News

New Transport Museum Workshops offering support to home-educated children

23 September 2024

Coventry Transport Museum has launched a new series of workshops aimed at supporting home-educated children and their families. These workshops, which focus on STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), provide an opportunity for children to engage in hands-on learning in an informal and relaxed setting.

The six-week programme is designed to give home-educated children aged 7-11 a deeper understanding of key subject areas while learning in a museum environment which many believe is an ideal space for education, allowing children to explore and learn at their own pace.

Led by STEM expert Rob Bennett, each 2-hour session explores concepts and automotive innovations with fun hands-on, practical activities which include and introduce the use of tools, handling objects from our collection, bespoke design and construction material to innovate, make, explore, test and learn.

Throughout the workshop series, attending children will be working towards their CREST award – a scheme that encourages children to think and behave like scientists and future engineers.

Anja Keitel-Campsall, who is Learning Coordinator at Coventry Transport Museum, said: "We're excited to launch these workshops as a new way to engage with home-educated children and their families. For various reasons the number of families who are moving away from traditional education settings, particularly since the pandemic, continues to rise.

“So, for us it’s great to be able to offer these families added support with a supportive environment that allows for exploration of STEM subjects at their own pace and with a whole lot of excitement and laughter.

“Museums have always been amazing spaces for learning and Rob is an engaging and fun instructor who is fantastic at facilitating this special environment and some seriously tricky STEM concepts and the children are so responsive to his approach.”

As well as being a way to engage more with home-educating families, museums are well placed to offer both educational support and a boost to children's wellbeing.

Coventry Transport Museum is also offering play-based sessions for younger siblings. While older children participate in the workshops, younger ones can join the museum’s Mini Museum Engineers sessions, ensuring activities are suitable for different age groups within the same family.

These workshops have been made possible thanks to funding from the Science Museum Group’s Science in Your World programme. This national partnership aims to promote diversity and inclusion in science education, with Coventry Transport Museum receiving £30,000 in funding over two years to support the initiative.

For more information, visit the Coventry Transport Museum website.

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