Secondary schools

Secondary and post-16

The Museum offers a wide range of interactive workshops for all key stages linked to the National Curriculum. Plan your school visit.

Our secondary school sessions:

are usually offered on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
last between 60-90 minutes.
have flexible start and end times.
accommodate between 20-30 pupils depending on the session.

Please email learning@mhs.ox.ac.uk or use our online form to make a booking enquiry.

Key stage 3

Key stage 4

Post-16

conservation george III microscope MHS Inventory No. 35086

The Museum provides a uniquely inspirational atmosphere in which art students can explore an unrivalled collection of scientific instruments, many of which are beautifully crafted and exhibit an extraordinary range of materials and decorative detail. These include early time-keeping devices, clocks and sundials, globes and orreries, mechanical devices, a medical collection, cameras, and optical instruments such as microscopes, telescopes and the camera obscura.

The Museum has an extensive collection of scientific instruments and models, along with historical books and archive material, providing rich source material for creative writing and contextual studies.

The Museum’s collection provides a fascinating context through which to explore the relationship between science and religion: from the 16th-century debate over Copernicus’s new heliocentric model of the solar system and Galileo’s conflict with the Church of Rome, to controversies surrounding 18th-century Newtonianism and debates over natural theology. The Museum also has a fine collection of early Islamic instruments used for religious as well as scientific purposes, including astrolabes and Quibla indicators, and an extensive collection of objects relating to astronomy and time-keeping.

The Museum offers study days for Key Stages 2, 3, 4 and 5 in conjunction with the other museums, collections and academic departments of the University.