Museum on the Move Learning Packs
Bring the museum into your classroom, meeting space or learning session with our Museum on the Move Learning Packs. Packed full of fascinating real objects, high-quality replica artefacts, books, photographs, games and hands-on activities, our learning packs are designed to inspire curiosity and bring history to life. Whether you’re exploring dinosaurs, discovering life in the 17th century or comparing toys from different generations, there’s plenty to investigate, handle and discuss.
Perfect for schools…
Our learning packs can be borrowed as a stand-alone learning resource or to complement a visit to the Norris Museum, helping to extend learning beyond the classroom. Whether you’re introducing a topic, enriching classroom learning or consolidating what pupils have discovered during their museum visit, our packs provide plenty of opportunities for hands-on exploration.
• £20 for a two-week loan
• £10 when booked alongside a class visit to the Norris Museum (for the same class within two consecutive terms)
Craft materials can be included for an additional cost.
Packs can be collected and returned during museum opening hours:
Monday-Saturday, 10.00am-4.00pm.
…and for home-educating families and community groups
Our learning packs are also available for home-educating families, learning co-operatives, youth organisations and other community groups.
You can hire one of our packs to use during a visit to the museum, together with exclusive use of our Community Room for up to two hours. This provides a relaxed space for children to explore the artefacts, complete activities and learn together.
The cost is £45 for the learning pack and Community Room hire.
If you would like an enhanced experience, a member of our Learning Team can also welcome your group, introduce the topic, answer questions and even lead additional activities such as a craft session for an additional charge.
Please contact us to discuss your group’s requirements.
Jurassic Fossils
Travel back 160 million years to when the St Ives area lay beneath a warm Jurassic sea. Discover the incredible creatures that once swam here through real fossils, replica prehistoric animals, books, puzzles and investigation activities.
Recommended for: Key Stage 1 & 2 (approximately ages 5-11)
Mammoths and the Ice Age
Meet one of the Ice Age’s most famous giants! This pack explores woolly mammoths and the fascinating world they lived in, while introducing younger learners to ideas about habitats, climate change, extinction and caring for our environment.
Recommended for: Key Stage 1 (approximately ages 5-7)
Toys Through Time
This hands-on pack lets children compare toys from different periods, from ancient-inspired replicas to toys their own parents may remember playing with. There are traditional games to try, puzzles, vintage toys and more.
Recommended for: Key Stage 1 (approximately ages 5-7)
Life in the 17th Century
Explore a fascinating collection of historic and replica objects, clothing, tableware and writing equipment while discovering what life was like for ordinary people in and around St Ives during the 17th century. Children can dress up, investigate everyday objects and compare life then with life today.
Recommended for: Key Stage 1 & 2 (approximately ages 5-11)
The Pedlar's Basket: Shopping in the 17th Century
This pack explores shopping and trade in the 17th century through replica and genuine objects and clothing. Children can discover what people bought, how they paid, and the kinds of everyday items that would have been found in homes over 350 years ago.
Recommended for: Key Stage 1 & 2 (approximately ages 5-11)
Victorian Life
Handle fascinating artefacts including domestic tools, clothing accessories and household equipment, while discovering what life was like during the Victorian period. Historic photographs of Victorian St Ives also help bring the era to life.
Recommended for: Key Stage 1 & 2 (approximately ages 5-11)
Travel in St Ives
How has travel around St Ives changed over the centuries? Using historic photographs, maps, transport guides and documents, children can investigate how people travelled, how the town has grown, and what life would have been like before cars became common.
Recommended for: Key Stage 1 (approximately ages 5-7)
Looking After Your Learning Pack
Our learning packs contain many genuine museum objects alongside carefully chosen replica artefacts. Please help us keep them in excellent condition so that future learners can enjoy them too.
When you receive your pack, please:
- Check the contents against the checklist provided and let us know immediately if anything is missing or damaged.
- Ensure children have clean hands before handling any objects.
- Supervise children while using the contents.
- Carefully repack all items after use.
- Record any missing or damaged items on the checklist before returning the pack.
All packs are checked when they are returned.
If items are lost or damaged while on loan, the borrowing organisation may be charged the replacement cost (up to £20 per item). Late returns may incur an additional charge of £2 per day.
If borrowing for a school visit, an invoice will be issued after the pack has been returned.
Please see our Essential Information page to find out more about booking a visit.
Find Out More
We’re always looking for new ways to help schools, home-educating families and community groups explore history through hands-on learning.
Our collection of Museum on the Move Learning Packs is continuing to grow, with new themes currently in development. If there’s a topic you’re interested in that isn’t listed here, we’d still love to hear from you. Wherever possible, we try to respond to requests for new learning packs and develop resources that support local schools and learning groups.
To find out more about borrowing a learning pack, discuss your group’s needs or ask about upcoming packs, please email learning@norrismuseum.org.uk. We’d be delighted to help you find the right learning experience.