Outreach sessions
The sessions are delivered at your venue and can be tailored to meet your group's particular needs and interests.
The sessions are free and normally last between 45 minutes and 1.5 hours.
Below are just a few examples of the sessions we have to offer.
How to book
To book an outreach session for your community group, or for further information, please contact us at outreach@oum.ox.ac.uk or
call us on 01865 282456.
Introductory Sessions
Meet the Museums
This fun, hands-on session provides a great introduction to the world of museums. Get your hands on real museum objects - from ancient Egyptian artefacts to dinosaur fossils. This session gives a taster of some of the amazing and inspiring collections in our museums.
Session time: 45 minutes to 1 hour.
What is it?
An introductory session looking at some of the weird and wonderful things that you can find in our museums. Handle a series of mystery objects and use your detective skills to discover what they are and what stories they have to tell.
Session time: 45 minutes to 1 hour.
What is it made from?
From socks made from bamboo to shoes that used to be car tyres, there are lots of objects in our collections that are made from unusual materials. Use all of your senses to guess what each of these fascinating objects is made from.
Session time: 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Themed Sessions
As well as the introductory sessions, we can deliver object-handling session based around different themes, With such varied and inspiring collections to draw from, the range of themes on offer is almost unlimited. Here are just some that have been used by groups in the past:
- Animals
- Art
- Art History
- Communication
- Currency
- Dinosaurs
- Egypt
- Everyday objects
- History of Medicine
- Insects
- Masks
- Money
- Seeds
- Stories
- Textiles
All of these sessions involve handling museum objects. Other hands-on elements can be included as appropriate, for example:
- have a go at weaving using a table loom
- cast your own fossils
- write like an Egyptian
- make an astrolabe
- and much more...
Tailored Sessions
We work with a variety of different groups with specific requirements to develop sessions with their particular needs in mind. Groups we have created bespoke sessions for include:
- Family Learning (including iteracy and numeracy based sessions)
- ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages)
- Adults with Learning Disabilities
- Blind and Partially Sighted People
If your group requires a tailored session, please contact us using the details in the box above.
