Schools, Colleges and Teachers | Turner Contemporary

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Free admission
Open Tues to Sun and
bank holidays 10am-6pm

We Are Curious
Our Learning Programme, We Are Curious has been inspired by the curiosity of artists and offers schools a unique approach to learning in a gallery.

Bringing together hands-on exploration with philosophical enquiry, teachers and pupils learn together to develop creative questioning and thinking, building confidence and communication skills.

We Are Curious aims to transform the way teachers, young people and children learn about, and through, the visual arts. It has been developed and tested with teachers, and is fun and accessible for all.

Taking place in our stunning Clore Learning Studio and galleries, We Are Curious is inspired by original art works, the surrounding landscape, sea, skies and each other.

To discuss the needs of your group, please contact the Learning Team at Learn@turnercontemporary.org or call 01843 233012. School bookings should be made at least two weeks in advance of your visit.

Download our education poster with highlights for the academic year, at the bottom of this page.

'Using a philosophical approach and developing a creative dialogue is exactly the right approach to open up young minds. As a classroom teacher I am excited to see Turner Contemporary fully embracing this, as it is exactly what children in my school, and throughout education, need to equip them for the future.'
Paul Ursell, Holy Trinity and St John's CEP School

Pupils from St Lawrence College had a great visit to the gallery, read about their experience here. Ms Caddick said: 'We are incredibly fortunate to have the Turner Contemporary gallery on our doorstep. A fantastic resource, it enables children to experience art at a high level in a variety of forms, providing a rich source of inspiration and wealth of material for ideas which teachers and children alike can then take back into schools.'

There are a number of ways that you can explore the gallery and our exhibitions:

Navigated tours
Explore exhibitions with a Navigator, who has been specially trained to generate discussion inspired by your questions.

Our friendly team of Navigators are there to help you get more out of the gallery and the exhibition. Led by your questions, they will spark discussion as they take you on a personal tour. Find out more >

Object Dialogue Box
Explore exhibitions with a Navigator and our beautiful artist-made handling collection.

Work with a Navigator to use our beautiful Object Dialogue Box, created by artistic partnership Hedsor, in response to Turner Contemporary, our programmes, site and history.

Learning through touch, questioning and discussion, these objects will enable you and your pupils to make personal connections with our exhibitions. Find out more >

Star Bags
Explore colour, texture, line and structure in the galleries with our artist-made Star Bags.

Full of materials to help younger children explore exhibitions, and play with texture, line, colour and structures in the galleries, our artist-made Star Bag is a fantastic tool for learning.

One of our specially trained Navigators will be there to lend you a hand and help you to explore our exhibitions.
Find out more >

Creative workshops
Choose from a phase-focused artist/storyteller session, or make sketchbooks and experiment with colour at our new practical sessions, tailored just for school groups. 90 minute sessions. Find out more >

Independent visits
We welcome schools to lead your own tour of the gallery and to use our Clore Learning Studio.

90 minute session:
Book a 90 minute slot in the galleries and download FREE resources to support learning from our website (available from 16 April).

60 minute session:
Book a 60 minute independent session in our Clore Learning Studio for £1 per student (minimum charge £35 and subject to availability).

To book your independent visit, please contact us at least two weeks in advance at Learn@turnercontemporary.org or by calling 01843 233012.

Plan your visit - practical advice

This autumnwe are holding a number of events for educationalists. See our what's on calendar for a complete listing.

'I would just like to say what a fantastic time we had at the Tracey Emin Master Class. The students all enjoyed it and really found the experience useful – in fact they were all in my room this morning in their free lessons continuing and wanting to experiment more, it was a very enriching experience.'
Jennifer Mills, Community College Whitstable