We welcome visits from schools, home education groups, cubs & brownies, and all other children's and youth groups.

We offer a range of options to suit your needs, from self-guided museum visits to full-day structured sessions. We're also working with our partners to develop brand new resources for teachers and experiences for pupils in the future. These will support learning local history in context with regional and national history.

We understand the financial challenges of planning visits for schools and children's groups, and our self-guided sessions start at only £1.50 per child. 

We have general worksheets available for self-guided museum visits at both the Maritime and City Museums:

• Lancaster City Museum Self-Guided Pupil Worksheet (KS2) (PDF, 7.1MB)
• Lancaster Maritime Museum Self-Guided Pupil Worksheet (KS2) (PDF, 9.6MB)

We also regularly develop new self-guided worksheets to tie in with current exhibitions at the Maritime Museum and the City Museum.

If there's a particular topic you'd like us to work on, or if you would like to book a school visit to the City Museum, King's Own Royal Regiment Museum, Maritime Museum or Cottage Museum, please contact our Education and Outreach Officer by email: historydetectives@lancaster.gov.uk 

Transatlantic Slave Trade (KS2)

Maritime Museum

Developed in partnership with Facing the Past, this full-day session explores the history and legacy of Lancaster's historic involvment in the transatlantic slave trade. Activities include:

• Guide-led or self-guided walking tour of Lancaster
• Exploration of the museum galleries
• Creative clay sculpture session encouraging pupils to stop, make, and reflect on all they've learned.

Download our flyer for full details and prices: Transatlantic Slave Trade School Sessions (PDF, 9.5MB)

You may also find our short article on Lancaster and the Transatlantic Slave Trade helpful in introducing pupils to this topic. 

History of the Army Cadet Force in Lancaster and the King’s Own Royal Regiment

King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum - located within Lancaster City Museum

This is a two hour session that covers the history of the Army Cadet Force nationally and locally, as well as the history of the King’s Own Royal Regiment and how this relates to the present day Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment. The session includes:

• Presentation on the history of the ACF
• Tour of the King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum 
• Opportunity to try on uniform and equipment used by Cadets from WW1 through to the 1990s, to create a 20th Century ACF timeline.

Prices from £3 per head, depending on group size.

To book either of these sessions please contact our Education and Outreach Officer by email: historydetectives@lancaster.gov.uk 

We are working on exciting new sessions on other topics, looking at different ways to engage with historic eras through creative and physical activity. Watch this space for updates!

Download all of the documents below for free.

• Lancaster City Museum Self-Guided Pupil Worksheet (KS2) (PDF, 7.1MB)
• Lancaster Maritime Museum Self-Guided Pupil Worksheet (KS2) (PDF, 9.6MB)
• City Museum Risk Assessment for Schools 2024/25 (PDF, 140KB)
• Maritime Museum Risk Assessment for Schools 2023/24 (PDF, 664KB)
• Schools Clay Activity Risk Assessment 2024 (PDF, 127KB)
• Transatlantic Slave Trade School Sessions Information (PDF, 9.5MB)

Lancaster City Museums also hosts a range of school sessions delivered by Lancashire County Council’s experienced and professional Heritage Learning Lancashire team. The team can offer teacher CPD sessions, loan boxes and more, to make teaching Lancashire’s history really immersive.

Topics include Archaeology, the Romans, the Vikings, and Life on the Ocean Wave. Please book these sessions directly with the Heritage Learning Team at Lancashire County Council. Visit their website for more information: Heritage Learning Lancashire.