Bring the Museum Experience to Your Classroom with Our Loans Boxes

Our Loans Boxes are carefully curated to enrich your students’ learning by bringing the wonders of the museum to your classroom. Packed with fascinating objects, engaging resources, and teacher-friendly guides, they offer a hands-on way to explore topics such as natural history, cultural heritage, and artistic expression.

We invite schools to visit our museum for hands-on engagement with our collections and interactive workshops. To extend learning in the classroom, our Loans Boxes offer a great way to reinforce key concepts and spark curiosity. If a visit isn’t possible, our Loans Boxes can be delivered to you, providing an immersive experience that enhances your curriculum. Whether focusing on animals, global cultures, or storytelling, our boxes inspire creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration while aligning with your educational goals.

Natural History

Enhance your classroom learning with our engaging Loans Box, perfect for exploring topics like Animals and their Habitats, Adaptation, or Teeth! This hands-on resource includes seven fascinating natural history specimens: a rhinoceros’ molar tooth, mounted butterflies, a sheep horn, caiman and crocodile skins, a rabbit skin, a replica chimpanzee skull, and a set of picture cards.

Accompanied by detailed object notes, a guide to safe handling, and a Teacher’s Pack filled with suggested activities and resources, this box offers an exciting and interactive way to bring science to life for your students.

Science Curriculum Links: Living things and their Habitats; Animals and Humans; Evolution and Inheritance.

Trading Textiles

Bring creativity and culture into your classroom with our Trading Textiles Loans Box! Explore the art of textile design with Kente, Adinkra, and Kanga textiles, along with traditional Adinkra printing stamps. Learn about the fascinating stories behind these beautiful textiles, including their colours, patterns, and symbols, and inspire your students to design and print their own creations.

This hands-on resource includes detailed object notes and a Teacher’s Pack with suggested activities. While the box offers engaging craft opportunities, schools will need to provide basic supplies like paints. A resource list will be sent in advance, ensuring all materials are low-cost and easy to source. Perfect for sparking creativity and learning through art.

Curriculum Links: Art and Design; Design and Technology; PSHE and Citizenship; Global Education.

The Art Box

Unleash creativity and discovery with our Inspired by Nature Loans Box! Developed in partnership with Artswork, this box bridges the gap between schools and museums, offering unique opportunities to explore natural history through art. Inside, you’ll find four fascinating specimens: a leopard skull, an African Forest Elephant tooth, and a Red River Hog skull, along with information cards about each object, artist inspirations, and examples of children’s artwork.

This versatile box is designed for all ages, encouraging exploration and artistic expression. It includes child-designed activity suggestions to inspire young learners to create their own masterpieces. Detailed object notes and a guide to safe handling are also included.

Basic materials like paper and drawing tools will be needed, and a resource list will be provided to help you prepare. Spark curiosity and creativity with this unique learning experience.

Curriculum Links: Art and Design

Safari Stories

Embark on an adventure of play, discovery, and storytelling with our Safari Stories Loans Box! Designed for all ages and abilities, this box inspires creativity and fun as you explore animals from across Africa.

Inside, you’ll find soft toys, smell boxes, animal puzzles, sound cards, and rubbing blocks to engage the senses. Discover fascinating facts about how animals eat, travel, and live in their habitats, while using our suggested activities to spark imaginative storytelling and creative play.

Perfect for creating memorable learning moments, this box encourages curiosity and exploration through hands-on, interactive resources.

Curriculum Links: Science and Investigation; Life Processes & Living Things; Animals

Don’t just take our word for it—here’s what schools have to say about their experiences with us:

Upton Primary School

“They loved seeing all the artifacts and wanted to spend time feeling and exploring them. They were most impressed by the huge crocodile skin!”

Garlinge Primary School

“Powell-Cotton Museum is a great scheme that helps children become involved and interested in their learning with a range of fascinating resources for the children to engage with. The scheme was very quick and efficient to organise. The staff are extremely helpful and are willing to answer any questions if necessary! Thank you.”

Llewellyn School

“All our children loved the loans box. It was suitable for all abilities, and they especially loved the sensory aspect, with the smell and sound boxes being a huge hit. The staff found the suggested activities really useful, and having the box brought over to us and collected was so helpful.”