If you are struggling with homeschooling during the coronavirus lockdown, Durham University has launched a free online resource for people to access.

The university’s ‘Museum from Home’ package includes a wide range of activities to do at home and live-streamed group activities.

It has been launched to help members of the public continue learning through interaction with the university’s museums and collections while the visitor attractions are closed due to coronavirus restrictions.

All the resources are free and available via the university’s website.

They have been designed to require minimal equipment, in many cases only a pencil and paper, and be accessible without having to be printed.

More resources will be added continually over the coming weeks.

The suite includes various materials including a lived streamed version of the university’s weekly Little Dragons club for children aged under five, with stories, games and crafts.

Durham Universitys learning and engagement team working with visitors and schools prior to the coronavirus outbreak
Durham Universitys learning and engagement team working with visitors and schools prior to the coronavirus outbreak

There are online resources for primary and secondary school-aged children designed to support the school curriculum, including videos and downloads.

There is also support for post-16 learning, including free downloads to help develop research skills, essay writing and revision; and online learning sessions delivered via Microsoft Teams.

People can access downloadable creative activities for community groups, and there is support for young people aged five to 25 to achieve the arts award, which supports young people who want to deepen their engagement with the arts, build creative and leadership skills and achieve an arts qualification.

Liz Waller, the university’s director of library and collections, said: “Although the Covid-19 restrictions mean we can’t welcome visitors to our museums and attractions right now, we’re determined to keep supporting learning and interaction with our collections during the lockdown.

“We’re excited to launch the ‘Museum from Home’ suite of free online resources and looking forward to seeing how schools, community groups and people of all ages explore and enjoy the activities we’ve made available.

“The team has worked really hard to make a wide range of resources available online in a short time.

"While nothing can replace visiting a museum or handling an artefact for real, we hope the package we’ve put together will be a great tool in the current circumstances, and we look forward to learning together in-person again as soon as the pandemic restrictions allow.”

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the university’s ‘4schools’ team was inspiring learning in more young people than ever before.

In the past year, they worked with a record 24,506 young people from nursery children to A-level students, organised 648 visits and worked with 503 schools – all connected with the University’s museums and attractions, which include the Oriental Museum, Palace Green Library, the Museum of Archaeology, the Botanic Garden and Durham Castle Museum.

To access the ‘Museum from Home’ package, visit here