Education

Southend's Pier Museum will be of particular interest to schoolchildren of all ages. Teachers will find it a valuable source of information and it fulfils many aspects of the History National Curriculum Key stages 1 & 2.

The hands-on exhibits in the Museum help to make learning fun and visitors may operate the levers in an early signal box. Children (of all ages!) can also enjoy looking at a distorted image of themselves in the funny mirror and play early slot machines with real old pennies (available in the Museum).

The Pier Museum building is also of particular interest. It originally housed the pier workshops providing maintenance facilities for engineers, carpenters, electricians, and blacksmiths. Over a period of time, the workshops became redundant and were used for storing Pier items and as a deposit for "junk". Determined volunteers, wishing to preserve the Pier’s wonderful history for future generations to enjoy, have worked tirelessly to make a disused part of the Pier into something worth visiting. As long as the Museum survives, so too does part of this historic building.

The Museum archives hold a number of plans of the Pier, literature and information to assist college and university students in a variety of studies. For further information, and an appointment to view please use our contact form or phone 01702 611214 when the Museum is open.

Our sales area has a wide selection of reasonably priced postcards, books, prints and other items. Souvenir bags are available at reasonable prices.

We have a small 10 page booklet for sale in the museum titled 'The Story of Southend Pier'. This tells the story of the pier from 1814 to around 1949 with illustrations

School Visits

The Museum is open for pre-arranged school visits during normal opening hours

Up to two teaching staff are invited to make a free pre-arranged visit, to the Museum to discuss the requirements for their group. Please use the email contact form below or call the Museum Supervisor on 01702 611214 during Museum opening hours for further information.

We recommend 30-45 minutes per visit and this may include a 10-15 minute talk if required, by prior agreement.

The school group can be to a maximum of 30 pupils plus 10 teaching/support staff, the group charge is £30.

All school / group visits must be pre-booked with the Museum. (The maximum group size the Museum can permit is 40 persons in total.)

To book a school visit, please complete the contact form shown below:

All proceeds from ticket, souvenir sales and donations are used to help maintain and improve the Pier Museum.

© 2019 Southend Pier Museum