Turner’s House in Twickenham provides inspiring opportunities to engage in art and heritage through family activities, adult workshops and school visits. Explore our opportunities below.
Turner’s House in Twickenham opens ways for pupils and teachers to engage in a cross-curricular learning programme, which draws inspiration from J.M.W. Turner’s home, art and historical context.
Turner and Water
An incredible opportunity to explore JMW Turner’s marine scenes and experiment with watercolours! After looking at a selection of vibrant watercolour paintings by JMW Turner, pupils will have the opportunity to make their own watery landscapes. They will be encouraged to express themselves in a playful and improvised style, inspired by the experimental way that JMW Turner painted.
At Turner’s House or at your school.
£80 per class, available Tuesday to Friday.
Curriculum Links: Art
Reception & KS1 Museum Takeover Workshop
To show what working in a museum looks like, we will run a unique workshop available for Reception and KS1 classes. Practical experience of working in Turner’s House, pupils will learn about local history while helping in cleaning, packing and cataloguing historical objects. They will also learn about the importance of caring about a collection and will go on a treasure hunt to find bugs that might damage it.
£80 per class, available 10am-12noon on Tuesdays.
Curriculum Links: History, English
Turner in Twickenham Exhibition Project
Our major primary schools project. During the year we run a project with KS2 classes across an entire term, with a visit to Turner’s House and workshops at your school, pupils will explore history and art while building up material for an exhibition at your school. As part of the project, students will learn valuable skills through the development of their exhibition: they will write their own exhibition labels and learn to give tours, improving transferable written and verbal communication skills.
Available all year. Dates and times to be decided with schools, the project consists of 1 visit to Turner’s House and 2 workshops at your school.
£4 per pupil for the whole term.
Curriculum Links: Art, History, English
For information please contact our Learning and Volunteers Officer, Rita Piglionica, at learning@turnershouse.org
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Please be aware that we cannot accommodate self-led school visits.
Secondary Schools
To book a visit, please contact learning@turnershouse.org
Discover oil painting with JMW Turner
Introduced in 2022, this brand-new workshop will explore JMW Turner’s oil painting technique and introduce students to the tools to paint with oil. In a relaxed and inclusive environment, students will be guided, step-by-step, in reproducing one of Turner’s paintings, after being introduced to the artist’s techniques and materials.
£80 per class, available Tuesday to Friday, either at Turner’s House or at your school.
Curriculum Links: Art
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Please be aware that we cannot accommodate self-led school visits.
Adult Learning
Adult Workshops
We run adult arts & craft workshops with local artists and craftsmen, inspired by J.M.W. Turner and his house. These are a wonderful opportunity to learn new skills, enjoy art and be inspired by Turner in Turner’s House.
Check our WHAT’S ON page for all upcoming workshops!
Higher Education
If you are interested in organising a tour for your higher education group, please contact learning@turnershouse.org
We do offer placements for university students. If you are interested in a placement please click here.
Family Learning
Check our WHAT’S ON page for all upcoming family events.
Visiting with under 5s
Under 5s visit Turner’s House for free.
We do not have a lot of storage space for buggies. If you are bringing a buggy please let the steward know at the front desk. Buggies must be folded and stored in our basement office.
There is a large toilet on the ground floor with disabled access.
There are no facilities for eating and drinking on site. There is also no baby changing facilities.
If you have any questions about your visit, feel free to contact us.
Visiting the Museum with an autistic child
Visiting Turner’s House can be an inspiring trip for children, but we understand that children on the autistic spectrum benefit from extra support and preparation. You can download our SEN pre-visit booklet to prepare for your visit.
If your child is distressed during your visit, our stewards are happy to help you find a quiet space to sit in the historic house or gardens.
Getting Here
Group visits arriving via coach or minibus, please note there is no coach parking, or drop-off or pick-up facility on Sandycoombe Road itself. Please use the nearby coach parking facilities at Marble Hill Park, from which there is a short and safe walk to Sandycombe Lodge.
School groups can speak to our House Director for further travel advice, should they wish to travel by coach. Please call on 020 8892 5485 to discuss.
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Our major primary schools project. During the year we run a project with KS2 classes across an entire term, with a visit to Turner’s House and workshops at your school, pupils will explore history and art while building up material for an exhibition at your school. As part of the project, students will learn valuable skills through the development of their exhibition: they will write their own exhibition labels and learn to give tours, improving transferable written and verbal communication skills.