Education & Outreach
The Gibraltar National Museum provides an interesting and stimulating experience where visitors of all ages and all backgrounds can discover and appreciate the unique history, heritage and culture of Gibraltar. The exhibitions show fascinating insights into human evolution, social history, landscapes and seascapes, buildings, plants, birds and animals. They also touch on the history of scientific developments and Gibraltar’s role in early discoveries in geology, palaeontology and anthropology. There is a wealth of information to study and satisfy our innate curiosity.
The Museum also provides more direct experiences for children of all ages and adults to connect with their own communities, culture and history, in the Museum and out and about in Gibraltar.
School Groups - Museum Tours and Workshops
The Museum has an active hands-on programme on human evolution, including the Neanderthals, for local schools and also visiting schools from abroad. It is run in conjunction with the Department of Education. Resources available include books, worksheets and teaching aids, boxed tool-kits, which can be kept in each school and also in the Gibraltar National Museum.
Museum tours for children and students from primary to college ages are guided by experts and teachers. Participants can handle and learn about ancient artefacts and fossils, as well as hear more – and ask questions - about Gibraltar’s natural and cultural heritage. Topics covered include Neanderthal Gibraltar, natural history and geology, World Heritage and the Great Siege, but tours can be tailored to suit specific requirements.
School Groups - Parson’s Lodge Experimental Workshops
The fine Victorian battery at Parson’s Lodge, Rosia Bay, is used by the Gibraltar National Museum for a range of learning and experimental archaeology workshops for school students, both local and from abroad.
Complementing the Museum tours and workshops, the more hands-on experimental activities at Parson’s Lodge give children the chance to be archaeologists – to excavate and discover replica objects and interpret their finds, or to experience how prehistoric hunter-gatherers acquired their food and exploited the natural resources – from the first hunters of Africa to the more sophisticated tools and weapons of the first millennium BC. We also offer workshops on cave painting, engraving and portable art, including making clay models of distinctive types found in Palaeolithic and Neolithic Europe, and on making many different types of prehistoric pottery.
Archaeological excavation workshop: using sand boxes, we can simulate an archaeological site with layers and finds. The students unearth these artefacts using authentic archaeological techniques and tools, learn how to distinguish the different layers and interpret the discoveries.
Prehistoric life: how our earliest ancestors made use of an abundance of local resources in their daily lives: vegetation to rope, stones and pebbles to tools, bones to needles and points, shells to ornaments and feathers to ornate dress. Students can try their hand at making rope and slings for hunting.
A raft of further workshops are being developed and will explore the flora and fauna of ancient and contemporary worlds, climate change, life in Islamic Gibraltar, and life in Parson’s Lodge from 1800 to World War II. We would welcome suggestions on other topics which would be of interest to children and teachers.
Guided tours of the Museum for Local Residents and Visitors
Tours for groups of visitors are guided by Museum experts. Topics covered include Neanderthal Gibraltar, natural history and geology, World Heritage, and the Great Siege. But tours can also be tailored to suit specific requirements of the Group on Gibraltar’s exceptional cultural and natural history, traditions, and Museum collections.
Tours around Gibraltar
Museum staff also give guided tours of various sites around Gibraltar, including the Great Siege Tunnels, the WWII Tunnels, the Moorish Castle and City Walls. Parson’s Lodge Victorian Battery is available for pre-booked guided tours. The Museum will soon be developing tours around the Mediterranean Steps looking at aspects of the Neanderthal environments, flora and fauna.
A boat tour with recorded commentary by Prof. Clive Finlayson looking at the Gorham's Cave Complex World Heritage Site is also available. The site has provided stunning archaeological evidence for Gibraltar’s Neanderthals’ occupation, culture and behaviour and insights into their cognitive ability.
Booking tours or
workshops
Tours and workshops normally need to be booked in advance. Bespoke tours or workshops for particular ages or special needs can be designed on request.
Tours of the Museum are available in English or Spanish; workshops will normally be in English, but can also be requested in Spanish.
The Museum is housed in an historic building over three floors; there is currently no lift. Wheelchair access is only possible on the ground floor and in the garden; access to the Moorish Baths in the basement and the first floor galleries is via stairs.
The maximum number of people for a single tour is 20 (adults and older children), but larger groups can be catered for by several guides with enough notice. Schools Groups (of 20) must be accompanied by at least two teachers or teaching assistants.
For further information please email: education @gibmuseum.gi
Lectures and Talks
The Museum runs an annual series of lectures on a wide variety of local and international topics. Please check out our events page for information on our latest lectures.
Museum experts are also very happy to come and talk to organisations or groups, including schools, about their work or particular projects. Please contact us if you would like a bespoke talk for your group or organisation.
18-20 Bomb House Lane
PO Box 939,
Gibraltar