Access Artefacts is the education loans service at Nottingham City Museums and Galleries. We have a collection of over 11,000 museum objects, all suitable for handling and available to use in the classroom.

The collection covers a huge range of themes including social history, archaeology, geology, industrial history, the natural sciences and others. It is all held in a dedicated store at Wollaton Park and managed by experienced museum staff to accreditation standards. Our collection is used by around 8,500 schoolchildren every academic year.

Teachers wishing to use the collection can collect the objects from our store in Wollaton or we can deliver them to you for a small charge. We also offer a subscription service whereby a school can have multiple loans over a school year. The more resources you use, the lower the cost per resource! Objects can be loaned for a half term or a quarter term period of your choosing.

Teachers can use the collection in a variety of ways:

Our resource boxes contain a group of 10-20 objects selected from the collection on a specific theme. These are packaged in sturdy, conservation standard museum cases. Each resource is packaged with an information pack, which contains general information, paper resources, planned activities and an information card for each object. Each resource has been developed to meet the requirements of the national curriculum from foundation stage to key stage 3.

In addition to loaning objects from our collection, teachers can also book one of our award-winning Galleries to Go sessions. One of our education facilitators will bring a group of objects to your school to deliver a session in the classroom. You can read more about Galleries to Go on our website.

You can see more information about our service on our website

https://nottinghammuseums.org.uk/learn/access-artefacts/

Galleries to Go..!

Galleries to Go is our award-winning facilitated classroom sessions service. Our very own curator Professor Clutter will bring objects from their collection to your school and deliver a session with your class.

Delivered by one of our team of richly experienced and respected education facilitators, the sessions use objects from the Access Artefacts collection to transform your classroom into a museum for the day. A group of up to 30 children can spend an hour with the Professor, taking part in activities as a whole class and smaller groups.

Each session is accompanied by a document of planned activities and object information, giving guidance and ideas on the further teaching of the subject in the days following the session.

Teachers can choose a session on one of the following themes:

Africa An exploration of life in Africa, past and present

Be an Archaeologist An introduction to the stone, bronze and iron ages through original prehistoric objects.

Explorers An examination of the work of different explorers through history, using objects from our world cultures collection.

History Mystery! A session to help children develop speaking, listening and investigative skills through the exploration of mystery museum objects.

Homes in the Past Using objects from Victorian times to the 1950s, your class will explore how life in the home has changed throughout time.

The Natural World An investigation of habitats and the natural environment, using natural science specimens.

Each gallery to Go session lasts an hour. Teachers can book a full day of Galleries to Go comprising four sessions, or a half day comprising two sessions. All sessions are suitable for foundation stage to key stage 2, and you are welcome to use Galleries to Go with different year groups over a day or half day. Teachers are also provided with pre-written risk assessments on booking.