The museums school service offers unique and inspirational resources and experiences to support pupils' critical thinking and creative learning.
Our museum resources for schools enrich learning and inspire curiosity and wonder in pupils of all abilities and backgrounds.
More sessions will be added over time, so please check back here regularly. If you can't find what you're looking for, please let us know on the booking form. We'll try our hardest to accommodate you.
When booking your visit to the History Store, we strongly recommend including the introductory session 'History Detectives: What is History?' alongside your chosen topic. This session is adaptable for any key stage or year group, and provides valuable context, making your visit even more engaging and enriching.
For all key stages visiting the History Store
Key stage 1 workshops
- Toys and Games through Time
- Finding Fabulous Fossils with Mary Anning
- Bandages, Beds and Bullets: From Herefordshire to the Crimea with Local Nurse Susan
- Keeping House in the 1600s: Spick and Span
- ‘London’s Burning!’ From Plague to Ashes at the Old House
- Trail Blazers! Hereford City Centre Trail
Key stage 2 workshops
- From Stone to Iron: Can You Survive Herefordshire's Prehistory?
- Ancient Greeks: Written in the Stars
- Ancient Egyptians: Trowels, Treasures and Tombs
- Romans in Herefordshire: From Soldiers to Slaves
- Unearthing the Vikings: Raiders and Hoarders in Herefordshire
- WW1 Home Front Herefordshire: ‘Munitions workers – do your bit!’
- WW2 Evacuees on the Home Front: "Chin Up, Children!"
History Detectives: What is History?
| Venue | History Store |
| Duration | 45 minutes |
| Cost | £2 per pupil |
Turn your class into history detectives! Children need all their sleuthing skills to uncover clues from the past. As they dig deeper, they will gain a hands-on understanding of timeline and history, becoming archaeologists, historians and finally palaeontologists. For any key stage/year group – be prepared to be enthralled!
This session is an exciting and engaging introduction to chronology and the concept of history itself. We strongly recommend that all schools try to include it in their visit to the History Store to complement their chosen topic.
Curriculum links and beyond
History, science, geography, literacy, oracy, problem-solving, critical thinking, communication and listening skills, teamwork and fun!
Toys and Games through Time - KS1
| Venue | History Store or outreach |
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Cost | £3.50 per pupil + travel for outreach |
Put down those tablets, children, and turn off those phones! We’re going back to a time when there were few toys but a lot of games that children all enjoyed together. We’ll play some of those outside, then, inside, we’ll find toys that have been loved through the ages. From Barbie to spinning tops, from the familiar to the downright strange, the toys challenge the children through a range of cross-curricular activities.
Curriculum links and beyond
History, science, design and technology, maths, P.E., oracy, teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, listening, communication and sharing skills.
Finding Fabulous Fossils with Mary Anning - KS1
| Venue | History Store |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Cost | £3.50 per pupil |
Meet Mary Anning and learn all about her fascinating life and fossil finds! Children will see, handle (and become!) ancient creatures from millions of years ago. They will assist Mary with her latest discovery by cracking open a dinosaur surprise and become expert fossil hunters in this hands-on session. ‘Now, little ‘uns! Let’s use our rock hammers on this ‘un…’
Curriculum links and beyond
History, science, geography, oracy, teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, listening and communication skills.
Bandages, Beds and Bullets: From Herefordshire to the Crimea with Local Nurse Susan - ‘I’ll train you like Florence Nightingale trained me!’ - KS1
| Venue | Outreach (in school) |
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Cost | £3.50 per pupil + mileage to and from school |
‘Now, nurses, we have much to do and no time to waste!’ Meet Nurse Susan Cator, one of Florence Nightingale’s own nursing team during the Crimean War, who came from Ross-on-Wye! She will train your class like Nightingale’s nurses and let you up close to medical equipment of the time. Discover Susan’s story and how Victorian Florence Nightingale changed nursing in this hands-on and immersive session…
Curriculum links and beyond
Local history, science, drama, oracy, teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, listening and communication skills.
Keeping House in the 1600s: Spick and Span - KS1
| Venue | Old House Hereford |
| Duration | 1 hour |
| Cost | £3.50 per pupil |
Maximum number of pupils per session is approximately 15 children. If you are hoping to bring a full class, we highly recommend that half of the class participates in our Trail Blazers! Hereford City Centre KS1 Trail and then swaps over. Please get in touch via the booking form for timetable options.
Oh no, all the servants are ill! We do hope it's not the plague. Head Maid Grace can't possibly get the Old House ready all by herself before the master and mistress come home… Get your aprons on, children, and don't forget your caps – it's time to help with some chores! From sweeping floorboards to swaddling babies (and everything in between) – there's no time to waste. Children become servants and discover how homes in the past were kept spick and span in this fully immersive session. But watch out for those mice… They're everywhere!
Curriculum links and beyond
(Local) History - homes beyond living memory, drama, oracy, teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, listening and communication skills.
‘London’s Burning!’ From Plague to Ashes at the Old House Hereford - KS1
| Venue | Old House Hereford |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Cost | £3.50 per pupil |
Maximum number of pupils per session is approximately 15 children. If you are hoping to bring a full class, we highly recommend that half of the class participates in our Trail Blazers! Hereford City Centre KS1 Trail and then swaps over. Please get in touch via the booking form for timetable options.
Step back in time with your class in this immersive experience full of hands-on challenges and ashy surprises.
Children! It’s been a year since the Great Fire of London in 1666 and everyone’s ever so worried that it might happen in Hereford. Fear not, Head Maid Grace, who saw the blaze with her own eyes, will tell us all about it and show us what we can do to prevent it – ‘forewarned is forearmed!’
Curriculum links and beyond
Local history, science, drama, geography, music, oracy, teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, resilience, listening and communication skills.
Trail Blazers! Hereford City Centre Trail – KS1
| Venue | Old House Hereford / Hereford city centre |
| Duration | 45-60 minutes |
| Cost | £1.50 per pupil |
Combine your visit to the Old House with our city trail!
While one half of your class enjoys a session at the Old House, the other half will try and crack a series of clues to uncover local mysteries in the heart of Hereford city centre. Can they succeed in becoming official Trail Blazers?
Curriculum links and beyond
Local history, geography, maths, P.E., oracy, teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, resilience, listening and communication skills.
From Stone to Iron: Can You Survive Herefordshire's Prehistory? - KS2
| Venue | History Store |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Cost | £3.50 per pupil |
Travel with your class back to pre-historic Herefordshire! Do they have what it takes to survive? During this session, we examine artefacts that ancient hands once held. Then it's off to the Stone Age to experience the hunter-gatherer life. We spin into the Bronze Age to put down some roots and see what metals can do. Finally, we battle our way into the Iron Age. This experience is hands-on, entirely immersive and focuses on local history. It is designed to encourage children to think and feel their way through thousands of years of human history in just one session!
Curriculum links and beyond
Local history, geography, science, design and technology, teamwork, hand-eye coordination, communication, listening, critical thinking, learning ancient craft skills.
Please note: this session involves natural materials/resources. Please inform us on the booking form if there are any children with allergies in your class.
Ancient Greeks: Written in the Stars - KS2
| Venue | History Store |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Cost | £3.50 per pupil |
In this star-studded and immersive session, we become gods and heroes as well as ordinary Greeks. There's the night sky, real artefacts and myths. And the children will need all their courage and wits to defeat the terrifying monster, Medusa… Be prepared to leave starry-eyed and full of wonder!
Curriculum links and beyond
History, literacy, science/astronomy, art, geography, oracy, problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, listening, and teamwork.
Ancient Egyptians: Trowels, Treasures and Tombs - KS2
| Venue | History store |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Cost | £3.50 per pupil |
In this exciting hands-on session your class will become Egyptologists and uncover the lives of the ancient Egyptians, from workers to pharaohs. Join an excavation and sift through sand and time to unearth artefacts and solve a mystery.
But wait! A tomb has just been discovered and something’s not quite right. Let’s grab our torches, it’s time to investigate.
Curriculum links and beyond
History, geography, science, oracy, teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, resilience, listening and communication skills.
Romans in Herefordshire: From Soldiers to Slaves - KS2
| Venue | In school (outreach) |
| Duration | 90 minutes in total (split into 2 parts - each session approx. 45 minutes |
| Cost | £3.50 per pupil + mileage to and from school |
Part 1: Joining the Roman Army – ‘Are you ready to invade?!’
Travel back in time to 43 AD with your class in this exciting session and become part of the Roman army taking over Brittania. Our legion’s just reached Herefordshire and the local Iron Age tribe at Credenhill hillfort doesn’t look too pleased to see us… time to grab our shields and spears – let’s do some drills to make sure we’re battle-ready! ‘Aaaannnd MARCH!’ Please note: this part must take place outside in school fields/playgrounds.
Part 2: Everyday Life with Roman Lady Flavia – ‘Oh, I hate dirt!’
Then the tables will turn… your class will become recently captured ‘barbarian’ slaves from the Iron Age hillfort Credenhill! Brought to a Roman villa just outside Magna (Roman Kenchester), you will meet your new mistress, just arrived from Rome. Rest assured, slaves, Lady Flavia will educate you on all things Roman – banquets, health, hygiene – eh, hem, sniff, sniff. Discover what everyday life was like in Roman Herefordshire in this in-character, engaging, hands-on and object-rich session.
Curriculum links & beyond
Local history, P.E., drama, geography, oracy, teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, resilience, listening and communication skills.
Unearthing the Vikings: Raiders and Hoarders in Herefordshire - KS2
| Venue | In school (outreach) |
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Cost | £3.50 per pupil + travel for outreach |
It is 878 AD and we Vikings are retreating from that vile Saxon king, Alfred, after a mighty battle. We must try to row our Longships up the Wye, fight menacing locals and hide our stolen treasure before we re-join the Great Viking Army in Herefordshire. Can we make it?!
Over 1,100 years later, we will rediscover that astonishing buried treasure and unearth the recent true crime story that surrounds the Herefordshire Hoard. We will be asking ourselves: what is treasure? And what is the right thing to do if we find it…?
Curriculum links and beyond
Local history, crime and punishment, science, drama, P.E., geography, critical thinking, oracy, communication, listening, problem-solving and teamwork.
WW1 Home Front Herefordshire: ‘Munitions workers – do your bit!’ - KS2
| Venue | History store |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Cost | £3.50 per pupil |
It’s 1918 and Europe is still in the thick of the Great War. Discover the secret and dangerous work that’s been going on in Herefordshire in this immersive session! Your class will be put through a series of hands-on challenges by a ‘canary girl’ to see if they have what it takes to become munitions workers at the local factory.
Get close to real WW1 artefacts and find out what life was like both on the home front and for our boys in the trenches, discover the very first threat from the air (zeppelins!) and see if your class has the skill, precision, teamwork and courage to work in a munitions factory. ‘Now, I warn you, this is risky work, but we must all do our bit.’
Curriculum links and beyond
Local history, science, drama, literacy, oracy, teamwork, problem-solving, hand-eye coordination, critical thinking, resilience, listening and communication skills.
WW2 Evacuees on the Home Front: "Chin Up, Children!" - KS2
| Venue | History Store |
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Cost | £3.50 per pupil |
So, children, war is raging and your train has arrived here in Hereford because Birmingham is facing such a threat from the skies. Chin up, it's hard to leave your families, of course, but we all have to make sacrifices now. Miss Collins will welcome you and make sure you have mastered those vital wartime skills. You will learn about your ARP warden and be reminded to keep your eyes peeled for anyone suspicious… they might be a spy! Stand by for an air raid drill and a task from the local Lumber Jills. And then the mayor's wife herself will arrive to allocate you to your new homes.
Curriculum links and beyond
Local history, maths, drama, critical thinking, oracy, communication, listening, problem-solving and teamwork.
*Please note: This session does involve an air raid drill. If you have any children in your class that might find this distressing – such as refugee children, please let us know in the enquiry form so we can contact you in advance to discuss how best to accommodate these children. Please also inform of us any allergies as this session does involve a small amount of food and drink.