School & Group Visits

Bring history to life and engage students’ curiosity with the help of our award-winning Learning Team.  We aim to cater to all ages and abilities and are very happy to adapt our sessions to make them accessible and relevant to your school or group. 

If you would like to make a group booking, or to discuss visiting us please contact our Learning Team at museums.education@southampton.gov.uk or on 023 8083 2810.

Download our Teachers’ Guide

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View a draft itinerary and costs

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What we Offer

Discovery Sessions – Hour-long guided tours of one of our exhibitions led by an inspiring tour guide.

Workshops – One-hour interactive sessions incorporating object handling, and other activities. Maximum group size 33. 

Self-guided Time – An opportunity to spend some time exploring the museum. Price varies depending on other activities booked. 

Lunch Space – Rooms are available for use for lunch. 

Hot drinks for adults Trip helpers and teachers can enjoy a 10% discount on hot drinks in our café- just tell the member of staff which school you’re with!

Education Trails – Add an education trail to your visit, offered at a special school price.

Workshops

Our workshops have something to offer every class. All our sessions are different but always include aspects interactive activities, storytelling and dressing up, that will get your students involved! 

Prices: Weekends and after-hours – £85

Available workshops:

The Titanic

Step aboard the Titanic and dive into activities related to the most famous ship in history. Join an expert facilitator in discovering incredible real-life Titanic tales before doing a range of exciting and engaging hands-on activities. Tasks vary depending on age but always include scientific experiments, object-handling and a lifeboat activity.

All Ages

Titanic: Who’s to Blame?

Who was to blame for the loss of life when the Titanic sank? In this interactive workshop your students will explore this complex and fascinating question.

Upper Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3

Under the Sea

Dive under the sea and learn about what lies beneath in this magical workshop exploring our oceans. Conduct a ‘float or sink’ experiment, investigate a mystery bag, examine maritime objects and make a fun craft to take back to school with you. This session has been developed for Early Years and Foundation Stage students.

Key Stage 1

Prehistory

Bring ancient history to life in this exciting workshop based around the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages. Handle an ancient hand-axe, meet our prehistoric ancestors, find out how the Ancient Britons made fire and try your hand at making your very own yarn using a Bronze-age technique!

All Ages

The Romans

Travel back in time 2000 years to discover what life was like in Roman Southampton. Meet the soldiers who invaded Britain, the governor who ruled and the slave who did the hard work. Then take part in a wide range of hands-on activities and handling real Roman artefacts, make a mosaic, draw our mystery objects and create your own Roman underground heating system!

All Ages

Anglo-Saxons

Delve into Saxon Southampton in this fun history workshop! Discover who might have lived in Southampton 1,400 years ago through object-handling, games, stories and costumes. A special Hamwic walking tour is available which takes place around the St Mary’s area of the town. Please contact us for details.

All Ages

Medicine Women

Get interactive with the sights and smells of medicine through time and answer questions like: how do you keep infection at bay in a muddy field and what was so bad about health and hygiene before?

Key Stage 1

Leisure and Tourism Talk

This illustrated talk was developed to support students who are studying leisure and tourism and explores the place of museums in the tourism sector as well as looking more widely at the function of museums regionally, nationally and globally.

Key Stage 4 and above

Art & History Bundles

Our cross-curricular bundles provide a balance of history and art sessions incorporating a broad range of styles and learning experiences. Our days have primarily been designed specially with the KS2 history curriculum in mind, however we are happy to adapt days for other age groups and abilities.

The days normally combine an art workshop with a history workshop and/or a Discovery Session at SeaCity. Try different mediums such as wire, clay or print making.

Prehistory

Combine an interactive Prehistory workshop or Gateway Discovery Session with a choice of cave painting-inspired tiles, an Iron Age cooking pot or create your very own Neanderthal head!

Saxon

Add to a Gateway Discovery Session or our history Saxon workshop. Try clay cooking vessels, Saxon tiles, or try your hand at making your very own jewellery.

Roman

dd to a Gateway Discovery Session or Roman workshop by making a Roman-style mosaic; making Roman shields or helmets; creating Celtic symbols or building your own Roman wire sandals!

Ancient Civilizations

Complement an exploration of the museum by taking part in art sessions inspired by some of the greatest civilizations of all time such as the Egyptians, Mayans and Aztecs.