Page 3 kids

Education Overview

At NMB, we believe history is more than a collection of dates, events, and objects. Learning history is fundamental. It provides context that explains how Bermuda positions itself to the world: how this has been done in the past, in the present, and how it will be done in the future.

Input from academics, educators, Bermuda’s Department of Education, community groups, and students continues to enhance our objectives, which include making learning Bermuda history part of every educational journey on the Island. Our Education Strategy (2019) guides our decisions and ensures we stay true to our mission to connect people to Bermuda’s diverse past.

Since launching our Education Strategy, we have been building our education department from the ground up. Our small team of experts is rolling out and developing free pilot programmes serving learners of all ages (from 3 to 100 years old) that shift how history is shared and taught on Island.

NMB Site 2

“…teachers were greatly appreciative of the [TPD] experience and felt they learned so much. NMB has helped realise a shifting of teaching practices, as well as help teachers, see the museum as an authentic learning environment.”

– Nekesha Holdipp, Acting Education Officer, Social Studies, Department of Education

Active Education Programmes:

This programme provides current research, historical content, and methods to local public and private school educators so they can experiment with multi-disciplinary approaches to teaching history that promote critical thinking. To date, we have hosted 11 TPD workshops, serving 171 total participants. NMB’s programme is the Bermuda Department of Education’s compulsory TPD for all middle school social studies teachers.

Lead Sponsor: Centennial Bermuda Foundation and supported by Allied World

With input from local educators, we develop teacher and student resources such as historical summaries, interactive classroom activities linked with NMB collections, videos, and new teaching methods to make history relevant and engaging. Resource topics include Transatlantic Slave Trade, Slavery in Bermuda, Friendly Societies, Suffragette Movement in Bermuda, and the Theatre Boycott. Soon, our website will include an educator’s portal for easy access to our free, downloadable materials.

Lead Sponsor: Fidelity

Partnering with Endeavour, we provide access to the NMB collections, lab, and exhibits and we develop programmes that encourage close-looking at objects and crafting personal stories to build critical and creative thinking skills. Each year, over 500 middle school students come to NMB through this programme.

History comes alive with our fun family activities! These guides encourage interaction and offer new ways to experience NMB exhibits. This is a fun way for the entire family to learn while exploring the Museum.

Our ongoing, award-winning community programme, TORR, uses family history as an entry point to promote community participation in curating local history while leveraging technology, contemporary art, and partnerships. Developed in collaboration with local and international partners, TORR provides tools, tips, and strategies to search, document, and share family history. Over 400 people have participated in our live online presentations and workshops, with hundreds more downloading the recordings. Bermuda Family Scrapbook is the latest initiative of this programme.

Participate Today

This free public lecture series expands community understanding of Bermuda’s place in the Atlantic World. Each lecture is delivered by local or international academics and presents research using interactive and reflective methods to challenge audience perceptions of their understanding of Bermuda’s past.

Watch Here

Each year we offer paid internships that build connections with local and international students and provide them with hands-on work experience and training in all aspects of museum work and heritage management best practices, as well as deepening their understanding of Bermuda’s diverse history. Additionally, we have a 40+ year track record of facilitating land-and water-based archaeology field schools with overseas universities.

Supported by Ministry of Culture, Government of Bermuda

In this corporate-specific programme, participants explore enslavement, emancipation, and segregation in Bermuda. In addition to practicing the analytical and critical skills that inform historical research, participants are encouraged to make connections across their professional and personal lives.

This is the only programme that is offered at a charge

Learn More about Corporate Education Workshops

Adult Ambassadors are champions of NMB and trained guides of the Museum. Through a series of workshops that move beyond traditional docent training, participants learn about museums in the past and present, the NMB Ambassador role, how adults learn, participatory approaches and object inquiry. They deepen their understanding of Bermuda history and learn how to facilitate tours and education activities that bring history and NMB to life.

“Please continue these TPDs! They are hugely helpful in terms of resources and class materials, as well as introducing new and engaging pedagogical methods.”

–Elizabeth Browne, Whitney Institute Middle School

Education Programmes in Development:

Using inquiry-based and object-based techniques, exploring historical questions, and building complex reasoning and critical thinking skills, new programming will take student field trip experiences to a new level. We are building on our current youth programmes and will be rolling out this programme for middle-school-aged students.

Lead Sponsor: Jardines Bermuda and supported by Arch Reinsurance

This hands-on, inquiry-and-play-based pilot programme will give Bermuda’s youngest learners (ages 3 to 8) a strong platform for a lifetime of learning and museum engagement. The programme will respond to children’s quizzical nature and engage little minds with Bermuda history and heritage. It will be rolled out to four-year-olds from a select group of Bermuda’s primary schools in early 2023.

Lead Sponsor: Arch Reinsurance and supported by Guy Carpenter and AXIS Capital

Teachers and Students

We provide professional development and resources that make history relevant. We share recent academic research and teaching techniques and provide content that reflects Bermuda’sdiversity. We aim to shift how history is taught across Bermuda’s classrooms.

Learn More

Researchers and Interns

We are building on 40+ years of collaboration with international universities and museums. We support field schools and host interns and graduate-level researchers who all view Bermuda as a unique and compelling place to host land and water-based projects.

Learn More

Everyone

 

The National Museum is expanding to become a nexus for lifelong learning. Our collections and programmes are being shared through digital platforms. Our AtlanticWorld lens is making history accessible and relevant so that everyone can experience NMB in new and thoughtful ways.

Learn More

“Working as an intern opened my eyes to careers in the heritage sector I hadn’t considered; the research I did about Bermuda and the focus on the Trans-Atlantic has made me want to learn more.”

– Jaylen Simons, NMB intern

General education support generously provided by: Aspen Group, Christian Humann Foundation, Fidelis, Oakley Capital, Renaissance Re, and:

 

 

Close