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Museum education and lectures

Touchstones Rochdale Education Service

Touchstones Rochdale is an integrated arts and heritage service providing schools and community groups with a fantastic opportunity to access local studies, art and museum collections all under one roof!

Education programme for teachers and group organisers

The programme offers:

  • Workshops- linked to the National Curriculum our workshops create unique experiences for pupils to interact with real objects and works of art. 
  • Loan Boxes- our very popular Loan Box Service is free to borrowers within the Rochdale Borough. Each box contains original and reproduction artefacts and supports National Curriculum History and Literacy subjects.  Each can be borrowed for up to two weeks at a time.  
  • Free School Visits- self-service visits are a superb, cost effective method for your class to access culture.  Self-service means that you have chosen to organise your own activities during your visit.
  • Professional Development Programme for Teachers.

Educational Aims of Touchstones

  • To promote an interest in art and heritage through contact with original sources, evidence and local resources.
  • To offer specialist advice, resources and assistance to educational users of the museum, galleries and archives.
  • To encourage the development of historical understanding and research skills.

INSET sessions

We offer a range of INSET sessions to support and advise your teaching.

Popular workshops include:

  • How to use historical objects
  • How to investigate the past using documents
  • Hands on history for Early Years

The sessions take place after school at Touchstones Rochdale and last approximately one and a half hours.

New sessions can be developed to support your own particular needs – please contact the Education Co-ordinator to discuss your requirements.

Self-programmed visits

Did you know that you could bring your group to Touchstones Rochdale for FREE?

Should you wish to make a self-programmed visit to Touchstones Rochdale please contact the Education Co-ordinator.

Supporting Your Visit

A copy of our Museum trail is available at the time of booking for you to copy for your children. A fun and informative way to discover more about the objects on permanent display. We may also have other resource packs to complement some of our current temporary exhibitions.

To make life easier we can supply your class with clipboards and pencils. Please mention this at the time of booking.

With plenty of notice it may also be possible to book the education studio for your lunch break.

Why not make an appointment to meet the Education Co-ordinator to help with planning your visit? Go on a guided tour around the building and take a closer look at the exhibitions before bringing the children.

Why not borrow a Loan Box prior to your visit or use the contents to help with follow-up work? These boxes contain real and replica objects linked to subjects taught in the National Curriculum. They can be borrowed for up to two weeks at a time and are free to local Rochdale Borough schools.