Bexhill Museum’s mission is to encourage discovery. We offer a wide range of subjects across the humanities, science, technology and art with sessions for primary, secondary, and higher education groups.
In addition to our impressive Sargent Gallery we have the Costume & Social History, Motoring Heritage and WWII Galleries. Our Education Room is fully equipped with newly updated audiovisual equipment.
Bexhill Museum, in partnership with Hastings Museum, is participating in the national Museum and Schools Programme. The scheme is designed to increase school pupils’ engagement with culture. We continue to work with local schools on this exciting project.
As schools & colleges return to normal activities Bexhill Museum will continue to adapt and expand its popular education offer to meet changing challenges. Please contact our education team by email at [email protected] to learn more.
We also provide Loan Boxes, carefuly curated selections original and replica items, some of which can be handled under supervision.
Our Loan Boxes are designed to help teachers with preparing online learning ideas for children of all abilities. Loan boxes may be borrowed by teachers at registered schools for up to ten days at a time. They are very popular and advance booking is essential. There are ten different Loan Boxes and each contains a variety of artefacts and information sheets on how they can be used in a classroom setting. The current themes are:
- Ancient Egypt
- Early Motoring
- Fossils & Dinosaurs
- The Maya
- Rocks and Minerals
- Smuggling
- Stone Age (two different boxes available)
- The Victorian & Edwardian Seaside
- Victorian Toys
- 1950s & 60s Toys
- World War I
- World War II
For further information and to book, please email us at [email protected].
Primary School Visits
We offer a wide range of interactive Enhanced Visits for primary schools, including opportunities to handle selected artefacts, and guided tours and activities in the galleries and Education Room.
Your visit will be led by our experienced team of education volunteers and where possible, our curator. From your first contact with us, we will work with you to ensure your visit goes to plan and is as enjoyable as possible for you and your pupils. On a Standard Visit our trail guide sheets allow pupils to explore the Museum at their own pace.
History & Culture
The Stone Age
See the Museum’s impressive collection of artefacts at close hand, including hand axes, flint arrowheads and pottery shards.
Pharaohs & Mummies
Learn how the Ancient Egyptians lived and died. Investigate the mummification process and our fantastic Egyptology exhibits.
Romans & Celts
Explore Celtic culture and everyday Roman artefacts including mosaics, hypocaust tiles and a pot from Pompeii!
Smugglers & the South Coast
The chilling history of smuggling in Bexhill and along our coast. Discover the story of the gruesome Battle of Sidley Green.
The Victorians – How did they live?
Childhood, schools, home and the workhouse. Pupils can experience a short lesson in a recreated Victorian schoolroom.
Annie Brassey – Victorian Traveller
The Victorian era of discovery and exploration as experienced by Annie, Lady Brassey, famous local traveller and collector.
Bexhill & the First World War
The lives of Bexhill people transformed by the Great War: for the soldiers at on the frontline and the civilians at home.
Second World War – On the Home Front
Learn about rationing, evacuation, ‘Make Do and Mend’, gas masks and Coastal Defence. Find out if a bomb fell on your street!
Toys & Childhood
The Museum has toys dating from ancient Egypt to the present day, including teddy bears, dolls, kits and games.
Bexhill – From Village to Resort
Trace the story of Bexhill from its beginnings as a small rural village to its emergence as a thriving Victorian seaside resort.
Learn about the coming of the railway in 1846, the first British motor car race, organised in Bexhill in 1902, and the story of how the iconic De La Warr Pavilion came to be built in the town - and why.
Science & Technology
Bexhill’s Dinosaurs & Geology
Dig through our paleontological and geological collections and discover Bexhill’s very own dinosaurs: the Iguanodon, the Baryonyx, the Polacanthus, and the smallest dinosaur so far discovered in Britain!
Forces & Motion
Discover Bexhill’s motoring heritage and our unique car collection. Interactive exhibits explore different forms of energy, forces and motion in the wheels workshop.
On the Shore & Under the Sea
The Sargent Gallery collection dives into the world’s oceans and its amazing sealife. Don’t miss the Giant Crab of Japan, which has fascinated local schoolchildren for decades!
The Polar Regions
Help for young students learning how animals and plants adapt to living in the polar regions. Investigating the effects of climate change on the fragile ecosystems of the North and South Poles, and the global effects those changes might have for all of us.
Museums & Schools Travel Bursary Scheme
The Museums & Schools Programme is funded by the Department for Education (DfE), and administered by Arts Council England (ACE). Thanks to their support Bexhill Museum is able to operate a travel bursary scheme, providing limited funding support for coach or rail travel, for school groups visiting our museum.
Bursaries are awarded at the discretion of the Education Team and are designed to help schools receiving high pupil premium funding, but would otherwise be unable to finance a group visit to Bexhill Museum. If you think that your school might be eligible, please email [email protected] and request an application form.
Bursaries cover travel costs only, and standard museum school group admission fees apply, though there is no charge for accompanying teachers and teaching assistants.
Higher Education & Secondary School visits
We offer many opportunities for secondary school students in GCSE & A-Level course that can often be easily adapted for study needs. We strongly encourage degree & post-graduate students to make full use of our archives and specialist expertise.
Local History For Key Stage 3, GCSE, AS and A Level groups. We have a wealth of valuable material, original sources and unique artefacts. Possible areas for research include the King’s German Legion, Smuggling, Bexhill’s development as a seaside resort or the town’s role in the two World Wars.
Fashion Workshop Intended for students who wish to study Fashion Design & Construction, and Textiles. Guided by a volunteer tutor, students will study the construction of garments ancient & modern. Many designs and construction techniques will be covered and handling sessions of selected garments allowed.
PhD candidates We are always keen to assist specialist study in areas such as archaeology & natural history.
Subject Based Visits If you or your students have a subject in mind and cannot find it listed here, please get in touch with us directly. We may be able to help.
Fees
Primary and Secondary
- Standard Visit £1.00 per student
- Enhanced Visit £3.00 per student
Please note that we charge a minimum of £30 for enhanced visits.
Age 16 plus and Tertiary
- Standard Visit £2.00 per student
- Enhanced Visit £4.00 per student
Fashion Workshop: Please contact the Museum direct.
Loan Boxes
Loan Boxes are £30 for a ten day loan. Schools must collect & return the boxes on the agreed date as they are often in demand from other schools. We offer a half price discount for schools visiting the Museum on an enhanced visit on the same topic. Booking essential.