Here we are at the start of Term 5!

Our historic houses are open for independent visits, and our KS1 Toys workshop at Blaise is now available to book. Kings Weston Roman Villa has reopened, with monthly open days, selected open afternoons, and bookable school visits.

It’s been a busy start to the year celebrating the National Year of Reading, with more still to come.

Thank you to everyone who joined our recent Teacher Forum. Your feedback is invaluable. Our next forum takes place in June, focusing on primary science – we hope to see you there!

The Learning Team

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You can now find us on Facebook!

We’re pleased to introduce our new Bristol Museums Learning Facebook page – a dedicated space for teachers and home educators. This is where you’ll find the latest updates on learning resources, workshops, school offers and learning events.

By creating a space just for educators, we hope to make it easier for you to discover what we offer and how it can support your teaching. We’d also love this to be a place for conversation, ideas and feedback, helping us shape our programmes to better meet your needs.

We hope you’ll follow along and be part of a growing learning community with Bristol Museums.

Find Museums Learning on Facebook

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National Year of Reading 2026

'Stories' is our Learning theme this year.

This spring, Bristol Museums has been celebrating storytelling as part of the National Year of Reading 2026. Through family events across our museums, World Book Day activities and free storytelling workshops for schools. Children explored museum objects as inspiration for creating and sharing their own stories, building confidence, creativity and a stronger connection to Bristol’s history.

Throughout the year we will be holding events and creating resources for families and learners relating to stories, reading and literacy.

Coming up next : Share a Story Month
In May, we’ll be marking Share a Story Month with short literacy-themed films on display at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, alongside new curriculum‑linked book recommendation sheets to support classroom and home learning. More details coming soon.

We’ve gathered our activities into a blog in the link below, which we’ll keep updated with what’s coming next.

Read our National Year of Reading Blog

Online Teacher Forums

Calling all KS2 teachers with a passion for science!

We are reviewing our Primary Science offer and we’d love to hear from teachers with an interest in science teaching. We’re looking for teachers who are keen to share their ideas, experience and expertise.

You’ll have the chance to find out more about the resources and learning opportunities we currently offer, and to help shape the direction of our future Primary Science programme.

There’s no obligation to attend more than one session. As a thank you for your time, the first ten teachers to sign up and take part will receive a free ticket to this summer’s Aardman Exhibition at M Shed.

The session is online, Wednesday 3 June 4-4.45pm.

Book your slot on next Teacher Forum

a brown leather suitcase with an embossed figure of lady on

Coming this Autumn: new Migration resources for Key Stages 2-4

Bristol Museums has a new learning resource on the topic of Migration. Six filmed interviews with Bristol residents, who migrated to Britain at different points during the last 90 years, will provide answers to complex questions. Alongside these fascinating histories, children will use replica objects and facsimile archival documents to unpack Bristol’s migration history. The resources are designed to develop learners’ empathy and an understanding of the reasons why people leave their home countries to move to others.

From September, Bristol schools can book the 60-minute workshops. These are delivered by a member of the Bristol Museums Learning team in your school and cost £140 for one class and £85 per additional class.

For more information, please contact museumbookings@bristol.gov.uk

We need your help!

We are looking for four KS2 classes from different schools to trial a free 60-minute session in their classroom, delivered by a member of the Bristol Museums Learning team during Term 6. If you are interested in this opportunity, please email lucy.fulton@bristol.gov.uk by Friday 15 May. Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

a young child speaking to a student holding an amphora pot in a Roman Villa archaeological site

Kings Weston Roman Villa open for visits

Kings Weston Roman Villa offers a unique outdoor learning experience just on Bristol’s doorstep. Over the summer months, the site hosts family-friendly open days where visitors can explore original mosaic floors, a Roman bath suite and underfloor heating, with hands on activities that bring curriculum topics to life.

Schools can also book facilitated visits in advance through the Bristol Museums Learning team. Visits are led by museum staff and are tailored to support classroom learning around Roman Britain and archaeology.

The next open afternoon for the public is on 12 May and 'Visit the Villa' open day is 30 May.

Explore Kings Weston Roman Villa

https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/learning/learning-resources/rocks-fossils-and-dinosaurs/

Mary Anning award win

The Making Waves: Mary Anning and her astonishing ichthyosaur display at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery was awarded the Certificate of Excellence for geological education by the Geologists' Association Curry Fund this month.

Since opening the display in January 2024, the Bristol Museums Learning Team has developed an accompanying programme to bring it to life, including KS1 workshops, a Mary Anning fossil resource box for schools to borrow, four short films celebrating women in geosciences, and a specially commissioned performance for families called Mary Anning & the Anning Knights.

You can find these videos on our Resources page.

Photo: ©Rob Browne.

Read the press release

Museums Learning newsletter Spring 2026