National Museums NI’s ‘Museum on the Move’ remote learning programme is bringing a virtual museum experience to children and young people in schools in Co. Fermanagh.

Following a successful pilot scheme across Northern Ireland in 2020, the National Museums NI Education team are offering ‘Museum on the Move’ to support other schools and is encouraging teachers to register their interest in the programme.

St. Mary’s Primary School, Maguiresbridge was one of the schools to take part in the pilot programme alongside schools from across Northern Ireland.

National Museum NI’s Education Manager, Louise Rice, said: “After a really encouraging response to our pilot scheme – we want to continue the programme by supporting schools as all children return to the classroom.

We understand how challenging the learning environment is and are positioned to bring unique learning experiences into classrooms in an engaging and safe way.

“Enhancing and supporting education is at the very heart of National Museums NI, and our collections connect to all areas of the NI curriculum. We have literally thousands of stories that can spark imaginations and empower children to explore their own curiosity and share discovery.

“We hope we can support teachers during these challenging times to bring variety to the classroom – not only virtually, but also with real historical artefacts.”

The delivery of the programme is led by National Museums NI’s Education team, who work in partnership with the teacher to guide their class through an investigation of historic objects. They also help to encourage the children to complete tasks, give feedback, ask questions, and share their creative responses.

Live delivery is enhanced with short films on a variety of themes and with audio from National Museums NI’s sound archive.

Teachers receive learning resources and materials with each loan box of museum objects. The loan boxes are delivered and picked up by museum staff, following Covid-secure protocols.

Numerous schools have since enrolled in the scheme and National Museums NI is encouraging schools that wish to participate to register their interest, as places are limited. To find out how to participate in the programme, email: education@nmni.com