. Remember that you are the expert – they may well be complete novices even if they are adults!
Lack of discipline. Let pupils know what the rules are at the outset and enforce them. Children running wild around your building won’t help them learn and may alienate other visitors.
Ignoring the National Curriculum. No matter how interesting your museum is, if what you are offering cannot be used by a teacher as part of her delivery of the NC then schools simply won’t buy in. You have to be creative to find links.

Pitfalls

Misunderstandings can occur when you discuss things over the phone. ALWAYS send a booking confirmation in hard copy – either by printable email or post and ask for a hard copy reply confirming that the dates, times, costs and other details are correct.
Applying for funding for a project is fraught with difficulty and you can never be sure that you will get what you have asked for. NEVER buy anything or make any firm commitments to schools or visitors until you have an offer in writing of funding.
Don’t offer anything unless you are 100% sure you can deliver to a high standard. If you let a group down or disappoint their expectations once they are likely never to use you again and tell other people about their poor experience.
Don’t try to compete with existing providers. Use your collection or situation strengths to provide something that is unique to you and which will complement existing programmes.

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