Bring your pupils to the Herschel Museum of Astronomy and expand their minds with the amazing story of amateur astronomers William and Caroline Herschel discovering the planet Uranus from their back garden in Bath in 1781. Choose from our KS1 Spectacular Space workshop or our award winning KS2 Amazing Astronomy workshop.

Our Workshops

All of our workshops come with up to date Risk Assessments. Please note that teachers and adult helpers are responsible for students’ behaviour and safety at all times. We will discuss all workshops in detail on booking and offer familiarisation visits for onsite sessions.

Spectacular Space KS1

Learn about William and Caroline Herschel’s lives and their fascinating discoveries through costume, role-play and interactive learning.

Explore the museum in a guided tour with one of our Learning and Engagement team and take part in a creative activity in the gallery.

Curriculum Links:

  • English: Spoken Language skills
  • History: Learning about significant people and places
    in the locality; Developing an awareness of the past
  • Science: Using their observations and ideas to suggest
    answers to questions

This workshop lasts 2 hours and costs £6.50 per student. Adults are free at a ratio of 1:6. Contact our Learning and Engagement team via email or call on 01225 338727 to make an enquiry or booking.

Amazing Astronomy KS2

Learn about William and Caroline Herschel’s remarkable discoveries in the house where they lived and worked. Pupils will expand their knowledge of the solar system through a guided tour and astronomy trail, and take part in a hands-on activity exploring the scale of the solar system.

The workshop supports the History and Science programmes of study.

  • History: a local history study
  • Science: describe the movement of the Earth and other planets relative to the sun in the solar system

This workshop lasts 2 hours and costs £6.50 per student. Adults are free at a ratio of 1:6. Contact our Learning & Engagement team via email or call on 01225 338727 to make an enquiry or booking.

Great British School Trip

We are proud to be a Great British School Trip partner. Now schools can apply for a bursary to fund visits and/or  travel to our Museum. Apply through the Great British School Trip website.

Loan Boxes

We can also offer specially made loan boxes available for hire in schools, each themed around our museum sites to inspire your pupils to engage with different elements of the Curriculum in your classroom. These exciting boxes use a combination of genuine and replica objects to handle, costumes to try on and extensive teacher’s notes with information, a PowerPoint, lesson plans and activity suggestions to help you make the most of the box.

These are perfect to borrow to support classroom learning before or after a visit to the Museum, or simply as a standalone experience.

Each box is available to hire at £25 for a minimum 2 week hire, each additional week (up to 6 weeks total) costs £15.

The following boxes are currently available to borrow:

  • Meet the Herschels (KS1/2) A local history handling box telling the story of astronomers William and Caroline Herschel and their amazing discoveries, from comets to the planet Uranus.
  • Light and Colour(KS2/3) A science discovery box filled with everything that you need to conduct classroom experiments on light and colour, all accompanied by a teacher’s pack with activity sheets and ideas. From lenses and prisms, to spectroscopes and mirrors, there’s lots to discover here!
  • The Solar System (KS1/2) Take your class on a tour around the skies with this science discovery box alongside teacher’s notes with worksheets and activity ideas, you’ll find a motorised solar system and planisphere to encourage learning about the night sky, along with various observation tools including a fabulous, easy to use solarscope for safely observing the sun.
Meet the Herschel's Box
Solar System Discovery Box
Solar System Discovery Box

Essential Information

If you are a teacher bringing your class to the museum for a school workshop you may be interested in:

To book a workshop, or for more information, contact our Learning & Engagement team via email