Young People

We use the museum collections and spaces to engage and inspire young people to explore, question, develop new skills and be creative.

We also work with partner organisations to complement and support your programmes and projects to develop young people’s skills, confidence and love of culture, and arrange tours of our galleries and behind the scenes.

Find out more about how to get involved in the Young Collective, Young Archaeologists’ Club and mentoring below.

Young Collective

The Young Collective is a youth advisory board for 18-25 year olds, or 18-30 year olds with a Learning Difficulty or Disability living in the Bristol City Council area.

You can expect to:

• Collaborate with a range of departments at Bristol Museums to bring a fresh perspective and create new narratives
• Work with Bristol Museums to ensure representation in exhibitions, events and new projects to make it more inclusive, engaging, authentic and real for young people
• Inspire other young people across Bristol to engage with Bristol Museums through acting as ambassadors through outreach and projects
• Behind the scenes out of hours access to the museum and gallery collections
• Additional opportunities such as one off engagement projects or sitting on a Bristol Museums steering group

Mentoring

Applications for our 2026 mentoring programme have now closed.

A huge thank you to everyone who applied. We’ll be reviewing applications over the coming weeks and will be in touch directly with all applicants soon.

If you missed this round, don’t worry. We’ll be announcing details of our next mentoring programme in Spring 2027.

What is the Bristol Museums Mentoring Programme?

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work in a museum or a creative and cultural organisation?

Our Mentoring scheme connects young people with members of museum staff who can offer support, guidance and insight into their career journey. Over eight months, mentors work one-to-one with participants to help them explore career options, build confidence, set goals, grow their networks and develop skills for the future.

We’re committed to making careers in museums and heritage more accessible to everyone. The programme aims to break down barriers and create opportunities for young people who are currently underrepresented in the sector.

Young Archaeologists’ Club

For 8-16 year olds, we hold the Bristol and Bath Young Archaeologists’ Club – for behind the scenes tours, getting hands on with finds, investigating archaeological sites, trying out traditional crafts, taking part in fieldwork, and much more.