New Aeroplane-Themed Play Area at RAF Museum Cosford

PRESS RELEASE – Young visitors to the RAF Museum Cosford will soon be enjoying a new aeroplane-themed play area thanks to students from City of Wolverhampton College.Staff at the museum have asked students studying for the Level 3 early years educator diploma to come up with ideas for kitting out the new Little Swifts crèche in the main hangar area.The students have been given a budget of £1500 to provide staff with suggestions for a range of play and educational resources, suitable for babies and children up to the age of five, to fit in with the aircraft theme of the museum.They have also been asked to provide the museum with a list of relevant story and reference books for children aged up to seven years of age, as well as ideas for making the new area welcoming to the youngsters and their parents.

Nikki Palmer, curriculum manager for early years education and health and social care at the college, said: “Students from the college have organised educational play activities for young visitors to family days at the museum for a number of years and we are delighted that they have been asked to use their knowledge of children’s play and development to come up with suggestions for kitting-out the new Little Swifts play area.” Julie Brierley, education assistant at RAF Museum Cosford, said: “One of our remits is to work with learners of all ages – each year we cater to over 25,000 primary, secondary, college and university students and we are thrilled to now be in a position to develop a permanent facility for an even younger audience to enrich our educational offer for families with children under five.“This is a unique opportunity for the college students to transfer their knowledge into a fun and educational area for our younger visitors to enjoy and we are excited to see the ideas and concepts they propose.”

Five groups of students have been working on ideas for the play area and will present their ideas to staff from the museum at the college’s Wellington Road campus on Monday 16 November.