Learning
“Our children and staff were all very impressed and enjoyed every element of it. We felt the balance of the hands on experiences and listening was great. It really captured the children’s imagination.”
My Macclesfield Museum - competition
Thank you to everyone who entered our My Macclesfield Museum competition. We are enjoying working through your entries and will be notifying winners by the 20th December.
All entries will be added to a video that will be part of our consultation report and will be shared through the website and social media.
Your ideas will be used to help create our plans for the future of the Silk Museum.
Prizes will include free tickets to Paradise Mill and local gift vouchers (£20 first place, £10 runner up)
Schools
Inspire your pupils with a visit to the Silk Museum. A visit will complement and enhance classroom-based learning. Children get the opportunity to handle artefacts, express their creativity through a craft session and interact with one of our costumed interpreters.
Early years
Getting hands on with objects from the past is a great way to engage young children in the magic of history.
Colleges & Universities
Our curatorial team has relationships with Universities and Colleges to enhance learning and share best practice in the conservation of collections.
Adult learning
Why should the kids have all the fun? The Silk Museum is housed in the old Macclesfield School of Art. We are continuing the tradition of teaching art in this building through regular classes and stand alone workshops.
Workshop listings can be found on our ‘What’s On’ page.
Have a Dabble are our adult art group. They meet in the museum every Friday. The morning class runs from 9 - 12 and the afternoon class is from 1 - 4 pm. It is a lovely relaxed group and they are always looking for new members. Each week they explore different styles and art forms. You can book through the What’s On page.
To book a free taster session for Have a Dabble contact Natalie.
WORK EXPERIENCE
We offer work experience placements for Year 10 and Year 12 students over 2 weeks each summer term.
The dates for 2026 are:
Week 1 - 8th to 12th June
Week 2 - 6th - 10th July
Work Experience
During the week you will experience different working areas from the museum. These include supporting on a school visit, preparing education materials, undertaking conservation work with the curator, working as a gallery guide and preparing social media content. The work that you do will contribute to small exhibitions and online museum content.
Application Process
Places are limited each week. We suggest applying as early as possible. Applications are made by email to education@silkmacclesfield.org.uk. Please include some information about why you are interested in the position and what experiences and skills you have that make you a strong candidate. You can expect to hear back from us within 2 weeks of submitting your application.
Do get in touch if you have any questions - Natalie (education@silkmacclesfield.org.uk)