Hands-on activities/sessions for schools, day centres and homes for the elderly. Reminiscence sessions for adult groups. A varied programme including sessions for early years and National Curriculum-linked activities for schools.  Worksheets, handling boxes and trails for use by visiting school groups. Please contact the Museum Education Officers on or email them at .

At the heart of the community

• The work of the Museum Education & Outreach Service aims to communicate the collections in ways that are positive, enlivening and accessible to as wide a range of groups within the community as possible. Our aim is to develop a variety of different approaches to attract new audiences.

• To encourage family users we provide free discovery sheets to use in the Museum, organise handling trails of objects linked with the displays and offer a programme of special events throughout the year.

• We offer hands-on sessions to local nursing homes, taking collections of original objects to evoke gentle memories amongst the residents who are no longer able to visit the Museum themselves.

• Practical workshops linked with the Museum collections offer opportunities to adult learners. Drop-in sessions and children's workshops are organised throughout the year.

• We provide schools with a whole range of talks and handling sessions to enliven and enrich the curriculum using the Museum collections.

• We offer a Loan Service with a wide choice of original material to be used for study in schools and reminiscence in nursing homes.

• We work in partnership with other education providers, such as the County Library Service, Cheltenham Centre for Unemployed People, the Everyman Theatre and local neighbourhood groups.

If you want to know more about our work in these areas please contact Virginia Adsett and Faye Little, Museum Education & Outreach Officers Tel. 01242 775702 or .

Outreach Loans Collection Service (open during schools' term-time, (Tuesdays-Thursdays 14.00 - 17.30) has social history, animals and birds that schools, day centres and residential homes can borrow for a small fee.