• Group visits to the Museum
• Resources for schools

Book a group visit to the Museum

The Polar Museum is a relatively small gallery. In order to minimise risk and protect both our visitors and staff we have chosen to limit both opening hours and numbers in the museum gallery.

We will continue to offer virtually taught museum workshops online on Thursdays. These will be run a member of our education team and will be tailor made for your class/polar project.

Book a self guided visit (Wednesdays) Book a virtual session (Thursdays)

Services to groups

• On Wednesdays, the Polar Museum will be open for pre-booked school group visits (one class in the morning/one class in the afternoon). Priority will be given to school groups who are visiting as part of a polar project. You will lead your group around the museum accompanied by a member of our education team. We are happy to lend you clipboards and pencils. Please check availability and complete an online booking request form then await confirmation and further information from our education team. A suggested donation of £1 per child, would be much appreciated, if funds allow. Please keep checking the website for updates.
• Virtually Taught Museum sessions for school groups will be available on Thursdays. Each session will last about 60 minutes and include a closer, privileged look at objects from our collections behind the scenes There will also be a real life story of exploration illustrated with items from our collections plus the opportunity for your students to ask questions. All taught sessions support the National Curriculum. Please check availability and make a booking request online and await confirmation and further information from our education team. A suggested donation of £1 per child, would be much appreciated, if funds allow.
• Borrowing a Handling Collection can really help to bring polar education to life in the classroom. We can lend you polar storybags but have removed the polar clothing until further notice. Loans are for one week only and you will need to collect and return the handling collections to us. We will be offering limited availability so that we can quarantine collections between loans. Request a handling collection. Handling collections loans are free but we always welcome donations!
• Training sessions for teachers. For further information on planning and delivering a polar project, please contact our education team schools@spri.cam.ac.uk and/or check out our online learning resources:
• Our Museum Tours for adults cost £150 per group within our normal weekday opening hours. Additional charges may apply for tours outside office hours. Group size is limited to 15 adults. Please contact schools@spri.cam.ac.uk to request a booking.

Key information for your visit

Admission	Pre-booked school groups are welcome to visit on Wednesdays. The Polar Museum is FREE, but donations are always welcome. Unfortunately we will not be able to admit any groups on other days. This arrangement will last until further notice.
Group size	Please note that the museum is small, so group size is limited to one school class per half day, plus accompanying adults. One class on a Wednesday morning and another class on Wednesday afternoon.
Booking	We will only be accepting groups on Wednesdays. Please check availability and make a booking request online and await confirmation and further information from our education team.
Parking	We have limited parking available on site for special access needs only, please contact us at least a week in advance to check availability. There are pay and display parking meters on Lensfield Road (free for blue badge holders).
Access	The Museum is accessible by stairs at the front of the building from Lensfield Road and a ramp at the side doors next to the boat. Please let us know in advance if someone in your group has special needs and we will do our best to cater for them.
Toilet	There is a fully accessible toilet open to all visitors through the Museum's temporary exhibition gallery.
Lunch	The Institute regrets that we do not have lunch facilities or room to hang bags and coats.
Photography	Visitors are permitted to take photographs in the galleries for their personal, educational use only. Please see our photography policy for further details.
Shop	The Museum gift shop sells books, posters, pens, pencils, rubbers, etc.