All aboard museum’s new online workshops

The Scottish Maritime Museum has received funding from Maths Week Scotland to offer five additional free places to the first primary schools to book onto the new Ship to Shore Online Learning Workshops.

The free places are available to primary schools booking places during maths w eek which runs from Monday September 28 to Sunday October 4, or the week following.

The workshops centre on the Scottish Maritime Museum’s most popular Curriculum for Excellence linked science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities.

The workshops comprise two live links between the education team at the museum and school as well as a digital resource pack full of support information, activities and challenges.

Schools can choose from topics and activities including the life of Scotland’s lifeline Puffer boats, buoyancy and Archimedes’ ‘Eureka’ moment, the design of the Titanic and sending ‘socially distanced’ Morse Code messages to classmates.

During the second live link, activities include an ‘unboxing’ of artefacts from the museum’s national maritime heritage collection.

All workshops include an activity linked to the Scottish Maritime Museum’s new national art collection.

Claire Munro, learning and access officer at the Scottish Maritime Museum, explained: ‘Maths is integral to our everyday lives and, of course, key to shipbuilding design, engineering and construction.

‘Taking part in our new online programme, pupils of all ages can get curious, creative and inspired by our nationally recognised collection of maritime heritage. They can discover all about the maths making it possible to move from invention to construction through to the engineering, science and technology involved.’

For younger schoolchildren, Ship to Shore Workshops include Ship Shape Science, looking at the principles behind floating and sinking, balance and friction when designing a ship. In Katie’s Island Adventures schoolchildren can explore the life of cargo puffers and their importance to Scottish island communities.

Older primary schoolchildren can enjoy Buoyant Adventures discovering Archimedes’ ‘Eureka’ moment and learn how boats float. With Investigating Titanic, they can problem solve using Morse Code, look at the design of the Titanic and lifesaving at sea.

The Scottish Maritime Museum is accepting bookings now. As funding for the free places is for a fixed amount and therefore offered on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, schools are urged to get in touch as soon as they can.

To book, or for more information, teachers can call the Scottish Maritime Museum on 01294 278283 or email education@scotmaritime.org.uk