Military Aviation Heritage Networks is a partner involved in an online conference entitled The ‘next normal’: engaging schools with stories of war and conflict, in light of COVID-19. Military Aviation heritage sites are encouraged to participate in this free conference which will be of particular interest to anyone involved in (or planning) heritage work with school groups.

Date: Thursday 19 November

Cost: Free

To register visit: 
About this Event
This online conference will consider how we can adapt the ways we engage schools with stories of conflict from the First World War to the present day, by looking at the digital offer across different organisations and preparing for physical visits to resume.
This event is run by Imperial War Museums' War and Conflict Subject Specialist Network, with the kind support of Arts Council England and Art Fund. In collaboration with Aviation Heritage UK, Military Aviation Heritage Networks and Army Museums Ogilby Trust.
Programme for The Next Normal
All events will include time for an audience Q&A. We also welcome submissions of questions in advance of the presentations, please send them to partnerships@iwm.org.uk by 5.00pm (GMT) Wednesday 18 November.
Please note that the timings below are given in UK time (GMT).
Session 1: IWM’s Digital Family Missions
10.00am - 10.30am
Every Friday throughout lockdown and over school holidays, IWM have shared exciting arts, crafts, writing and STEM based challenges rooted in the curriculum and inspired by IWM’s collections for the whole family to enjoy. Generating responses from families showing their efforts online, IWM’s Family Missions have engaged more than 85,000 people.
Speakers:
Clare Lawlor and Olivia Murphy are Producers in IWM’s Public Engagement and Learning Team. Working across all of IWM’s sites they produce learning and engagement events and programmes for all of IWM’s audiences onsite and online.
******************
Session 2: Welcoming Schools back - REME Museum, World War 2 and STEM
12.00pm - 12.30pm
Using Government guidance, REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) Museum adapted the popular STEM and World War Two workshops to create a Covid-safe educational offer. This took into consideration physically welcoming ‘class bubbles’ into the Museum, as well as tackling issues surrounding ‘hands-on and team-working’ focused approach to engaging visitors.
Speaker:
Andrew Skelton is the Education Officer at REME Museum. He began working in museum education over 10 years ago, originally as a freelancer, before joining Chippenham Museum in 2013 as their Outreach and Engagement Officer. He moved to his current post at REME Museum in April 2019.
******************
Session 3: Past Conversations
2.00pm - 2.30pm
Past Conversations was launched during April 2020, to provide engaging and interesting content for young people (and anyone else) who found themselves at home during lockdown, wanting to “talk about the past”. Recorded online talks with experts are free to access, covering everything from medieval warfare, to the history of dress in wartime Britain.
Speaker:
Paul Hamilton is a history and legal studies teacher at Clydebank High School in Scotland. He is also a part-time doctoral researcher in education at the University of Strathclyde, examining the pedagogy of battlefield tourism.
******************
Session 4: Multi-sensory activities and Zoom object handling
3.00pm - 3.30pm
In March 2020 the Devils Porridge Museum began a collaboration with local multi-sensory story telling collective The Arts End of Somewhere, to design activities for those with profound and multiple additional support needs. This has been adapted since the onset of Covid, through virtual tours from the Museum website and Zoom calls.
Speaker:
Steven Bogle is the Access and Learning Officer at the Devil’s Porridge Museum. Steven has been in his current role at the Museum since March 2019 and has recently completed his M.Phil. in Educational Philosophy at the University of Glasgow.
******************
Session 5: Virtual tea break and conference close
4.00pm - 4.45pm
Join us for a short virtual tea break to meet other attendees and talk about the themes raised in the conference.