Your browser is unsupported and may have security vulnerabilities! Upgrade to a newer browser to experience this site in all it's glory.
Skip to main content

22nd October 2019

Hello! My name is Charlie and I am the Community and Schools Learning Officer for the Hull: Yorkshire’s Maritime City project (HYMC).

Charlie, dressed up as a Tudor having fun at this year's Big Malarkey

Everyone on the HYMC is brimming with excitement because, as you might have heard, the HYMC project has been awarded a grant of £13.6m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. As such, we can now go ‘full steam ahead’ with our plans for the Hull Maritime Museum, the Arctic Corsair, the North End Shipyard and the Spurn Lightship in order to preserve and highlight Hull’s incredible seafaring history.

Hull schools, in particular, are going to have lots to look forward to over the next few years and here are five reasons why teachers and their pupils should be excited for HYMC:

1. Fantastic new galleries

The exhibition spaces in the Maritime Museum are going to be transformed, with new stories, objects and amazing interactive experiences. For example, in the new whaling gallery, an immersive large-scale animation will tell the story of the Diana, a Hull whaling ship that lost many of her crew during a disastrous voyage to the Arctic. Visitors will even be able to touch real ice in order to get a feel for the terrible conditions that the crew faced.

An artists' impression of the new whaling gallery

2. Get on board the Arctic Corsair

As part of HYMC the Arctic Corsair, the country’s last surviving distant-water sidewinder trawler, is going to be restored and moved to a new home at the North End Shipyard. Using sounds, smells and period objects, visitors will be transported back to the 1960s when the ship was working at sea: for example, in the ship’s galley, you will be able to enjoy the aroma of freshly cooked food and the sounds of the crew’s banter. What’s more, there is going be a brand new visitor centre, which will tell the story of Hull’s trawlermen, and you will also have the chance to go down into the dry dock and see the ship from beneath!

On board the Arctic Corsair and learn more about the men who dedicated their lives to the sea

3. Immersive learning spaces

In partnership with Heritage Learning, we are going to be creating five new schools workshops for delivery at the Maritime Museum, the Arctic Corsair and the North End Shipyard. To facilitate these, we are busy developing some exciting new learning spaces for schools, such as by transforming the current education room at the Maritime Museum into the inside of a 19th century tall ship. There will also be a dedicated space for schools at the North End Shipyard visitor centre, complete with a wave tank for testing out model ships.

Transforming the learning space at Hull Maritime Museum
Bringing learning to life and making exciting changes to the current learning space within the museum

4. Outreach programme

Over the next two years the HYMC team and Heritage Learning are going to be offering schools the chance to take part in an exciting maritime outreach programme. I don’t want to give too much away just yet, but we have some really exciting ideas! For example, we are looking into putting together theatre performances for school assemblies and giving classes the chance to make their own maritime museums using original artefacts. We are also excited to take our brand new Virtual Reality model of the bridge of the Arctic Corsair, which we have put together with Hull College and Gridsnap, out for a spin…

A new Virtual Reality experience of the Arctic Corsair

5. Get involved!

Finally, there are going to be lots of ways for pupils and teachers to put their stamp on the project. For example, local schools will have the chance to pick, and write the labels for, 15 of the objects that will go on display at the Maritime Museum. The first of these has already been selected: a decorated ostrich egg which was chosen by pupils from Collingwood Primary School. We are also looking to put together a paid focus group which will give local primary and secondary school teachers the opportunities to shape the new schools programme at the Maritime Museum and Arctic Corsair. Have you ever wished that Heritage Learning offered workshops focusing on the development of rivers, boat building or migration in Hull? Then now is your chance to say so!

Pupils from Collingwood Primary School select the ostrich egg to go on display in the refurbished museum

If you would like to learn more about HYMC or find out about some of our upcoming activities then please do not hesitate to get in touch. You can email me at charles.trzeciak@hcandl.co.uk or call the office on 01482 615 213.

Be sure to keep up-to-date with the project by following us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@HullMaritime) or visiting maritimehull.co.uk