Museum Education: Learning Activity Design

Name: Museum Education: Learning Activity Design
Rating: 4.3 (63 reviews)

A step-by-step guide to create your education activity in a museum, gallery or heritage site.

Created byMaria Gomez Diez

Last updated 2/2026

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

Learning Activity Design
Where to start when designing an activity
Basic principles of teaching in museums
Museum Education

Course content

5 sections • 43 lectures • 1h 30m total length

Welcome!1:26
Learn the basic principles to design a museum activity, identify your audience, themes, and formats, and apply learning and teaching styles with evaluation to create a deliverable project.
Using the activity template3:04
Learn to design museum activities using the activity template, covering audiences, theme, learning objectives and outcomes, activity description, steps, and resources. Apply the template to plan and deliver museum activities.
AI disclaimer0:21
** AI disclaimer** All my courses are recorded and edited by myself and it is the real me who you will be watching! While I might occasionally use AI to assist some of the steps in the process, I use my pedagogical skills and experience to create the content and make informed decisions about what resources and activities to include making your learning experience as enriching as possible. I take my students seriously and I will be supporting you at all steps of the process.

Content section 10:03
Audiences and their motivations I3:29
Explore audience motivations for museum visits—from changing perspectives and seeking inspiration to social connection—then design activities that fit diverse needs, languages, and logistics.
Audience and their motivations II4:27
How to choose your theme6:29
Begin with one museum object, then choose one or two approaches (social, historical, ethnographic, scientific, technological, or artistic) and add related items to enrich the theme for personalized learning.
The wow factor0:19
Finding your theme0:14
Use the template to help yourself choosing your theme
Format. What kind of activities are popular in a museum?3:03
Learning Objectives and Outcomes. Which is which?3:34
Shape an experiential activity on the race for longitude by defining clear objectives and outcomes, focusing on navigation concepts, sextant use, and historical clockwork innovations for a young audience.
Drafting your activity1:25
Draft your activity by defining audience needs, theme, and objects, choosing a format (tour or workshop), planning a one-off experience with learning objectives, learning outcomes, steps, resources, and unlimited creativity.
Drafting your activity II0:28

Introduction0:29
Explore the basic principles of learning in museums, including diverse learning styles and how people learn differently, while considering teaching approaches and concerns like conservation, space, and accessibility.
Content Section 20:03
Types of learning styles3:42
Explore how Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence theory explains diverse learning styles. Include interpersonal, intrapersonal, logical, linguistic, auditory, spatial, and kinesthetic approaches in museum activities.
Types of learning styles II
Find out what are the learning styles you benefit the most from
Applying learning styles to our activity9:33
Design interactive museum activities that apply visual, interpersonal, and kinesthetic learning styles using prompts, hands-on objects, and historical artifacts to explore the longitude problem and its solutions.
Teaching approaches3:02
Explore museum teaching approaches, including inquiry based, cooperative, expeditionary, and quest styles, guided by facilitators, using group work, workshops, interactive tours, and visitor centered experiences.
Which one did we use?0:17
Applying teaching styles to our activity4:39
Apply an inquiry-based teaching style to an interactive museum tour, engaging learners, testing initial knowledge, and guiding discussion on the longitude problem and university versus practical education.
How do educators care for conservation?2:08
Discover how teaching in museums differs, focusing on conservation, space, and accessibility, and learn to handle collections safely, including replicas and pictures.
How to choose the right space2:32
Why is important to plan for your space?0:56
What does accessibility mean to you?0:18
How accessible is your activity?2:58
Activity revision0:46
Activity revision0:15
Basic Principles
Museum Education: Enquiry-Based Learning0:27

In this section0:20
Project I - Concepts applied to the design of an exhibition for learning4:18
Project II - Serenity Styling Space (A wellbeing project for Young People)5:18
Serenity Styling Space
This activity was designed for the V&A in London to create a wellbeing space during a fashion career festival for young people from 16 to 25 years old.
The workshop consisted in three parts:
- a guided observation of an object
- a spread of three small activities: wellbeing bracelet making, mindful dressing of a mannequin and pairing of fabric textures with scents.
- A self-guided activity (downloadable in the resources section)

Learning Ojectives:
- Help participants to learn how to use the V&A collection to enhance their wellbeing

Learning Outcomes:
- Recognise and experience joy and calmness through the observation of historical objects
- Use fashion to develop self-awareness
- Build a positive emotional connection with historical objects.
Project III - Kate Greenway Tiles for a Family Online Self-guided13:44
Kate Greenway Tile
This activity was designed for Burgh House in London to create a online video for families with children of up to 13 years old during the pandemic.
The workshop consisted in two parts:
- An introduction to the object and context
- A step-by-step creative activity that families can follow at home.

Learning Ojectives:
- Encourage families to engage with the museum's collection online
- Offer a creative activity for families that they can explore together from the comfort of their come

Learning Outcomes:
- Know and recognise Kate Greenway style and art.
- Learn basic printing techniques and colour theory
- Build a positive connection among the members of the family.

Introduction0:33
Explore evaluation techniques to improve learning activities by identifying what worked and what didn't, and learn how to collect data while reflecting on your own learning process.
Content Section 30:03
why do you think evaluation is important?0:10
What and how Evaluate?2:39
Evaluate your activity to see what worked and what to refine, focusing on accessibility, clear instructions, adequacy for group, and engagement, with data from surveys or qualitative and quantitative methods.
Evaluation form template0:23
Our learning curve1:15
Review your activity0:21
Review your activity with me0:29
Finish the learning activity design course to gain tools for developing your own museum, gallery, or heritage site activity, and contact me via the q&a section for questions or ideas.
Feedback from this course0:07
Museum Education: Wellbeing in Museums0:12

Requirements

No further requirements

Description

** AI disclaimer** All my courses are recorded and edited by myself and it is the real me who you will be watching! While I might occasionally use AI to assist some of the steps in the process, I use my pedagogical skills and experience to create the content and make informed decisions about what resources and activities to include making your learning experience as enriching as possible. I take my students seriously and I will be supporting you at all steps of the process.

In this interactive course you will learn the basic principles of how to develop an educational activity in a museum, gallery or heritage site environment.

You will go through a practical step-by-step guide to develop a learning activity that suits the needs and demands of your audiences at the same time that is inclusive, accessible and conservation friendly. The content covers a range of analysis skills from the most basic ‘know your audience’ analysis to pedagogical concepts such as the multiple intelligence applied to museums.

This course will not only give you some practical knowledge on how to develop your own activity but also the opportunity to finish this course with an activity that is ready to be delivered.

The format of the course includes recorded lectures, quizzes and activities, accessible online format and personal mentoring throughout.

The course starts with a practical template that will aid you with the design of your activity. As you go through the content and basic concepts, you will put this in practice by filling up your template. At the end of the course your completed activity template will be your activity ready to be implemented.

Who this course is for:

Museum professionals in their first year of their career
Teachers who are thinking to go into the museums and heritage sector
Educators and Facilitators from other sectors who want to make a career change into museums
Tour guides who would like to make their tours more interactive

Museum Education: Learning Activity Design

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction3 lectures • 5min

Who our audience is and how to engage it10 lectures • 24min

Basic Principles16 lectures • 32min

Examples4 lectures • 24min

Evaluation10 lectures • 6min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: