About

Time Odyssey  has been created in partnership by Art Explora  and the  British Museum  to break down the economic, geographic and cultural barriers that prevent many children from visiting their local museums.

It aims to encourage children to discover our national collections and learn through a fun digital learning adventure!

Our Aims

Increase access for school children to UK national museums
Reach underserved communities and regions by prioritisingschools that have not visited the museum before
Remove the cost barrier that prevents many schools frommaking school trips
Build awareness of our rich national collections and heritageand encourage repeat visits
Test new forms of digital technology for engaging childrenwith collections and enriching formal learning

“It's made a huge difference…it's increased their experiences, their learning and their ability. They all want to go back again. It’s instilled a love for the museum for them.”

Teacher

Why we are doing this ?

School trips to museums are recognised, and fondly remembered, as a cherished part of school life. They offer an important real-world experience that can enhance academic, social and personal development. However recent research has shown that the number of school trips have decreased across the UK, as school budgets go down and everyday costs go up, and in the context of a decline in creative education.

In September 2023, Art Fund published  research showing that only 1 in 3 children had visited a museum in the past year, with significant disparity between urban and rural areas. Of this statistic, only 34% were children from lower socio-economic backgrounds, compared to 47% of children from higher social economic backgrounds.

Time Odyssey addresses this inequity by offering a completely free experience – both the museum visit and the transport costs are covered through the programme. Art Explora works closely with partner museums to target children at schools with a high percentage of free school meals, as well as schools in rural areas – both identified as schools that typically do not take children on school trips. Time Odyssey has been designed to appeal to 7-11year olds by introducing familiar tools such as apps and tablets, as well as gaming techniques and impressive AR technology, to engage and learn through the power of play.

“Everyone you speak to who is involved in school trips will speak to the astonishing effect they can have on children and young people, especially those who are marginalised for whatever reason. You see a transformation that could not have happened inside a classroom sitting behind a desk. A trip unlocks things, sparks things, changes relationships between teachers and pupils, allows classmates to see each other differently and allows pupils to feel differently about themselves.”

Joe Hallgarten, Claire Heseltine and Abha Jeurkar, The Centre for Education and Youth
Report commissioned by the Clore Duffield Foundation

Photos by Lily Holman

Photos by Colin Davidson

Photos by Lily Holman

Photos by Colin Davidson

Who is behind this ?

Art Explora is a UK charity founded in 2023 aiming to share arts and culture with everyone – locally, nationally and internationally – and inspires new encounters between arts and audiences.

The British Museum was the first national public museum in the world. The collection tells the stories of cultures across the world, from the dawn of human history, over two million years ago, to the present

Contact

If you'd like to find out more about this programme please get in touch here

E: timeodyssey@artexplora.org