Voyage to the Arctic

Standard / non-member rates

For groups of 15 or more children
2-hour experience – £8.71 per child

For groups of fewer than 15 children
2-hour experience – £130.65 per group

Magical Museums member rates (2026-27)

For groups of 15 or more children
2-hour experience – £4.92 per child*

For groups of fewer than 15 children
2-hour experience – £73.80 per group

*If available, your member school's free hours will be used first.

Please note: SEND groups are charged at our Standard per-pupil rate plus a £10 administration cost.

What to expect from your Experience Day

Set sail to the Arctic and meet the people from Hull who faced freezing seas, hard labour and long voyages aboard whaling ships.

This session explores Hull’s role as a major 19th‑century whaling port and brings to life the experiences of the men and boys who worked at sea. At the heart of the story is the Hull whaler, Diana, whose long career helps us understand daily life, danger and teamwork aboard a whaling ship and how attitudes towards whaling have changed.

The led session includes:

• Introduction to the site and setting the scene about the session.
• Meet a whaler or whaler's wife (character-led aspect) and discover more about aspects of daily life, work and products created as a result of the whaling industry.
• Handle objects and visit key areas of the museum.
• Follow the journey of the Diana, the last whaling ship from the port of Hull, on its disastrous whaling expedition in 1866.
• Plenary and evaluation.

If any changes to the format or timings of this experience occur following the piloting period during the Autumn 1 half term, we will inform you in advance of your visit. 

Group size

We can accommodate up to two groups from your school per available date – with a maximum of 35 pupils per group. If you’d like to bring more than two groups (70 pupils), please book additional days.

Timings

We deliver sessions from 10am–12pm for the first group, and 12.30–2.30pm for the second group. If you’re bringing two groups to/from the museum at the same time, we strongly recommend you book self-directed time (you can find out more about this below).

Make a full day of your visit

When making your booking through Eventbrite, you’ll be asked if you want to book a space for lunch and self-directed time, too.

Self-directed time is essentially a booking to explore the museum in a large group. You need to book it in so we know we can accommodate your class alongside other visitors. It does not include any activities led by museum staff – so please plan your time accordingly.

Add-on to your visit - Planetarium Experience (1 hour workshop - KS2)

Journey through the stars in our brand‑new Planetarium. Pupils will explore celestial navigation in an interactive show, get hands‑on with real navigational instruments and discover how sailors from Hull travelled the world.

For groups of 15 or more children

• Standard / Non-members  – £5.38 per child
• Magical Museums members - £2.46 per child*

For groups of fewer than 15 children

• Standard / Non-members  – £80.70 per group
• Magical Museums members - £36.90 per group

*If available, your member school's free hours will be used first.

Please note: SEND groups are charged at our Standard per-pupil rate plus a £10 administration cost.

Pre-visit info

To make the most of your visit, make sure you download and read the following documents. These include detailed information on what to expect from the day. For example: timings, locations, T&Cs and risk assessment.

A link for these will also be included on your confirmation email and ticket.

We also have the following resources and documents available to help with your visit planning:

Book the Voyage to the Arctic Experience Day for your school

We use Eventbrite for our bookings. Any reference to FREE on the Eventbrite system relates only to not being charged at the point of booking. These sessions are NOT free – all schools will be invoiced following your visit based on the booking details you provide. Prices are listed above.

Cancellation policy

If you accept this visit but are unable to attend, please cancel your visit via Eventbrite by logging into your account and cancelling your booked ticket. We ask that where possible, this is done within 4 weeks (28 days) of the visit as another school may be able to book the slot.

Cancellations will be charged on a sliding scale:

• If you fail to cancel your visit and do not attend your booked visit, you will be charged 100% of the full workshop fee.
• Cancellations within one week (7 days) of the workshop date will be charged 50% cost of the full workshop fee.
• Cancellations within two weeks (14 days) of the workshop date will be charged 25% cost of the workshop fee unless the workshop is rescheduled.
• If you reschedule your workshop within two weeks (14 days) of the original delivery date to another day within the same term, then you will incur an additional charge of £50 on top of your new booking fee to cover administrative costs.

If you need to reschedule your booking, please feel free to visit Eventbrite to check alternative availability, or please email museums@hcandl.co.uk. You can make changes to your booking by logging into your Eventbrite account.

If we (Hull Museums & Gallery) have to cancel your visit due to unforeseen circumstances, your school won’t be charged.