We offer a wide range of learning opportunities for formal and informal groups, including hands-on object-based sessions closely linked to the curriculum and needs of local schools.

To arrange a visit please fill in our school visits enquiry form.

Options for school group visits

There are two choices open to groups visiting the museum:

  • Object handling workshops (£4 per student or group member, a minimum charge of £75)
  • Gallery-only visits (£2.00 admin fee per student or group member, free for schools and FE colleges in Oxfordshire if pre-booked)

All groups are advised to read our MOX Group booking briefing pack which contains all the relevant information about visiting the museum.

Visit In the Museum

Schoolchildren in the museum gallery using an interactive.

Workshop topics available

Local history using maps

Local history using maps

  • Made in Oxford – KS2

    • Which person from Oxford has made the greatest impact on History? ‘Made in Oxford’ is a KS2 workshop that explores 10 amazing people from Oxford who influenced the city, country, and the wider world. In small groups, pupils will use evidence, objects, and the Museum’s displays to research, prepare and pitch an argument for their chosen famous person being the most important. This workshop develops pupils’ evidence-handling, persuasive language and teamwork skills.  The session ends in a class-wide vote to decide who was Oxford’s finest.

Download the teacher pack for more information.

  • Moving Oxford – KS2

    Morris Motor steering wheel

    An object used in one of our school workshops. This steering wheel came from an Oxford-made Morris Motor.

    • Why is Oxford the shape it is? Moving Oxford looks at how the city of Oxford grew around its transport, the people involved, and how this may change in the future. This KS2 session uses transport-related handling objects and maps to help the pupils answer these questions.

A remote version of this workshop is available. Please see below for more information.

Download the teacher pack for more information. 

  • The Dark Side of the Victorians: Children on Trial – KS2

    • Every student has a part to play in this re-enactment of a Victorian trial of four real-life children aged between 7 and 15 years old. From defendant to witness, barrister to Jury, we will provide character outlines and a script for your class to follow, and a member of the museum’s team will support the session as the Court Clerk. You can even play the Judge! This workshop takes place in the original Court Room of the Town Hall. A visit to the new Museum galleries can also be included on request.

Loan boxes:

  • A Nice Cup of Tea

    • We also have loan boxes for schools to borrow. This box explores the connections between the simple cup of tea, the British Empire, the slave trade, and the Windrush Generation. The box contains original objects and suggested activities around citizenship, English, and history. For more information about hire costs and how to borrow a box, please get in touch with the education team.

Outreach:

  • Unearthed – Outreach Workshop

    • How do we know about the past? Our Unearthed outreach workshop explores what we can discover using archaeological finds. This outreach session is delivered by a museum staff member in your school and uses original historical objects from a wide range of eras. In total there are 90 handling objects, all typical things found in archaeological digs. They come in 10 separate boxes allowing a whole class to work in small groups on their own set of historical objects.  For more information download Unearthed outreach workshop info pack, fill out an enquiry form or get in touch with the education team.

Exploring the old Capes shop counter

Gallery only visits

  • We charge a £2.00  admin fee per person for self-led gallery-only group visits.
  • School groups from Oxfordshire are exempt from this charge if pre-booked.
  • We may not be able to accommodate a group visit if not booked in advance.

To arrange a visit please fill in our school visits enquiry form or email museum@oxford.gov.uk if you have a general enquiry.

Workshops coming soon

Collection of Items used in our World War II workshop including a gas mask and ration book

A collection of items used in our World War II workshop, including a gas mask and ration book

Workshops that are being redeveloped for our new gallery content are:

  • Time Detectives: an investigation of the evidence from Oxford’s past
  • Romans in Oxford
  • Stories from the Grave: Anglo-Saxon Oxford
  • Medieval Rubbish
  • A City At War: Civil War Oxford
  • Alice in Wonderland (various themes including geography & mapping, the story behind the story, and Victorian childhood)
  • Victorian Wash Day Blues
  • We’ll Meet Again: World War II Oxford
  • From Bike to BMW: How a car factory changed a city

We would also like to work with secondary school teachers to develop new content for group visits, out-of-school research topics, and English as a second language resources. We can also work with schools to help develop new workshop themes and ideas for group visits.

If you would like to work with our team to develop new ideas, please get in touch with the Museum team.

Find out more

Gallery-only visit

  • Students can attend in groups of 15 students or less with at least one accompanying adult.
  • They will be led by your own group leaders.
  • Your visit lasts for one hour.

Workshop visit

  • Students can attend in groups of up to 35 pupils (however we may be able to accommodate slightly more, depending on the workshop topic).
  • The groups may be divided into two smaller groups.
  • Half of the students will start in the Museum Makers or Learning Studio with a museum team member and at least one accompanying adult.
  • Half of the students will visit the galleries supervised by the group’s accompanying adults.
  • We will email activities to you for use in the gallery in advance of your visit.
  • Visits usually last for one and a half to two hours, so both groups can complete both parts of the workshop.

To arrange a visit please fill in our school visits enquiry form.

We are open from 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday. Visits can be booked in the morning or afternoon, or across the whole day for more than one class.

Please contact us with two or three date options that you would like to book and we will do our best to accommodate your first choices.

Our current object handling workshops are aimed at Key Stage 2 pupils and can be adapted for Key Stage 1 pupils if needed. We can adapt topics for different year groups or specific needs if you have them. Please get in touch with us to discuss the options.

Gallary only group visits are suitable for all ages. If there are any special requirements, please let us know.

Although we are a local social history museum, our object handling workshops use skills and knowledge from different areas of the national curriculum, including history, citizenship, geography, English, drama, science, art, and design. Please contact the Museum for more information.

  • Gallery-only visits for up to 1 hour cost an admin fee of £1.50 per student or group member.
  • Schools from Oxfordshire that pre-book their gallery-only group visit will not be charged.
  • Object handling workshops for up to 2 hours cost £4 per student or group member, with a minimum charge of £75.
  • There are additional fees for use of rooms for lunches and for raising an invoice. Please enquire for more details.

The Museum of Oxford is completely accessible. For more information, please see our Accessibility page.

We hope you enjoy visiting the new Museum with your school. Here are some of the many positive comments we have had from schools visiting us.

“One of the valuable things the children took from the session was that they can be involved in the history of Oxford” Staff member from a local school

“I was very impressed by how engaged the class were with all the activities.” A local KS2 Teacher

“Staff were extremely helpful, from the first time I contacted the museum right through to when we said goodbye.” A KS2 Teacher

School visits enquiry form

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