Kew Bridge Steam Museum

Kew Bridge Steam Museum
Green Dragon Lane
London
Greater London
TW8 0EN
England

Website

www.kbsm.org

E-mail

info@kbsm.org

Telephone

020 8568 4757

Fax

020 8569 9978

All information is drawn or provided by the venues themselves and every effort is made to ensure it is correct. Please remember to double check opening hours with the venue concerned before making a special visit.
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Housed in a Grade I listed water pumping station built in the 19th century to supply Londoners with water, the museum is recognised as the most important historic site of the water industry in Britain.
The museum's architecture ranges from late Georgian to Italianate with a thriving community of artists housed in the site's external workshop buildings.

Venue Type:

Museum, Industrial heritage site

 Opening hours

Please visit our website for 2013 opening times.

 Admission charges

Adults: £10 (12 month ticket)
Concessions: £9 (12 month ticket)
Children (5 - 15): £4 (12 month ticket)
New family tickets available: 2 adults and 2 children: £24 and 2 adults and 1 child: £14.00
Under 5s: FREE

Discounts

  • Museums Association

Additional info

Research facilities are available by appointment only.
There is a small locomotive which offers free rides around the site on Sundays, from March 10th to November 4th.
Cafe is open weekends only, when the engine collection is in operation.
guided tours for pre-booked groups only.

The Steam Museum houses the finest collection of pumping engines in the world, which run in steam every weekend. The pick of the crop is the Grand Junction 90" Cornish Beam engine, which stands three storeys high: you can walk through it as it pumps.
There is also an excellent 'Water for Life' gallery which describes the provision of water to London from Roman times to the present day.

Collection details

Science and Technology, Land Transport, Industry

Key artists and exhibits

  • Matthew Boulton
  • James Watt
  • Richard Trevithick
  • Cornish Beam engines
  • Henry Maudslay
  • Metropolitan Water Board
  • Thomas Newcomen
  • Thomas Wicksteed
  • Edward Bull
Resources listed here may include websites, bookable tours and workshops, books, loan boxes and more. You may need to scroll down or click on headers to see them all.
 Resources

Special Education Needs service

Thr museum can adapt any of its sessions for a SEN and offers a special discounted rate for groups of up to 15 pupils.

How to obtain

Please contact the museum on 020 8568 4757 or via education@kbsm.org to discuss your requirements with the Education Officer. Price: £45 for up to 15 pupils, £3 per extra pupil.

One engine steaming

http:// www.kbsm.org

For a small fee the museum can offer the operation of one of its rotative engines to supplement your visit. We offer one in particular which can support the development the steam engine and its application to a variety of industries.

Creator

  • Learning Office

How to obtain

Please contact the museum on 020 8568 4757 or via education@kbsm.org to discuss options and request an education brochure with booking form.
Price: £80 plus VAT

 Face to face resources

Apprentice Workshop

http://www.kbsm.org

How did the waterworks maintain its engines and pipes? What skills were needed to be an engineer? Visit the museum's own belt-driven workshop to find out with a demonstration of the historic machinery and a chance to practise some of the tasks expected of an engineering apprentice.
Included in the price is this session plus a choice of 3 from Victorian Washday, Water & Steam, Child Labourer, Filtration and Water Filterbeds, and teachers' guide to the history of engineering as a trade. This session lasts 45 minutes and can accommodate individual group sizes of 8 pupils, from a full class of 30 pupils.

Creator

  • Learning Officer

How to obtain

Price: £8.50 per pupil.
Please contact the Education Officer for an education brochure detailing options and bookign form. Tel: 020 8568 4757 or email education@kbsm.org

Be a Child Labourer

http://www.kbsm.org

Ever wondered what jobs were performed by children in a coal mine? What about life for Victorian children in London? Pupils explore the various roles invovled in different jobs with some role-play and discussion. (Group size: 15-18 pupils; Duration: up to 40 minutes; Level: KS2)

Creator

  • Learning Officer

How to obtain

Please contact the museum to speak with the Learning Officer and obtain a copy of the museum's education brochure which includes details on options and prices plus a booking form. Tel: 020 8568 4757 or email education@kbsm.org
Price: £3.50 per pupil (includes this session plus 2 from Victorian Washday, Water & Steam and Fitlerbeds & Water Filtration).

Blacksmith's Mate

http://www.kbsm.org

What does a Blacksmith do? During this session pupils become a "Blacksmith's Mate". They will be given a chance to make their initial in metal to take home, and explore how the heating process changes metal's properties to allow blacksmiths to craft items out of metal.
This session is designed to make use of the unique historic forge and the skills available at Kew Bridge Steam Museum. Included in the price is this session plus 3 from Victorian Washday, Child Labourer, Water & Steam, Filterbeds and Water Filtration, and teachers' guides to the working life of a waterworks blacksmith. This session lasts 45 minutes and can accommodate individual group sizes of 8 pupils.
(Group size: 22-24 pupils combined with other sessions; Level: KS2)

Creator

  • Learning Officer

How to obtain

Please contact the museum on 020 8568 4757 or email education@kbsm.org to speak with the Learning Officer and obtain an information pack. This contains full details of options and prices according to choices, booking conditions and booking form.
Price: £8.50 per pupil

Filterbeds and Water Filtration

http://www.kbsm.org

What do Filterbeds do? Why were they invented and how did they help cure London of Cholera? Build your own filterbed and explore these questions through experimentation.
(Group size: 18 pupils from a class of 30; Duration: 30 minutes; Level: KS2)

Creator

  • Learning Officer

How to obtain

Please contact the museum to speak with the Learning Officer on 020 8568 4757 or email education@ kbsm.org and a pack will be sent to you with full details of price options and booking conditions and form. Price: £3.50 per pupil (includes this session plus 2 others from Victorian Washday, Water & Steam, and Child Labourer)

Meet James Watt

http://www.kbsm.org

Meet the famous Scottish Engineer who gained world-wide fame by redesigning the steam engine so that it could pwer mills, factories, mines and many other places.
Who was he and what was he like? What did he invent that made such an impact on the steam engine? Why did this have such a major impact on Victorian life? Pupils adopt the role of reporters and can question the man himself.
This session runs for 30 to 40 minutes, can accommodate a group size of 18 pupils and can be combined with a choice of 3 sessions from Victorian Washday, Child Labourer, Water & Steam or Filterbeds and Water Filtration.

Creator

  • Learning Officer

How to obtain

Please contact the museum on 020 8568 4757 or email education@kbsm.org to speak with the Learning Officer and obtain an information pack. This contains information on pricing options and choices, booking conditions and form.
The fee, when choosing this session, is £7.50 per pupil and includes a living history interpreter, as James Watt, and teachers' materails on the man himself.

Water & Steam

http://www.kbsm.org

Learn how engines like those in the museum were designed to solve the major problem of water drainage in mines, and how they were later used for water supply. Pupils will investigate different methods of pumping water employed throughout history and the difference that steam power made.
(Group size: 18 pupils out of a class of 30; Duration: 30 minutes; Level: KS2)

Creator

  • Learning Officer

How to obtain

Please contact the museum to speak with the Learning Officer to obtain a copy of the education brochure with details of options and booking form. Tel: 020 8568 4757 or email education@kbsm.org
Price: £3.50 per pupil (includes this session plus 2 from Victorian Washday, Child Labourer, Filterbeds and Water Filtration)

 Boxes, objects and other kit

Victorian Washday

http://www.kbsm.org

Without a piped water supply this household task was laborious, whether performed in a large wealthy house by staff or as a once weekly chore for a poorer household. Pupils will find out just how many tasks were involved, how it could be a means of earning a living and compare the Victorian method to modern washing. (Group size: 15-18 pupils; Duration: up to 40 minutes; Level: KS2)

Creator

  • Learning Officer

How to obtain

Please contact Kew Bridge Steam Museum and ask to speak to the Learning Officer to obtain an education borchure with details of options and bookign form. Tel: 020 8568 4757 or education@kbsm.org
Price: £3.50 per pupil (includes this session plus 2 from Water & Steam, Filterbeds and Water Filtration, Child Labourer)

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