Teachers to take over M Shed

M Shed, Bristol’s iconic museum on the city’s historic harbourside, will be taken over by teachers on Monday 26 June.

The free Teacher Takeover event, which marks M Shed’s sixth birthday, is an opportunity for teachers from all over Bristol and surrounding areas to come together to celebrate their successes as they finish another academic year. The event will give teachers a look behind the scenes at the museum and enable them to discover more about history of Bristol and learning opportunities provided by the museum.

Teachers are invited to join the Formal Learning Team at M Shed between 3.30-6.30pm for a fun and informal event, which includes road-testing new gallery learning resources. If they wish, teachers will also be able to dress up as their favourite Bristolian for selfies, take a quiz and handle objects from the local history workshops run by the Formal Learning Team. Teachers will also all receive a free goody bag to take home.

Jane Hack, Senior Officer for Formal Learning said:

“This special drop-in event is exclusively for teachers and totally free. We know times are tough and we wanted to mark M Shed’s sixth birthday by inviting teachers from in and around Bristol to relax at the end of a long academic year and discover what a vibrant and fun place M Shed is to learn about our local history.

“The event is on a Monday so the museum is closed to the general public, providing a unique opportunity for teachers to take over the galleries and see behind the scenes. These exciting encounters are designed to support teachers with the delivery of their curriculum.”

From Chocolate to Ships and Sailors and from The Transatlantic Slave Trade to Significant Bristol People, M Shed is becoming a centre of excellence for learning and discovering about Bristol’s past. The museum was recently assessed for the prestigious ‘Sandford Award for Heritage Education’ and is expected to find out in July if it will be a 2017 award winner. The award recognises the work the museum does to inspire Bristol school children and other educational audiences in and around the city and is given to museums and heritage sites that are deemed to have high quality education programmes. Last year the award was presented to Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, another one of the city’s museums run by the Culture Team at Bristol City Council.

Recently the team have also started taking the museum out on the road, delivering workshops in the classroom and hosting school assemblies. Bristol and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is one of the subjects available, which introduces young people to the origins, abolition and legacy of the trade. Other subjects include Brilliant Bristolians and teaching materials, gallery resources and loan items are available and bring the lessons to life.

M Shed can also offer education experiences to other groups such as Brownies, Cubs, Scouts and Guides, as well as early years groups and home educators. Tours are also available to overseas group who speak English as a foreign language and the museum regularly runs events for adult learners such as creative writing courses.

Councillor Claire Hiscott, Cabinet Member for Skills and Education said:

“Bristol is a Learning City and our museums are central to our city’s cultural offer. Since opening six years ago in June 2011, M Shed has played a huge role as a learning destination, bringing the city’s rich local history alive. It is a place that our schools, home educators and all those involved in education can visit and make the most of. The latest exhibition Skeletons: our buried bones, provides a fascinating way of introducing children to science and features an interactive bone lab. Planning ahead, the wonderful Wildlife Photographer of Year exhibition will soon be back at M Shed in the autumn. I encourage teachers to get along to the Teacher Takeover event the museum is holding on 26 June and discover the museum for themselves.”

To book a free place, teachers should email museumbookings@bristol.gov.uk to receive an invitation. To find out more about the learning opportunities available at Bristol Museums see bristolmuseums.org.uk/learning