What was your favourite school trip?

Ask anyone what they remember about their school days and many people will talk about the time they went on a school trip. Be it a trip to the seaside, museum or even a local field trip, everyone has a favourite!

Last year alone, over 30,000 school children went on school trips to Leicestershire's museums. In a bid to explore new ways of learning outside of the classroom and to get a real hands on experience with the help of specialist experts, teachers are looking for more and more innovative ways of enhancing the learning process.

Now, people are being asked to take a trip down memory lane and tell their children what their favourite school trip was. Leicestershire County Council is running a competition and the winner for the most interesting entry will win a fabulous school trip for a class to visit Snibston Discovery Museum, Donington le Heath Manor House or Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre.

Leicestershire's award-winning museums offer a wide range of educational events and activities that support the National Curriculum. These include:

· Snibston Discovery Museum
With several interactive galleries, an outdoor science play area, National Curriculum based workshops and colliery tours; Snibston supports a wide variety of learning styles through all key stages.

· Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre
This award winning heritage centre tells the story of one of the country's greatest and most pivotal battles which culminated in the death of King Richard III and the birth of the all-powerful Tudor dynasty. All visits are tailor-made to each school and can be adapted to the class objectives, key stage, ability and age.

· Donington le Heath Manor House
This medieval manor house, dating back to 1280, lets Key Stage 1 and 2 students travel back in time to learn more about the lives of rich and poor people in Tudor times.

The county's three community museums, Melton Carnegie Museum, Charnwood Museum and Harborough Museum, also combine an exciting range of educational workshops with galleries that showcase local history.

David Sprason, Leicestershire County Council's Cabinet Member for Adults and Communities said:
"This brings back some memories for me - I can remember going to the local museum as a young lad and being fascinated about finding out about history. I was really impressed and overwhelmed at being able to see all these objects that were from just such a long time ago.

"Learning is important both inside and outside the classroom and our museums offer great educational value and expertise to help teach children about many different subjects. They provide a great hands-on experience for our young people and can tailor and adapt to the needs and requirements of the different Key Stages working alongside the National Curriculum."

For a chance to win a school trip for a class, parents, carers and staff need to describe (in less than 500 words) their best school trip and why. It can be a day trip or a residential course. The best story will win free standard entry plus one workshop f or up to 32 children and four adults.

Full details and an entry form can be found on our website: www.leics.gov.uk/bestschooltrip alternatively, email your story to muslearningteam@leics.gov.uk including details of your name, address, telephone, email and your nominated school.

For more information about school trips at any of our museums please visit: www.leics.gov.uk/educationalvisits

The closing date is 18th November, with winners being notified by 2nd December 2011.