Spring time trips for schools
10 April 2017
Spring is just around the corner so take a look at some of the best place to go on school trips in March, April and May.
1. The Henry Moore Foundation, Hertfordshire
The Henry Moore Foundation at Perry Green will open its most diverse exhibition to date. Body & Void: Echoes of Moore in Contemporary Art, opening on 1st May, will explore Moore’s legacy and feature names in contemporary art from Bruce Nauman and Bruce McLean to Tony Cragg, Richard Deacon, and Anthony Gormley.
2. Abbotsbury Swannery and Subtropical Gardens, Dorset
Abbotsbury Swannery and the nearby Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens near Weymouth offer school trips a joint or individual visits in the spring.
At the Swannery pupils can help hand-feed the 600-strong herd of birds at 12pm every day and enjoy educational microphone commentary which accompanies the feeding. You can walk amongst over 100 swan nests dotted along the pathways, with the hatching of eggs taking place in front of children at close quarters from mid-May.
Next door to the Swannery only a few minutes away by coach is the Subtropical Gardens. The 30- acre garden boasts a display of colour, provided from spring blossoms such as magnolias, camellias and rhododendrons.
3. Batsford Arboretum, Gloucestershire
Batsford Arboretum offers a giant show of spring foliage from March, with highlights including a floral display from the National Collection of Japanese flowering cherries surrounded by thousands of spring flowering bulbs.
4. Haddon Hall, Derbyshire
Medieval manor Haddon Hall offers several events throughout spring next year, giving students the opportunity to experience what Tudor life used to be like. The hall has been restored by successive generations of the Manners family and retains many of its original Tudor features both inside and out. Tours for school visits are adapted to suit different ages, abilities and interests. Parties are divided into groups of up to 20, and are taken on a tour of the house and chapel. This takes about an hour.
5. Beaulieu, Hampshire
In the National Motor Museum school groups visiting from Easter onwards can enjoy the new World Land Speed Record Breakers Gallery; a display of four iconic World Land Speed Record cars, comprising the famous Bluebird CN7, the Blue Bird 350hp, the Sunbeam 1000hp and Golden Arrow, plus new high definition images combined with archive film footage.
6. Chatsworth, Derbyshire
Michael Craig-Martin at Chatsworth is a major display of contemporary sculpture in the garden featuring specially created new works, while Jacob van der Beugel is a permanent contemporary ceramic installation in the North Sketch Gallery complemented by displays of historic ceramics from the Devonshire Collection.
7. Kent Life Sandling, Kent
Rural heritage attraction, Kent Life, will be entering a baby boom over the spring period, with lots of new additions expected to be born on the farm. Pupils can enjoy the colourful displays of the Kentish Gardens in full bloom and be greeted by baby chicks, lambs, piglets and calves in the farmyard.
8. Kew Gardens, London
Kew Gardens boasts galleries of botanical art, and glasshouses reaching up to 27 degrees Celsius,making the popular World Heritage Site attraction a year-round attraction choice for school trip organisers.
Take children into the Palm House which offers Victorian elegance and a tropical rainforest interior, as well as the Davies Alpine House, a more recent addition, housing rare alpine plants. Kew’s annual display of orchids from around the world returns alongside the reopening of the Waterlily House where students can see giant lily pads over a metre across, and hybrid water lilies and lotuses in bloom.
9. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Hampshire
Portsmouth Historic Dockyard will unveil major new exhibition HMS - Hear My Story next spring, to be displayed in the newly restored Grade I listed former Royal Navy storehouse. The completion of the restoration work marks a major milestone in the Hear My Story project, which aims to give voice to the stories of the men, women and ships which have made the Navy’s history over the past 100 years.
10. York’s CHOCOLATE Story, York
Pupils will be able to get hands-on and take part in interactive chocolate making sessions at York's CHOCOLATE Story, learn how to taste chocolate like an expert, and find out how chocolate products are developed.
All of the workshop sessions at York’s CHOCOLATE Story are hosted by a member of the education team and offer pupils the opportunity to have a go at making something to take home. Workshops last between 45 minutes and 1 hour and are hosted in a partner venue just a short walk away from the attraction. Joint ticket prices for a tour and a workshop start at £9.75 per child and depend upon the number of pupils in your group.
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