School Travel Organiser focuses on how Takeover Day – an annual arts and heritage themed initiative – lends itself to positive learning outside the classroom.
On Takeover Day, children aged between four and 18 are given meaningful roles at a number of places in the UK, working alongside staff and volunteers to participate in running an attraction.
This year’s project, which will take place on Friday 18th November, will see organisations across Britain opening their doors to children and young people to take over adult roles.
These organisations range from museums and galleries to arts organisations, archives and heritage sites.
Takeover Day puts young people in decision-making positions and encourages organisations and businesses to hear their views. Children will gain an insight into the adult world and organisations can benefit from a fresh perspective about their work.
Who can take part?
Any child or young person and almost any organisation that provides goods or services to them can take part in Takeover Day.
Previous participants who have helped during Takeover Day have included parliamentarians and high-profile individuals, as well as public sector organisations, such as local authorities, emergency services and NHS organisations, charities and businesses.
Takeover Day projects from 2015
Takeover Day 2015 was deemed a great success with over 150 museums, galleries, arts organisations, archives and heritage sites running an event. More than 4,000 children took part across England.
Attractions that gave over their facilities for students to use last year included the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Stratford-upon-Avon, where ten-year-olds in Tudor dress played at being tour guides, and Cliffe Castle Museum in Keighley where children acted as pest controllers.
At Lord’s Cricket Ground, two schools took over as guides on tours of the sporting venue. The young ‘experts’ let visitors overlook the green, explore the courts and see the ashes in the museum.
In addition, students took over adult roles at Stonehenge for the first time in its 4,500 year old history. Children led tours at the stones, explained about Neolithic artefacts in the museum at the Stonehenge visitor centre and talked about objects in the Neolithic Houses to visitors from around the world.
The students also developed new activities for Primary school visitors and tried them out and tweeted, posted on Instagram, wrote articles and created a short film to copy deadlines.
Other UK attractions that embraced the programme included the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, the Galleries of Justice Museum in Nottingham, the Cooper Gallery in Barnsley, and the Ironbridge Gorge Museum in Shropshire.
How to apply for 2016
Teachers and attractions alike can register an interest for Takeover Day 2016 project by emailing takeoverday@kidsinmuseums.org.uk, or filling in the registration form online.
There are free resources to download also, to aid participation in the project. These include posters to raise awareness about the project, fact files and helpful tips on how to guarantee a successful Takeover Day.
For further information visit www.kidsinmuseums.org.uk/takeoverday.
