Art Explorers at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery

What did we do?

'Art Explorers' was generated by the desire of Buxton Museum and Art Gallery to increase staff knowledge and skills in using its art collections through an art-based teaching resource for local primary and secondary schools.

Martha Lawrence, assistant museums manager at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery and an archaeologist by background, wanted to learn more about the local school environment and its needs, increasing her knowledge of art education and her confidence in delivering this subject to school groups.

This Learning Links project allowed Martha to spend several days in the two partner schools, observing teachers and getting to grips with the way students were learning through art. Sue Firth from Dove Holes C of E Primary School and Cheryl Raynes of Buxton Community School spent time in the museum, exchanging ideas, exploring the museum's collections and working with Martha to create a range of activities and resources for use in the classroom, or during a visit to the Museum and Art Gallery.

Working with Doves Holes C of E Primary School, Key Stage 1 and 2 activities were used initially in the classroom and Martha used these sessions to help formulate her ideas to transfer similar activities into the museum context. A visit to Buxton Museum and Art Gallery by the school allowed Martha to pilot her new sessions with the students.

Working with secondary schools had proved more of a challenge as it is often harder to fit museum visits into the senior school timetable.  It was therefore decided that most impact could be made through developing activities and resources related to the museum collections for delivery in the classroom.  Activities including 3D model making, collage and clay work were cross curricular and involved a variety of different collections, including paintings, fossils and ceramics. They were all supported by specific resources for use by students and teachers. Whilst based in the school, Martha also worked with staff in delivering sessions and building her confidence in delivering sessions and workshops to secondary school groups.

The project has enabled Buxton Museum and Art Gallery to build relationships with its local schools and to offer learning resources across a range of Key Stages.  Staff confidence and knowledge around art has increased, whilst the activities and resources developed, although originally aimed at schools, have also proved applicable to other formal and informal education groups, enabling the museum to extend its provision of art-based learning experiences to the wider community.

What were the outcomes?

Teachers gained:

• Knowledge and inspiration from working with the museum's collections, 
• An opportunity to expand student experiences by working with museum staff in school,
• Cross curricular resources applicable for a range of Key Stages that will meet their needs in the classroom.

Staff at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery gained:

• Increased knowledge of art education,
• Increased confidence in delivering art-based education activities across Key Stages,
• Inspiration to work with the museum's collections in new and creative ways,
• Art-related learning resources which can be used with a range of formal and informal learning groups.