Home Educators

Beamish Museum is a large open air museum which brings the history of North East England to life at its 1820s Pockerley, The 1900s Town, The 1900s Pit Village, The 1940s Farm, The 1950s Town and 1950s Spain’s Field Farm exhibit areas. Visitors to the museum meet costumed folk who tell stories about life during these time periods. The museum also has replicated buildings from different eras which you can go inside and explore further.

On our specific Home Educators Days, the museum does not take bookings from other educational institutions. The museum is still open to other general visitors and organised coach parties. As a result, the museum may be quieter than normal, with no large groups of children moving around.

All the exhibits, transport and staff are available as normal, but please see the most up to date information on the blackboard at the Main Entrance on arrival. Some exhibits, transport and footpaths may be closed due to operational reasons so we cannot guarantee these will be open. We also organise a series of pre-bookable activities for you to book onto; these are advertised and are bookable via our Home Educators webpage. In addition, a series of drop by activities will be on offer. Reserved, indoor picnicking spaces are also available.

Entry into the museum is charged at our usual education rate. This is currently £7.50 per head for those over the age of 5. Pre-bookable activities are charged in addition to this. What’s On sheets are available on arrival.

All visitors will arrive at the museum via our Main Entrance. Staff will welcome you to the museum and scan your annual pass or barcode. You can collect a map of the museum at this time, and there will also be What’s On sheets for our Home Educators Days which give you all the information about where and when different activities are on.

We do not take educational bookings on our Home Educators Days, so there will be no large groups of children and teachers moving round. However, the museum is still open to general visitors coming in on the day, and also to organised coach parties. This means we cannot guarantee how many people will be visiting us on Home Educators Days; it may be quieter than normal.

Beamish is a large open air museum with many historic buildings, footpaths made with varying materials and unpredictable weather. We have a full Access Guide for visitors in our Accessibility section of the website.

We understand that there are high levels of neurodiversity and children with SEND needs amongst the Home Educators community. We are very open to tailoring activities and making accommodations for different needs if we know about them in advance. If you’d like to get in touch with the Learning team who oversee the Home Educators Days, please feel free to email Helentalbot@beamish.org.uk or robertmartin@beamish.org.uk

When you are in the museum, you are free to ask any costumed member of staff for help; they may be walking around the museum carrying out duties or they may be in exhibits but you can approach all staff for help with your queries. Some of our staff wear modern clothing, but they carry a Beamish logo. You are welcome to approach these staff and ask for help as well.

If you have a question about the museum before you visit on Home Educators Day, you may email the Learning team in advance on robertmartin@beamish.org.uk or Helentalbot@beamish.org.uk. Please be aware that staff work on a 7 day per week pattern and many work part time, so we may not be able to answer your query immediately. If you need a fast response, please call the main museum switchboard on 0191 370 4000.

Yes! Please do get in touch if you have ideas about areas of interest to you that we could explore as part of a Home Educators Days. Helentalbot@beamish.org.uk or robertmartin@beamish.org.uk.