Please note: this article pre-dates the 2014 National Curriculum and some content may be outdated.

If you have heard the excited buzz of voices as a class of children enters a museum you will be aware of their potential as inspiring learning spaces. Teaching in a museum context we see this afresh everyday; it is the difference and realness of what they are seeing that engenders that excitement and at Museums Luton we capitalise on this in workshops that bring children still closer to the objects and ideas of the past.

Luton's industrial heritage - the straw-hat industry

Luton in Bedfordshire is now most famous for its airport, but its roots lie in its 19th century straw-hat industry. In order to understand the growth and subsequent history of the town the hat factories are an essential stoppingoff point. Museums Luton's Wardown Park Museum illustrates the rise, fall and legacy of the industry in its Luton Life galleries. But we also offer a range of workshops exploring the subject from KS1 to KS4.