The project includes a new state-of-the-art facility that will unlock the educational potential of this remarkable World Heritage Site. The Stonehenge Learning Centre will be home to inclusive, accessible and sustainable spaces including a Digital Production Studio, Weston Learning Studio, Wolfson Foyer and the Clore Discovery Lab, where there will be a new ‘STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in Heritage’ programme.
English Heritage’s Learning at Stonehenge project will enable more schoolchildren to visit and learn from the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Facilities will also include a classroom made to resemble a Neolithic building using historically authentic methods and locally sourced materials, including thatch, coppiced timber and chalk daub. The classroom will be big enough for 30 students and built according to archaeological evidence from nearby prehistoric settlement Durrington Walls.
Speaking of the new facilities, Steve Bax, English Heritage’s operations director Stonehenge and West, said:
'Around 48,000 children visit Stonehenge on free school trips every year, and a further 12,000 on our expert-led Discovery Visits. As a charity, one of our main purposes is to provide everyone with memorable learning experiences but, at Stonehenge, we are currently unable to meet the demand. Expanding our offering with the new dedicated Learning Centre will transform our ability to deliver incredible educational experiences for students and instil a lifelong love of learning in every single child.'
'Over the past few years, we have seen a rocketing demand for multi-disciplinary educational experiences, where our heritage sites can be used to engage and inspire young people in subjects such as science and maths. At Stonehenge, students can trace the impact of human activity on the environment, learn how prehistoric engineers raised the stones, explore the relationship between the sun and Stonehenge and discover how geophysical surveys can uncover buried secrets.'
'Our new facilities aim to make these STEM topics far more accessible to students who struggle to engage with them in a traditional classroom environment. We want them to come away asking themselves: if the Stonehenge builders could create something incredible thousands of years ago, without calculators and computers, why can’t I?'
