Educational visits

Saturn is living history. She offers a unique opportunity for children to experience the working environment and conditions of the canal boatmen and their families. They can visit her on their local canal as she travels the canals of the North West Midlands and North Wales.

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The Saturn team guide the children as they visit the crew's cabin, the cargo hold and look at how the horses were harnessed and worked the boats. They also lead sessions on the life of children on the working boats and canal related arts and crafts.

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A visit to Saturn makes an exciting focus for local history projects, tying in with the surrounding buildings and structures on the canal. She is also a good basis for a transport or social history project. Aspects of Science, Maths, Geography, Design & Technology and the Arts are all part of her presentation. The canal environment is rich in wildlife.

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Organising a visit

Saturn travels the canals of the North West Midlands and North Wales from March to October. See the events page to get an idea of when she is going to be near your school. 

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To book a visit contact Liz Grundy by e-mail schools@saturnflyboat.org.uk. Liz will arrange time and place and volunteers. We can also help with your risk assessment.

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We do make a small charge per child which goes towards the maintenance of the boat for future generations of school visits.

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Learning resources

The boat - Saturn is complete with the crew’s cabin, cargo hold and all the gear for horse towing and working the boat. She makes an excellent basis for a transport or social history project and links in to local history for those schools near the canal. Being on the canal system she will also tie in with geography or map studies. The decoration of the boat makes a colourful subject for art work and the life of the people who worked her a rich focus for creative writing. 

The people – As well as the volunteers who can bring the boat and the working canals to life, we have others who can demonstrate the crafts associated with the boats such as decorative painting and ropework.

Our Factsheets - We have a number of useful resource Factsheets for free download about Saturn and Canal Life, see our About Saturn pages.

Our Partners – We usually work with The Canal & River Trust education department and their Canal & River Explorers scheme. Their webpage contains useful information on other aspects of the canal system.