A new online system to book school visits of museums and sites managed by Heritage Malta

As part of its outreach programme and continuous efforts to ease physical, intellectual and financial accessibility to the heritage resources under its care, Heritage Malta launched a new online school booking system. The main aim of this initiative is to simplify the booking procedures while providing the agency with adequate information so as to organise better its service, thereby offering a more engaging experience to the tens of thousands of students who visit Heritage Malta’s museums and sites each year.

The new system, www.heritagemalta.org/schoolbooking, provides comprehensive and real-time information on availabilities and logistics. Previously, educators had to go through a cumbersome process to book such visits.

All organised school visits are free of charge during school hours. Twenty four Heritage Malta’s museums and sites around Malta and Gozo are available for these school visits. These include three in Valletta (namely the National Museum of Archaeology, the Palace Armoury & State Rooms, and Fort St Elmo & the National War Museum), five in the Harbour area (namely the Inquisitor’s Palace, the Malta Maritime Museum, Fort St Angelo, Tarxien Temples and the immersive experience at the Hal Saflieni), two in the South region (namely Għar Dalam, and Ħaġar Qim & Mnajdra Temples), three in the Rabat and Mdina area (namely the National Museum of Natural History, the Domvs Romana, and St. Paul’s Catacombs), three in the North region (namely Skorba Temples, Ta’ Ħaġrat Temples, and Ta’ Bistra Catacombs), and four at Victoria-Gozo (namely the Gozo Museum of Archaeology, the Gran Castello Historic House, the Gozo Nature Museum, and the Old Prison), and two at Xagħra-Gozo (namely Ġgantija Temples and Ta’ Kola Windmill).

This initiative has been launched a few months after Heritage Malta introduced the Student Membership Scheme with the collaboration of the Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government and the Ministry for Education and Employment. This scheme is valid for all Primary level students. Whilst this scheme instils interest and encourages students from a very young age to get to know about the history and the cultural heritage of our country, it can serve as an ideal family recreational activity.