On 13 May 25 at the British Museum, leading philanthropist Frédéric Jousset launched a major campaign to tackle cultural inequality in the UK.
His charity, Art Explora, teamed up with the British Museum to launch Time Odyssey – a new interactive learning experience for KS2 children which takes pupils on a quest through their local museum physically and virtually.
Time Odyssey offers a completely free experience – both the museum visit and the school transport costs are covered by the charity – to ensure all schools can take part. Over three years, the programme expects to take over one hundred thousand children on school trips to museums across the country.
The launch of Art Explora’s Time Odyssey programme comes after new data, commissioned by the charity, shows that school visits have not picked up since the pandemic. Over 60% of teachers say they had not taken their class to a museum on a school trip in the last 12 months.
Despite 90% of teachers agreeing that every child should visit a museum on a school trip before leaving primary school, 14% have never taken their class — with cost cited as the most significant barrier, particularly for schools outside London and in those with a higher percentage of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Art Explora removes this barrier by offering the entire experience free of charge, including museum admission, experience and transport.
“They were given a little bit of free time when the devices were taken from them. And you could see that their engagement was different. They weren’t as focused. Their learning hadn’t been as meaningful as when they had a real purpose to learn; when they had Time Odyssey to try and follow around the museum. I think when they go back to school, they will be able to talk a lot about what they’ve learnt today”
– Rachel Malster, Stanford Bridge Primary School, Year 6 Teacher after visiting the Yorkshire Museum.
What is Time Odyssey
Time Odyssey is an immersive, tablet-based experience, developed by 1UP Studios, that engages pupils with museum collections in a meaningful way, dramatically improving their dwell time in front of objects, while providing teachers with structured learning support. Co-created with over 500 students from schools across the UK, Time Odyssey supports a range of KS2 subjects and skills, enhancing pupils’ knowledge and understanding of historical periods and skills, as well as their teamwork, communication, and digital literacy.
Frédéric Jousset, President and Founder of Art Explora says: “School trips offer enrichment that cannot be experienced in the classroom. This should be a fundamental right for young people, not be an optional extra. Time Odyssey levels the playing field, making sure that all children have access to culture, no matter what their background.”
The national rollout follows a successful pilot last year and will be delivered in collaboration with a consortium of museums including:
- Yorkshire Museums, York
- Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter
- The Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle upon Tyne
- Manchester Museum, Manchester
- South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, North Shields
“I’ve got a lot of children with varying ability and different needs in my class; it was accessible and appealed to every single one. It worked wonders! Nothing has done that before, especially when we’ve gone to a museum”
– Yr 5 Teacher
About Art Explora
Art Explora is an international foundation that inspires new encounters between arts and audiences – locally, nationally and internationally.
Our imaginative, contemporary approach encourages new forms of access, participation and engagement with arts and culture, pushing boundaries with digital technology and touring programmes. We work in partnership with artists, cultural organisations and communities, exploring all art forms, and creating transformative cultural experiences for everyone.
Founded by entrepreneur Frédéric Jousset in France in 2019 and in the UK in 2021, Art Explora is a collective journey bringing together many partners and more than 1,600 volunteers. Art Explora UK is a registered charity. www.artexplora.org
