Visits and Workshops
We have a proven track record of working effectively with schools to provide a high quality educational experience. All of our visits have been developed in conjunction with teachers and education professionals to meet the needs of the school and the curriculum. Woodhorn has a number of popular workshops suitable for school groups. These include:
A Canny Day Out (KS1/KS2)
Recreate the fun of the Miners' Picnic by creating your own banner and performing a musical procession around the pityard.
Home Life (KS1/KS2)
Roll up your sleeves and prepare to get wet as you recreate washday the old fashioned way: grating the soap, scrubbing the clothes and while you wait for the clothes to dry, have a go at making a proggy mat.
Working Down the Pit (KS1/KS2)
Step into the pit boots of a boy on his first day in the mine. Children will get into costume and handle objects as they recreate the experience of working underground.
Danger, Danger (KS2)
Solve the mystery of a missing miner using objects and archive documents as clues. Discover what caused the Woodhorn mining disaster in 1916 and what happened to our missing miner.
Put Yourself in the Picture (KS2/KS3)
Immerse yourself in the naturalistic 'pitmen paintings' then recreate scenes from mining life around the museum exhibitions using charcoal.
Podcasting (KS3)
Become an art critic for the day as you unravel the stories contained in the Ashington Group collection and present your review to the class. Recordings can be edited back in the classroom and uploaded into a podcast.
My Town/ My School (KS1 - KS3)
A great introduction to using archival documents. Children will be encouraged to consider how their town or school has changed over time using maps, school log books, trade directories and photographs.
Campaign! Make An Impact at Woodhorn (KS2/3/4)
The workshops are based around history and citizenship and is an innovative approach which inspires young people about historical campaigns through the museum and archive collections. We are running Campaign projects around the 1980's Miner’s Strike, students examine original source material relating to the strike and discuss qualities of leaders, tactics used, the success of the campaign etc. Using their new skills children plan and run campaigns about issues which affect them today.
Cholera, Crime, Suffragettes, World War II, The Miners' Strike, Seaside Memories, Grace Darling ....
Woodhorn are constantly developing resources from our extensive archive collection allowing pupils to examine primary historical documents. Some of these resources are available via the Learning Zone. Schools are welcome to view original documents at Woodhorn in structured workshops. Education staff are also available to deliver outreach workshops at your school.
Tours
Enjoy and discover amazing facts when you take a Colliery Tour around Woodhorn with our expert guide.
Our Archive Tour provides a rare glimpse of what happens to documents when they arrive at Woodhorn, from the loading bay to the convservation area, to their final resting place.