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School trips to the Natural History Museum

Where else in London can you come face to face with a dinosaur?

School trips to London aren't complete without a visit to the Natural History Museum. Students will be fascinated by the collections of fossils and artefacts on show. And each exhibition can complement a curriculum at each key stage of learning!

The Natural History Museum is dedicated to exploring life on Earth. Be that through human biology, animals and insects, dinosaurs, or the natural environment. Students can explore even further afield - and back in time - to the creation and evolution of our planet and the solar system.

 

The benefits of Natural History Museum school trips

There are numerous benefits of Natural History Museum school trips.Your school group can explore the museum at their own pace; supported by a selection of worksheets created by museum staff. Or you can opt for a more hands-on, interactive learning experience in the Investigative Science Centre. Here, students can examine real specimens like fossils, bones, and rare minerals. Your group will work with a museum science educator - they'll encourage scientific methods and thought processes in a real lab setting, like: using equipment, observing and recording, creating hypotheses, and looking for relationships.

The museum also holds interactive workshops, talks, and lectures to complement science, psychology, and geography specifications, which are ideal for KS4 and KS5 students. The themes covered include:

  • Human and animal evolution
  • Human biology: cell and DNA structures, the brain, the nervous system, and memory
  • Climate Change
  • Natural environment and ecosystems
  • Planets and the solar system

A school trip to the Natural History Museum is a rare opportunity for students to become immersed in the changing natural world and the evolution of life. Students can see the impact science has on their lives - and how we've learnt about what came before us.
 

Book a school trip to the Natural History Museum


Want to take your students on a trip to the National History Museum? Get in touch today to discuss your options - call our team of travel experts on 0845 293 7970.

Book a school trip to the Natural History Museum

Primary School Trips 

A primary school trip to London enables pupils to discover many aspects of their curriculum in a short space of time. Our personalised itinerary packages can ensure that your pupils visit the Natural History Museum on their trip to London.

Cultural Trips 

For a school trip that will inspire your students, you need to look no further than our very own capital city. We can create a cultural tour suited to you, which offers pupils the opportunity to visit the Natural History Museum. A school trip to the Natural History Museum is ideal for all school students and supports the curriculum for each key stage group. 

Find out more about our cultural trips to London.

Science Trips 

A Science trip to London would not be the same without a visit to the Natural History Museum. A trip to the museum is an opportunity for students to become immersed in the changing natural world and a chance to see how science is having an impact on their lives.

Find out more about our Science Trips to London.

Planning your first school trip?

If you're planning your first school trip, our essential guide will take you through each step of the process.

  • Choosing your destination
  • Gaining approval from your Local Authority and/or your Head
  • Promoting your tour in school
  • Confirming your booking
  • Tailor-make your tour
  • Completing your risk assessments (including a sample risk assessment)
  • Quick reference timeline
  • Pre-tour checklist

Additional support, resources & information:

Tour planning service

Tour planning service

With NST, you’ll get your own dedicated, knowledgeable Tour Co-ordinator who’ll work with you from start to finish. You’ll benefit from their unrivalled destination knowledge, and their experience gained from working with many other groups too. They’ll tailor-make your itinerary from scratch and take care of everything for you:

  • Pulling together an itinerary that runs smoothly
  • Planning the right balance of visits every day with realistic timings
  • Pre-arranging and pre-booking your visits, entrance tickets, passes and meals


You’ll receive your final itinerary a full 4-weeks before you travel too.

FREE school trip promotion pack

FREE school trip promotion pack

We’ll support you and provide everything you need to advertise your school trip around school and to parents. Our free school trip promotion pack consists of:

  • Parents’ letter & permission slip template for you to complete
  • A3 posters to promote your trip around school
  • PowerPoint presentation templates which you can tailor to your own needs
  • Parents’ leaflets covering how NST manage safety, financial protection and details of our travel insurance
  • Online parents’ video which showcases the benefits of taking a school trip


For selected destinations, we’ll provide a trip launch web page using video footage and imagery. This web page is provided by a weblink and can be shared with pupils and parents in many ways.

Risk assessment support including preview visits

Risk assessment support including preview visits

Risk assessment plays a vitally important part in the planning and organisation on any school tour.

Our risk assessment guide aims to help you understand more about your obligations and how you can more effectively manage group safety on your next educational visit and provide you with risk assessments for your trip.

Planning first school trip

Planning first school trip

Organising your first school trip can appear to be a daunting process.  If you're planning your first school trip, our guide will help to take you through each step of the planning process, answering frequently asked questions and providing tips and support along the way.  Our helpful guide covers the following: 

  • Choosing your destination 
  • Gaining approval from your Local Authority and/or your Head 
  • Promoting your tour in school 
  • Confirming your booking
  • Tailor-make your tour
  • Completing your risk assessments (including a sample risk assessment) 
  • Quick reference timeline 
  • Pre-tour checklist 


View our essential guide to a successful school trip here

Get live updates on your group's tour location

Get live updates on your group's tour location

Locate My Trip uses GPS technology and is the easy, convenient way for your school to follow your location whilst on tour. Specifically designed to provide reassurance to both parents and teachers, NST will know where your group are 24/7. If your schedule needs to change, we’ll put plans in place to keep your tour on track. 

With Locate My Trip your group can also share photos and videos with the school and parents, via a secure link, to keep them updated on your experience whilst you’re away.

Watch our short Locate My Trip video here.

Your online school trip organiser - My Tour Manager

Your online school trip organiser - My Tour Manager

Save time and stay on track with your school trip admin with our online orgnaniser - designed to help busy teachers like you. 

With My Tour Manager, you'll be able to download FREE resources and access trip paperwork online and in one place. Your personalised checklist details what you need to do and by when, plus you'll receive fortnightly reminders too. 

What's more, you can take all your trip documents on the go whilst on your tour with our app, My Tour Manager-On-the-Go. 

Find out more and watch out short My Tour Manager video here

Free classroom resources

Free classroom resources

We've created a range of free resources and educational posters to brighten up your classroom! 

Take a look at our downloadable posters here

Speak to one of our school travel experts

Our team of school travel experts have unrivalled destination knowledge and experience so they can help to bring your tour ideas to life and might even suggest options you hadn’t already thought of too! So get in touch today and we'll help to create a bespoke, budget-friendly tour itinerary to meet your specific learning requirements.

 

Why choose NST...

Here's why thousands of teachers choose NST each year...

  • Unrivalled knowledge

Your dedicated Tour Co-ordinator will use their unrivalled local knowledge and expertise to create a tailor-made, curriculum-linked itinerary to meet your group’s exact needs.

  • Making it easier for you

With our online school trip organiser, travel app, free classroom posters and trip launch resources to support your in-school promotion.

  • Free group leader inspection visits

We offer a free inspection visit to your chosen destination to support your risk assessment planning. 

  • Value for money

We’re committed to bringing you the best possible value trips to help make every penny count.

  • More than 50 years’ experience

With over 50 years’ experience, with NST you can rest assured that your group is in safe hands.

  • Risk assessment guidance

Our risk assessment guidance will help you to manage group safety on your next educational trip.

  • Peace of mind

Your group’s location can be followed with our trip tracking device - Locate My Trip - plus you’ll have 24/7 support from us whilst you’re away.

  • Offsetting carbon emissions

For every trip taken, we'll plant a Maya nut tree in Peru to support reforestation, local communities & biodiversity. Plus, we'll offset an additional tonne of CO2 to guarantee carbon emission reductions. 

 

Looking for protection on your next school trip? 

Booking with a school travel company is the best way for you to protect parents’ money and give yourself peace of mind.  

 

Don’t forget – if your school arranges transport, accommodation and other services directly, you’ll be liable under the Package Travel Regulations – meaning you’ll have all the responsibilities of a travel company, both legal and financial. 

 

Financial protection from the moment you book

NST are fully bonded:

  • ABTA
  • ATOL
  • IATA

Managing safety on school trips

For your protection, NST's independently audited Safety Management System covers:

  • 24-hour emergency cover
  • Audited accommodation & transport
  • Excursions & school visit assessment
  • Group leader preview visits to assist with risk assessment planning

We're LOtC Council’s Quality Badge assured

The Department for Education advises schools to always look for the LOtC Quality Badge when choosing a school travel provider.