Guidelines for school visits
Whitby Museum is keen to make its resources available for educational purposes. At certain times the Museum is heavily booked, with as many as 5 consecutive school parties a day.
BOOKING
1. Telephone (01947 602908) as soon as possible to make a provisional booking in the Museum diary.
2. Complete booking form with full details and a contact phone number.
3. Send booking form with (refundable) cancellation fee of £20.
CONFIRMATION Please ensure you receive confirmation of your visit and any specified arrangements at least 2-3 days before arriving. Please ring before your visit if uncertain.
ARRIVE ON TIME so that your own and other people's arrangements are not upset. If you are delayed please ring to let us know. We shall try to make adjustments, but a late arrival may mean shortening your visit.
ALLOW 1.5 HOURS FOR YOUR VISIT, planning refreshments and toilet breaks outside your time slot.
CHARGES £1 per student. Staff free. (Free to school parties from within the Whitby district - please check with the Museum)
SUPERVISION An absolute maximum of 70 students is recommended. Please
provide a teacher/adult supervisor for every 8 students. Supervisors are asked to:
1. monitor their 8 students throughout the visit, especially while eating or in the
toilets or at the shop;
2. ensure for safety that students do not run, lean on the cabinets, or misuse the
lift, or cause offence to other museum visitors.
PHOTOGRAPHS Please note the following change in the rules. Photography is no longer allowed by any members of the public in the Museum. It has become necessary to ban photography because of disturbance to other visitors and also because the high light intensity from flash causes significant deterioration to all organic materials (e.g. paper, fabrics, natural history exhibits, paintings etc).
SPECIAL NEEDS Please give us advanced indication of any SEN students so that we can be sensitive to their needs. A designated accompanying adult is helpful.
VOLUNTEER GUIDES As often as possible, school parties are welcomed and attended by Museum volunteers, who act a guides, answer questions and help in a general way.
WORKSHEETS Teachers are advised to visit in advance and to plan their own worksheets. The Museum has an Education Pack which contains background information to the collections, simple photocopiable KS2 and 3 questions (with answers), suggested activities and things to find out. The cost is £6.50 (£8 by post).
SPECIAL REQUESTS Some schools make requests for particular services to meet curriculum needs, e.g. talks on Scoresby, Fossils, Local History etc. The Museum will try to meet these requests, provided they are negotiated in advance. Please contact the Education Coordinator via the Museum to discuss this. However, this is dependent on availability of museum volunteers.
REFRESHMENTS A small tearoom is available. Packed lunches may be prebooked @ £3.50. Food may not be eaten inside the building. Please ensure your refreshment break is outside your time slot.
CLOAKROOM Please follow the instructions given by the Custodians when you arrive. Money and valuables should always be kept with the owner. The Museum is not responsible for any loss.
FIRST AID The Custodians are registered First Aiders. Students who need their attention should be accompanied by a responsible adult from the school throughout the procedure.
EMERGENCY EVACUATION Should the continuous Fire Bell sound during your visit, please follow the Custodian's direction. The designated collection point is the rear car park (not at the front, as this might impede emergency service vehicles).