History Themed Day with Sam/Sally Fletcher (Jan-Mar 2025)

A full day of activities including museum led activities and self-led exploration on a Victorian history theme. Your class will explore the tunnel at Hope Pit, see the ponies in the Pony Discovery Centre and meet a Victorian character to discover what jobs they did underground.

Pupils meet Sally/Sam Fletcher who will reveal the working conditions and lives of Victorian child miners. Sam/Sally will show them how to make a motty out of clay (a mining tag to attached to the coal tubs they filled to kept track of how much they mined and therefore how much they got paid) and teach them a song about working underground.

Pupils then divide into two groups to take part in two interactive activities:

A: Getting down to work
In teams of ‘working families’ pupils will complete a mining challenge, who will fill and move a coal tub the fastest?.

B: Workshop with Sally/Sam Fletcher
Sally/Sam will tell the story of the jobs s/he did underground – from a trapper to drammers and helpers.

In the afternoon, pupils will have a guided tour of the Lister-Kaye Tunnel and meet the Museum’s Horsekeepers  and ponies. They will also have a Q&A session with a Mine Guide – and will get to ask any questions they want to know about mining. 

If you’ve got time towards the end of your visit, explore our Nature Trail and let off steam in our Adventure Playground.

Useful information:

• We are only open Wednesday – Friday for on site bookings (Virtual Workshops are available on Mondays & Tuesdays)
• We have capacity for a maximum of 2 classes per school, per day.
• Schools will need to request an enquiry form using the ‘Enquire’ button to the left, submitting details of your visit and 3 preferred dates in order to book. We will then contact you as soon as possible to confirm.
• Lunch space is included and will be exclusive to your school.

Did you know that we also offer Virtual Workshops in a variety of topics that can be accessed from your classroom? Topics include Meet a Miner, the Victorians and Rocks and Fossils.

You can also use our downloadable resources to aid your pupils learning before and after your visit.

Email our Bookings Assistant, Sharon, on bookings@ncm.org.uk to enquire.

From June 2024, our schools bookings prices have had a slight increase, the first in three years. We have scrapped booking fees and introduced a streamlined price package which includes facilitators, learning resources and lunch rooms (if required) for 30 students. Additional students will incur a cost per child. Any bookings made prior to this point will be honoured at the original price.

The Museum is undertaking major maintenance work between January and March 2025. This means that the underground will not be open and therefore there will be no tours available, this session (running Jan-Mar) will offer students an engaging and immersive day.