Adults

The Oxfordshire Museum is a venue for Oxfordshire County Council adult learning classes on a variety of subjects. Visit our Adult Learning pages for further details.

Those were the days - new group

Do you have memories of Woodstock and the surrounding villages? We have started a monthly group for people to meet up, reminisce about the old days and share memories.

When? On the first Friday of the month, from 2-3.30pm on these dates in 2012:

• 2 March
• 4 May
• 1June
• 7 September
• 5 October
• 2 November
• 7 December.

Cost: £1 per person.

If you are interested in joining the group or would like more information, please contact the Learning and Access team on 01865 300639.

Children

We have:

• displays and interactive exhibits of local history
• art, archaeology, landscape and wildlife
• exploration of  the county’s innovative industries from nanotechnology to nuclear power
• a dinosaur garden and interactive dinosaur gallery
• a lively programme of touring exhibitions
• a well-equipped education centre which can also be used as a venue for lunch.

See our children's activities.

Schools workshops

The Victorians arrive in Woodstock!

The new Victorian Oxfordshire gallery features more than 100 genuine artefacts from Oxfordshire on display from the county's collection. The gallery is a great new resource for teachers wishing to enhance their pupils learning.

With a unique full sized model of Queen Victoria as its centrepiece, the gallery tells the story of life and development during the Victorian period. Discover what it was like to live and work in the towns and countryside, learn about homes and family life, schools, religion and The Great Exhibition through displays of costumes, toys and many more exciting objects. You can even learn about sanitary developments as you flush the toilet!

We are offering five new hands-on workshops aimed at both KS1 and KS2 to complement the new gallery. Visit collections which can be handled for more details.

Victorian workshops

• KS1 and 2 Sit up Straight (Victorian schoolroom) A costumed Miss Grimwade will drill your pupils in Victorian rules and regulations in a traditional Victorian schoolroom experience.
• KS1 and 2 Spit and Polish (servants / houses and homes) Put on your aprons and experience what it was like to maintain a home during the Victorian period without the benefit of modern electrical appliances. 
• KS 1 and2 Time to Play (toys and games) Experience the world of play as it would have been enjoyed in Victorian times and try your hand at a wide variety of indoor and outdoor toys.
• KS2 The Magic of Photography Explore some of the early developments in photography, cinema and 3D images. An amazing opportunity to get close up and hands-on with vintage equipment.
• KS2 The Finer Side of Life Learn about how wealthy Victorians passed the time at home and use our theatre to put on your own shadow puppet play.

Dinosaur Workshop Key Stages 1

This workshop uses the museum's unique dinosaur garden, with its life-size Megalosaur, genuine fossilised footprints and 'living fossils' to provide a stimulating educational experience for your pupils.

•  Why are there dinosaur footprints at TOM? Children will role-play, discover and learn the answers to this and many other questions as they explore the museum's unique dinosaur garden and interactive gallery.

Who would want to be a Roman? KS2

Combine a visit to the museum's fascinating Roman Gallery with a stimulating workshop. Handle genuine Roman artefacts, find out about the life of a Roman soldier, carry out your own excavation and dress up in Roman clothing.

Who Was Who? KS2

A workshop where the children become museum archivists and history detectives. This intriguing workshop engages the children with primary sources as they unravel the life stories of our mystery people and mount their own exhibition.

Children and War

KS2 Don't you know there's a war on! Oxfordshire at War 1939-1945 

Investigate children's experiences of wartime through practical activities, objects, images and documents. Try rag rugging to 'make do and mend', put on a replica gas mask and research into local Commonwealth War Graves online.

A whole day visit is available including a visit to the Commonwealth War Graves in Woodstock.

To book a visit, contact the Learning and Access team.

KS3, KS4 and 6th Form Teachers of students in KS3, KS4 and sixth form studying the Great War will be interested in the theme of propaganda in relation to boy soldiers, the life of a soldier in Iraq in 1916 and remembrance.  For those learning about aspects of the Holocaust, local links to the liberation of Bergen Belsen concentration camp in 1945 will be relevant. 

For more information contact:
Stephen Barker
Learning and Participation Manager at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum
Tel: 07775 974976
Email: Reaseach@SOFO.org.uk 

Booking details

Recommended maximum group size: 30 children. Cost: 10-12 children £50; 21-25 children £60; 26-30 children £75.

Download further information about workshops

• You can find out more about our school workshops at the museum in this brochure (pdf format, 1MB)

Children

We have:

• 11 galleries with displays on everything from a Roman skeleton to Queen Victoria!
• displays and interactive exhibits of local history
• art, archaeology, landscape and wildlife
• exploration of  the county’s innovative industries from nanotechnology to nuclear power
• a dinosaur garden and interactive dinosaur gallery
• a lively programme of touring exhibitions.

Drop-ins

A varied programme of activities for children, families and adults is available.

• Family drop-ins on Tuesdays and Thursdays 2pm - 4pm during school holidays. Craft activities based on the museum's exhibitions and collections are suitable for all ages. £1.50 per child, children must be accompanied by an adult
• Tom Tots on Tuesdays at 10.30-11am. Stories, crafts, rhymes and songs suitable for under 5s. £1 per family, children must be accompanied by an adult.
• Children's activity backpacks which include clues, quizzes and games to enhance your child's visit to the museum are available at reception. 

The dinosaur garden at The Oxfordshire Museum

• Meet our life-size megalosaur - as big as a bus!
• Explore our garden with its Jurassic plants

New interactive dinosaur gallery

Visit our new interactive dinosaur gallery if you dare! We have a range of dinosaur activities including 'feed the dinosaurs'  magnetic dinosaur jigsaw, dinosaur puppet theatre, dressing up, dinosaur fossils, facts and quiz, wall murals and even an electronic moving eye.

Hands on Oxfordshire's Heritage (HOOH)

The Hands on Oxfordshire's Heritage (HOOH) service allows schoolchildren to handle real and replica objects from the past with the help of experienced workshop leaders. We also run reminiscence sessions for community groups.

More information

We have 11 galleries with displays on everything from a Roman skeleton to Queen Victoria!

• Self-led visits to the main collections are free but booking is essential.
• Guidance notes are available on request.
• Contact The Oxfordshire Museum.