Today’s lesson will be a unique insight into celebrity culture and the media. An educational visit will not only stretch your students English subject-knowledge by delving into the complex world of the media and developing their critical literacy skills, it will also encourage them to explore the concept of ‘Fake news’ and its impact on modern audiences.
Why book Merlin's Magical London for School Trips and Educational Visits?
We appreciate the importance of educating children to protect their online identities and well-being, to support them in identifying ‘fake news’ and in improving their general digital and media literacy. Madame Tussauds London provides an inspirational and innovative way of approaching this topic by providing a two-fold opportunity for children to explore:
i. the representation of celebrity in our media and our reactions to these representations.
ii. the way people interact with celebrity culture and the modern media (e.g. the Selfie, Snapchat, Instragram and YouTube Vlogging generation).
The learning begins in your own classroom with our free to download pre- and post-visit lesson plans. Offering three hour-long lessons, students will explore what we mean by the term 'bias', differentiate between 'lies and the truth and look at the positive and negative impacts of modern media.
We are also Accredited with 'The LOtC Quality Badge', offering teachers a guarantee that not only is a venue providing the sort of educational value that they can build on in class long after the visit but they also have the appropriate risk management structures in place.
Which Curriculum Subjects do you cater for?
English
Curriculum topics available: Persuasive writing.
Students have the opportunity to identify with different types of media and their purpose. Explore and critique how the media presents information and uses language to create meaning and to understand the concept of 'fake news' and why it is important.
PSHE
The experience is a brilliant stimulus for understanding how the media portrays people and to recognise its possible impact and explore how identity is affected by the media.
What activities are available during group visits?
In addition to our free lesson plans, we offer a programme of curriculum linked workshops. Our popular KS2/KS3 Media & Fake News workshop will require students to work together in groups to categorise news stories according to different criteria, including: how the news was shared; who wrote it; text and images; and the emotive impact on the reader.
For the 2019/2020 academic year we are introducing three new PSHE focused workshops for KS2 pupils to enjoy:
> Inspirational Figures
> Global Stars
> Time Machine
What size groups do you cater for?
To book our education packages your group does need to be 10 people or more. We do however offer schools a book now pay later booking option whereby you can reserve your preferred date and confirm final number and pay 14 days in advance of your visit date. Schools save up to 40%, with our highly discounted education rates starting from £12.95 per pupil.
Do you offer on-site classroom facilities?
Yes, we have an education space which offers optional workshop opportunities and can also be booked free of charge as a lunchroom (subject to availability).
Do you offer access for visitors with disabilities?
Madame Tussauds London is a historic building set over a number of levels. So that all our guests can move around the building with ease, our trained staff will ensure that guests with disabilities are transported safely from floor to floor within our building by means of a lift. For safety reasons we can only accept three wheelchair users in the building at any one time and it is strongly advised that you pre-book in advance.
Reviews from Schools visiting Merlin's Magical London!
Teacher Checklist 
 | Risk Assessments | ||
| Inspection Visits | ||
| Free Places for Teachers | ||
| Resource Packs | ||
| LOtC Quality Badge |
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