Educational Trips
Ironbridge: Inspiring Learning beyond the classroom
We have created an excellent learning experience that extends beyond classrooms and helps teachers deliver many different aspects of the National Curriculum in a creative and inspiring way.
Students have the opportunity to expand their understanding of many different subjects whilst visiting our museums as we cover;
- History
- Art
- STEAM
- English
- Geography
There are learning opportunities for all key stages and all sessions can be adapted for pupils with additional needs.
The Great British School Trip
We are part of The Great British School Trip powered by Hyundai!
Does your school need financial support or education resources for a school trip?
Click here for more details and how to apply.
Booking a Visit
Booking a visit is easy:
- All school visits must be pre-booked
- Download a generic risk assessment here
- Contact us to discuss your visit
- 01952 433 970
- education@ironbridge.org.uk
2024/25 prices
Prices valid until 31 August 2025
Museum (Single Visit) |
Visit Cost |
Workshop Cost (EXCL VAT) |
| Blists Hill Victorian Town | £9.50 | £3.50 |
| Enginuity | £5 | £4.50 |
| Jackfield Tile Museum | £5 | £3.50 |
| Coalport China Museum | £5 | £8 |
| Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron | £5 | - |
| Darby Houses | £3.25 | - |
| Broseley Pipeworks | £3.25 | - |
| Tar Tunnel (Tour) | £1.75 | - |
| Museum of the Gorge | FREE |
_ |
| The Iron Bridge Tollhouse | FREE |
- |
| Coalport China Museum & Jackfield Tile Museum | £7 |
- |
| Museum of Iron & Enginuity | £7 | - |
| Museum of Iron & Darby Houses | £6 | - |
MUSEUM (Multi-site) |
VISIT COST |
|
| Multi-site ticket, 7-day access | £14.50 | - |
1 free adult place for every 6 children, rounded up so a group of 10 children would have two free adults. Any additional adults pay the standard entry rate. These charges apply to all students, regardless of age. Minimum workshop cost £50.
If you require additional adults for 1-to-1 support, please let us know at the time of booking.
Museum admission tickets are exempt from VAT.
FAQs
Terms and Conditions for education bookings
Education groups must consist of at least 6 students. To qualify for discount you must purchase a single group ticket; this is valid on the day of issue and for six days following the day of issue.
Education groups get one free teacher’s ticket for every 6 students. Any additional accompanying adults pay the standard museum admission rates.
Additional adult free places for accompanying children requiring 1:1 support should be discussed at the time of booking.
Children must be accompanied by adults at all times.
Annual Passport Tickets are not valid for group education visits.
Find out more about the tours, activities and workshops you can pre-book at the Museums.
BLISTS HILL VICTORIAN TOWN
Step back in time and let your pupils experience life in 1900
WORKSHOPS
All £3.50 (ex VAT) per person
BRICK MAKING
Duration: 30 minutes
Capacity: 15 pupils per session (maximum of 5 sessions per day)
Visit the the original Madeley Wood Brick and Tile works and learn about the real history of the Blists Hill site and the life of a child labourer before making their own brick to take away.
Curriculum links: KS2 & 3 History
THE VICTORIAN SCHOOLROOM
Duration: 90 minutes
Capacity: 90 per day
Pupils experience what it would have been like for them to go to school in the Victorian period. Taking place in an original schoolhouse, the lesson is led by Miss McCallum, who will instruct your class in the Three Rs and strict discipline! We provide authentic costume for this session.
Curriculum links: KS2 & 3 History
VICTORIAN SCHOOROOM EXPERIENCE FOR KEY STAGE 1
Duration: 60 minutes
Capacity: 90 per day
An introduction to what school was like for children in 1900. In this session, especially for KS1, pupils will look at the differences between school in the Victorian period and their own experiences in school. The session includes a short lesson in role with Miss McCallum, our Victorian headmistress, appropriate for younger pupils. We provide costume for this session.
Curriculum links: KS1 History
Candle Dipping
Duration: 30 minutes
Capacity: 90 per day
Pupils will create their own colourful candle using the traditional wax dipping technique, following a visit to our Victorian candle factory to provide the historical context for this workshop.
Curriculum links: KS1 Art & Design, Science and History. KS2 History and Science. KS3 History
LAUNDRY
Duration: 30 minutes
Capacity: 60 per day
A hands-on session to see how clothes were washed in the days before washing machines. Held in the atmospheric Canal Street wash house, pupils draw water from a traditional pump, mash the laundry with a posser before wringing it out with a mangle.
Curriculum links: KS1, 2 & 3 History
INTAGLIO PRINTING
Duration: 90 minutes
Capacity: 60 per day
Intaglio printing has been used to mass-produce artworks and decorative ceramics for hundreds of years. In this workshop, pupils etch their design into a plate then apply ink before creating a unique print.
Curriculum links: KS2 & 3 Art & Design and History
DELIVERY DAY
Duration: 90 minutes
Capacity: 60 per day
In this story-based tour of Blists Hil Victorian Town, children help deliver letters to the fairy-tale characters who live there. Visit Goldilocks in her house, hunt for Jack’s golden eggs and visit the bakery where the Gingerbread man is baked. This session includes a candle dipping activity and a visit to the Laundry.
Curriculum links: EYFS Communication & Language and Understanding the World. KS1 History, English, Art & Design and Science
Enginuity Workshops
ALL £4.50 (EX VAT) PER PERSON
Power Buggies
Suitable for KS2 (Yrs 5/6)
Full Day Workshop: 10am-2.30pm
Capacity: 35 per session
Build and race a mini electric car inspired by the Coalbrookdale-born inventor Thomas Parker who made the world’s first working electric car. Build the car in stages starting with a series circuit, make an aerodynamic frame using a variety of materials. The cars are tested in a drag race against each other to find out who made the fastest car!
Curriculum Links: KS2 Science, Design and Technology, History
Downhill Buggies
Suitable for KS1 (Yrs 1/2/3)
Half Day Workshop: 10am-12pm/12.30pm-2.30pm
Capacity: 35 per session
Design, make and test a gravity-powered car! Learn about forces and mechanisms using fun and practical demonstrations. In teams, students assemble components to make a free-wheeling car, decorate it using a variety of materials and test the cars against each other.
Curriculum Links: KS1 Design and Technology, Science
Bridging the Gap
Suitable for Upper KS2 (Yrs 6/7)
Full Day Workshop: 10am-2.30pm
Capacity: 35 per session
Please ask about availability for this session
Learn all about bridges in the home of the world’s first Ironbridge. Learn about different types of bridges and the forces that affect them through discussion and practical demonstrations. Students will then put this knowledge into practice by designing, building, and testing to destruction their very own truss bridge.
Curriculum Links: KS2 History, Design and Technology
Jitterbugs
Suitable for Lower KS2 (Yrs 3/4)
Half Day Workshop: 10am-11.30am/12.30pm-2pm
Capacity: 45 per session
Explore the science and basic principles of electricity with an exciting introduction that incorporates fun and practical demonstrations. In small groups, students build a base, add a simple series circuit with an eccentric cam to make a jumpy jitterbug.
Curriculum Links: KS1 Design and Technology, Science. KS2 Design and Technology, Science
Sphero
Suitable for KS2 (Yrs 5/6)
Half Day Workshop: 10am-12pm/12.30pm-2.30pm
Capacity: 30 per session
Discover the exciting world of coding with robot ball. Using scratch-based block coding, program Sphero to follow your commands and meet challenges.
Curriculum Links: KS2 & 3 Computing
Enginuity Explorers
Suitable for EYFS and Lower KS1 (Yr 1)
90 minute session: 10am-11.30am/12.30pm-2pm
Capacity: 30 per session
Open Mr Darby’s Box of Magical Science Secrets and discover the world of science and engineering in this imaginative play session designed for the under-fives. We use stories, songs, rhymes and lots of play resources, that link with objects in the museum to help children to understand how things work.
Curriculum Links: EYFS All areas. KS1 Science, English, History
Marvellous Metals
Suitable for Lower KS2 (Yr 3)
2 hour session: 10am-12pm
Capacity: 45 per session
Please ask about availability for this session
Come to the Birthplace of Industry to discover the amazing properties of iron and other metals. In a series of incredible activities students make iron, discover unusual uses for magnetic metals and watch the state of a metal change from liquid to solid before their very eyes! Finish your visit at the Museum of Iron!
Curriculum links: KS2 Science & History
Learning Sessions at Jackfield Tile Museum
A Treasury of Tiles
Suitable for Key Stage 2 and Lower Key Stage 3
Half Day Workshop (can be combined with a Tile Workshop to make a full day)
Capacity: 60 per session
An interactive tour which looks at the history of tile making in Ironbridge Gorge and explores the rich collection of tiles on display and the artists behind them.
Curriculum Links:
- Key Stage 2 – History, Art & Design
- Key Stage 3 - History, Art & Design
£3.50 (ex VAT)
TILE decorating
Duration: 90 minutes
Capacity: 32 pupils per session (maximum of 4 sessions per day)
A hands-on tile decorating session using the traditional Victorian process of tubelining. Groups can work together to create panels of tiles or on their own individual designs. This session can be linked to your subject topic.
Curriculum Links:
- Key Stage 1 - History, Art & Design, Science
- Key Stage 2 – History, Art & Design, Science
- Key Stage 3 - History, Art & Design, Science
£10 (incl VAT) per person. (Delivered by Craven Dunnill Jackfield)
slip castING
Duration: 90 minutes
Capacity: 15 pupils per session (maximum of 2 sessions per day)
Using a replica mould, from an original vessel from the museum collections, students get to cast their own piece using liquid clay slip and have time to learn about the science behind the technique.
Curriculum Links:
- Key Stage 2 – History, Art & Design, Science
- Key Stage 3 - History, Art & Design, Science
£10 (incl VAT) per person. (Delivered by Craven Dunnill Jackfield)
Tile Tales
Suitable for EYFS and Key Stage 1
Half Day Workshop (can be combined with a Tile Workshop to make a full day)
Capacity: 60 per session
Discover different types of tiles and how they can be used, in this story-based tour of Jackfield Tile Museum. An Encaustic Tile Workshop can be added.
Curriculum Links:
- EYFS – Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World, Expressive Arts and Design
- Key Stage 1 – Art & Design, History, English
£3.50 (ex VAT)
ENCAUSTIC TILE MAKING
Duration: 60 minutes
Capacity: 15 pupils per session (maximum of 4 sessions per day)
In these unique sessions students get to create an encaustic tile from clay using a pre-carved plaster mould, as well as learning about the history behind the medieval and Victorian tile making process.
Curriculum Links:
- Key Stage 2 – History, Art & Design, Science
- Key Stage 3 - History, Art & Design, Science
£10 (incl VAT) per person. (Delivered by Craven Dunnill Jackfield)
coalport workshops
china painting workshop
Suitable for KS2, KS3 & KS4
2 hour session: 10am-12pm
Capacity: 20 per session (larger groups can be split between a workshop and tour, or a visit to Jackfield Tile Museum).
Please ask about availability for this session
Pupils learn about the way in which ceramics were decorated by exploring the collection and painting their own mug or plate.
Curriculum links: Art & Design, Science, History
We're developing this page and adding more resources all the time. Keep checking here for updates.
KS2 Guided Tour Notes - Blists Hill Victorian Town (Top Site)
Have a question?
If you've got any questions about school visits, workshops or our outreach programme then drop us a line.
- 01952 433 970
- Use the enquiry form and someone will contact you
- Education Department, The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, Coalbrookdale, Telford TF8 7DQ