John Muir Schools' Award
We've teamed up with the John Muir Trust to offer an exciting new school accreditation - the John Muir Schools' Award.
Canal & River Challenge Badge
A badge syllabus full of waterway themed activities, suitable for Girlguiding and Scouting groups.
Visit with your family
Find a place to visit with your family.
Water safety
Water safety activity booklets
Mechanical advantage has been used for thousands of years to enable us to move large objects with small forces. Children can learn the principles of mechanical advantage and see real-life examples along our canals and rivers.
Mechanical advantage activity plan
Use this activity plan to guide your learning about mechanical advantage
Mechanical advantage at National Waterways Museum
This film gives you a really good introduction to mechanical advantage and shows you some real life examples.
Build a lock game
Learn how a lock works by playing this game in the Explorers Game Zone
Repairing the North Pier at Sharpness Dock
Read how we use mechanical advantage in our work to maintain and look after canals and rivers.
Gear ratio experiment
Have a go at our gear ratio experiment to understand more detail about how cranes use mechanical advantage in different ways to suit different loads and situations.
LEGO canal crane
Build your own mini LEGO canal crane using our step-by-step instructions
National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port
Information on school and group visits to National Waterways Museum Ellesmere Port.