We are fully booked for the Spring term. We are taking bookings for the 2024 Summer and Autumn terms.

Thank you for booking your school trip to Chelmsford Museum. This page will provide the information you need to help you prepare your pupils and parents for the visit and embed learning experiences into your classroom work.

We want to make the day run smoothly for you. If you have any questions about the visit you can contact us online or call 01245 605700.

Before you visit you should check all details on your booking confirmation form, add any additional information and then sign and send a copy back to us to confirm your visit.

You can download the following documents from the information for teachers page:

  • generic risk assessment for the Museum
  • specific risk assessments sessions
  • risk assessments for using Museum iPads
  • PowerPoint resources for each session (these contain pre and post visit materials to enable your pupils to gain the most from the visit
  • visual journey through the Museum PowerPoint (this will allow your pupils to see inside the Museum before they visit)

We recommend that you come on a ‘pre-visit’. The Museum is open every day from 10am to 5pm. If you would like to talk to a member of staff about a pre-visit, you can contact us.

We have designed our sessions to cater for a wide range of abilities and learning styles. Museum tutors who are highly experienced working with pupils of all abilities lead the sessions.

You should talk to us about your group and pupils with additional needs. That is so we can tailor the session and activities to ensure that everyone is able to participate fully and enjoy the visit. Check details of any pupil's additional needs are correct on the booking confirmation form.

The Museum is fully wheelchair accessible and has a large accessible toilet. To give your pupils an idea of what to expect before they visit, you can download our ‘Visiting Chelmsford Museum’ guide.

By coach

The coach stop is on the road directly outside the front gate. You can walk up the drive to the main Museum doors. There are no roads to cross. 

The Coach stop is only for drop off and pick up. There is a coach lay-by on Three Mile Hill for whole day coach parking.

By mini bus or car

There is a large car park with accessible bays for mini bus parking. Let us know when booking if you are coming by mini bus.

By bus

Buses such as the number 100 run up and down New London Road to the city centre at regular intervals and stop close to the Museum.

Our morning sessions usually start at 10.15am and afternoon sessions start at 12.45pm. We will give you exact timings on your booking confirmation form.

For morning sessions, we recommend you aim to arrive at 10am to allow time to hang up coats and use the toilets before the session starts. If you arrive before 10am, there are picnic benches in the park and you can have a snack before you come in.

In the afternoon, if you need to leave before 2.45pm, let us know when booking and we will ensure sessions fit with your coach times.

 

We have an indoor space for lunch or if the weather is fine, you can enjoy a picnic in the park. If you are coming for a half-day museum led session, let us know when booking if you would like to stay for lunch.

Entry to Chelmsford Museum is free, but you must still book your visit in advance if you are bringing a group of more than six pupils. Complete a booking enquiry form.

Our indoor lunch space is not available for groups on an independent visit. You are welcome to picnic in the park or visit the Hive Café in the Museum. If you would like to take your group into the café, let us know before you visit.

The shop has a good range of pocket money souvenirs. Let us know if your group would like to use the shop during their visit so we can timetable this in. Most children bring between £3 and £5 to spend.

There are two fully fenced play areas with a range of play equipment suitable for nursery and primary age children. There are picnic benches in the park and plenty of space for pupils to run around on the lawn in front of the museum. There is a quieter ‘secret garden’ to the side of the museum.

Dog walkers enjoy our park too. We ask them to ensure their dogs are under control or on a lead and clear up any fouling that occurs. We cannot take responsibility for the behaviour of dog owners when pupils are in the park, either during a session or free time. If a your pupils become concerned by an approaching dog, encourage them to stay still and calm.

Group supervision

The behaviour of pupils remains the responsibility of the school or organisation at all times during your visit. There is no limit on adult helpers, so bring sufficient people to supervise and support pupils when they are working in small groups. We strongly advise the following adult to child ratios:

  • one adult to every four children (under 5’s, Nurseries, pre-school, EYFS)
  • one adult to every six children (years 1 and 2, rainbows and beavers)
  • one adult to every eight children (years 3, 4, 5 and 6, brownies and cubs)
  • one adult to every 10 children (years 7 to 11, scouts and guides)

We encourage adults with the group to be actively involved in session by asking children questions and listening to their ideas. You can assure your parent helpers they do not need to know the topic.

First aid

We require your school to provide a designated first aider to accompany the trip and be the first point of call as you have the health information sheets for each of your children. There are first aid boxes in the Museum and always a first aider on site who will provide additional support as required.

Using iPads

In some sessions, children will use museum iPads when investigating the galleries to gather ‘evidence’. We will email this to your school to support post-visit learning. The iPads have stringent security restrictions enabled to minimise any chance of children taking photos and forwarded inappropriately or posted on social media.