Museums and Galleries:

• Inspire learners across all age ranges
• Are sites of enhanced achievement, going beyond what learners think they can do
• Engage both boys and girls
• Stimulate vulnerable pupils and those that findlearning difficult
• Target and motivate disadvantaged individuals andgroups effectively
• Provide resources for all curriculum areas, and forinter-disciplinary themes
• Respond effectively to primary, secondary, FE and HEcurricula
• Complement formal education when pupils are offcurriculum (hospital schools, pupils who are refugees)    (Department for Culture, Media and Sport, n.d)

It is important as educators to arrange trips to places such as museums as many children may not be in a position where they could experience this with a parent or carer. Going with the school means that these pupils do not miss a chance to be emerged and inspired by the art and culture found in these places. However for these trips to be valuable there needs to be discussion before, during and after. The follow up can be as important as the trip. There should always be follow up activities to consolidate the learning. (Xanthoudaki, 1998). So for example if you have visited an art gallery it would be beneficial to do art activities based on the art saw and discussed on the visit.

It is particularly important as well to plan the trips well to make sure that children do not become bored during the trip. Not all pupils have the capacity to just walk around and observe, many will need some other form of stimulation. Perhaps using a treasure hunt kind of activity where children have certain things/ pictures to find and mark down etc.

 

 Department for Culture, Media and Sport. (n.d) Inspiration, Identity, Learning: The Value of Museums.