Art & Design Home Education Day

Brunel wasn’t just an engineer but an artist as well. To celebrate this, we’re looking at art and design for our first Home Education Day of 2026. From Brunel’s sketches and designs to various art forms on site; get creative while you explore during this exclusive event for Home Educating families.

You’ll be able to look around the SS Great Britain, Dry Dock and both Museums during your visit. You can enhance your day by trying one of our themed self-guided activities, additionally, you can choose a pre-bookable facilitator led education workshop or guided tour.

Prices:

Entry	£8.50 per person
Children aged 3 and under	Free
Carer (accompanying a paying person who is disabled)	Free

Please note that entry to this event is not included with a standard admission ticket.

What’s included?

You’ll have the whole site to explore during your visit. Additionally, you can choose to pre-book additional activities – a facilitator-led workshop or a guided tour – to enhance your visit further.

We invite you to book some of the extras below after you have purchased your admission tickets. We will also ask for information about your child(ren), such as their age or additional needs. If booking several activities, please make sure the times do not overlap – you will be able to see a recap of your booking before paying.

Prepare for your visit and download our visual story guide by clicking here.

Things you need to know

As the site is only open for Home Educating families it is likely to be quieter than it would normally be at weekends or during school holidays.
Workshops are led by a member of the Education Team and are structured learning sessions that include elements of sharing resources and group work
We want to accommodate as many children as possible in our workshops, so we prefer not to exceed a 1:1 ratio for adults to children
For charged activities prices apply for all children attending (including non-participating older or younger siblings)
Please bear in mind, that workshop and tour content might not be engaging for children older or younger than the suggested key stage, and restless behaviour can impact the enjoyment of others in the audience, please consider this when booking older or younger children into sessions
Due to space limitations, we cannot accommodate buggies in the Medlock Education Centre during workshops for this event. There will be a signposted space in the Dockyard Museum where they can be left.
Bringing a packed lunch? We have a covered picnic area (with patio heaters) available for you to use throughout the day. Alternatively, The Board Walk restaurant will be open 8:30am-4:00pm

For information including how to find us, please visit the “Your Visit” pages of the website.

Activities To Book

Brunel’s Bridges Workshop

Learn how Brunel entered a competition to design Bristol’s most famous bridge. Take a closer look at some of his other bridge designs, discover what makes different types of bridges strong and have a go at designing your own bridge to cross the Avon Gorge.

Price: £3 per participating child, £1 per non-participating child and adults free.
Time: 10:30-11:30
Suitability: Children working at Key Stage 1 or 2.
Duration: 60mins
Location: Medlock classroom, Dockyard Museum

Book Here

Due to room capacity, everyone coming into the workshop must have a workshop ticket, including non-participating children and accompanying adults.

Bridge workshop

Art Ahoy! Drop-in Workshop

Get creative during this drop-in session and try out a range of different art activities all with links to the SS Great Britain and its stories.

Price: £3 per participating child, £1 per non-participating child and adults free.
Suitability: Children working at Key Stages 1-3.
Time: 13:00-14:30
Duration: 90mins but you can drop in at any time while the session is running
Location: Medlock classroom, Dockyard Museum