Travel subsidy of *up to £250 for private hire transport available for schools taking part in STEM activities at the Museum

To increase the number of Ayrshire schoolchildren accessing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) activities at the Scottish Maritime Museum, the Museum has secured funding to offer local schools a travel subsidy of up to £250 towards private hire transport.

This includes any school run by local authorities of North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire or East Ayrshire.

The scheme, which applies to visits between January and June 2019, is designed to enable rurally isolated schools, those in areas of deprivation and those without access to public transport in particular to take part in Curriculum for Excellence linked out-of-school STEM learning at the Museum.

The STEM programme at the Scottish Maritime Museum, which is housed in a vast, former shipyard building on the Harbourside in Irvine, is exciting and relevant for all ages. Schools can choose from a range of bookable activities for Nursery to S3 and bespoke staff-led guided tours and hands on workshops or self-led teacher trails for secondary schools.

Jamie Menzies, Learning and Access Officer at the Scottish Maritime Museum, explains:

“We have recently restructured our education programme to put a greater focus on STEM, in particular on engineering and mathematics around the large and nationally recognised engineering collection. So it’s a great time to visit with lots of new trails, workshops and a flexible programme which means schools can choose between activities led by trained staff or self-guided trails. Our education team are also happy to develop bespoke sessions catered to a school’s needs. We’re excited to offer this travel subsidy and welcome more schoolchildren to the Museum and the new education activities, particularly those who have been unable to visit before due to prohibitive transport costs. As the funding is a fixed amount, the travel subsidy is offered on a ‘first come, first served’ basis so schools are urged to get in touch now or as soon as they are able.”

The award-winning Scottish Maritime Museum is home to Scotland’s national maritime heritage collection.

Housed within Scotland’s ‘Cathedral of Engineering’, a vast Grade A listed 19th century former shipyard building, the collection features historic ships, vessels and engineering designs which influenced the course of maritime history across the world.

The Museum also features the largest collection of shipbuilding and marine engineering tools in the country, an authentic 1920s shipyard worker’s tenement flat and the opportunity to climb aboard MV Kyles, the oldest Clydebuilt vessel still afloat in the UK.

On their visit, pupils of all ages can get curious, creative and inspired by investigating local and national history, seeing STEM principles in action and handle real historical objects.

Further information on the Scottish Maritime Museum’s education programme, including all the STEM experiences and outcomes, can be found online at www.scottishmaritimemuseum.org

Schools interested in accessing the STEM travel subsidy or booking a visit should contact the Museum’s education team by emailing education@scotmaritime.org.uk or calling 01294 278283.

Book early as this only applies to visits between January and June 2019