Education - Inspiration - Enjoyment
...plant the seeds and watch them grow...

Gemma Goodall's Curriculum Vitae

Current Employment:
Freelance Museums and Galleries Educator and Reminiscence Worker
I currently run Snapdragon Workshops which not only delivers educational workshops to schools, and offers drop-in sessions for the public, in museum and galleries but also delivers workshops directly to schools and nurseries as outreach. We also work with various Community Arts projects. Although I organise and deliver most of the sessions myself, I also have a small team of very experienced professional freelance educators to call upon as well.

We have recently relocated from Norfolk to Shropshire. Recent clients have included: The Castle Museum (Norwich), Gressenhall Norfolk Rural Life Musuem, The Imagine Project, Keystone Community Partnership, Stranger's Hall Museum (Norwich), The Lynn Museum (Kings Lynn), The Town House Museum (Kings Lynn), Cromer Museum, Thetford Ancient House Museum, The Elizabethan House (Great Yarmouth), Wisbech Castle, and the Malthings, Swaffham. Plus numerous schools and nurseries in the East Anglian area. We have also worked with organisations such as the Eden Project in Cornwall, The Natural History Museum in London and Sir Walter Rothschild Museum in Hertfordshire.

We tend to specialise in Environmental Sciences, Natural History, Social History, Science, and Art and Crafts subjects. We deliberately design our sessions to be a well-balanced mixture of learning and creative investigation and expression where possible. We particularly enjoy working with children from disadvantaged backgrounds and people of all ages with different abilities.

As well as designing and delivering workshops and drop-in sessions, we also design activity sheets for specific exhibitions, or activities and educational games that can be undertaken by visitors with no supervision needed. I Also deliver Reminiscence Sessions.

I still regularly undertake various projects through my own art and design business Antares Design which you can see on my other website at http://www.antaresdesign.com. This includes working with a local company Model Specimens (see http://www.modelspecimens.com), modelmaking and moulding and casting specimens from ichthyosaurs to Venus figures, often for the Palaeontology Department of The Natural History Museum, London. I have also recently undertaken contracts for the Display Department of Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service.

Qualifications obtained that are relevant to undertaking work as a freelance Museums and Galleries Educator:

Freelance Museum and Gallery Education Training Course, SEMS (South Eastern Museums Service). February - April 2002.

NVQ3 'Approaches to Reminiscence' OCN. Awarded in July 2002. Grade: A

Relevant Norfolk County Council training courses completed whilst working for the Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service:

  • Customer Care
  • Disability Awareness
  • Deaf Awareness
  • Manual Handling
  • Health and Safety at work
  • Food safety and hygiene

    • Qualifications in Progress:
    Yoga Teacher Training with the 'Comprehensive Yoga Fellowship', Crewe, Shropshire. My thesis concentrates on a special interest in working with children and adults with special needs, introducing colour and art therapy through storytelling and movement, encouraging well-being and stimulation.

    Other Relevant Information:

  • I am fully insured with 'Public Liability Insurance', this covers me working with children and family groups. Insurance Certificate is available if needed.
  • I am a member of G.E.M. - The Group for Education in Museums.
  • I am a member of E.S.T.A. - The Earth Science Teachers Association.

    • Previous employment:

  • Gressenhall Rural Life Museum, Dereham, Norfolk (NMAS). 07.05.2001 - 30.06.2002.
    Member of the Visitor Services Team. Responsible for the day to day running of the site, working with the public, organising timetables, ensuring good health and safety practices on site. Also included organising major public events.
  • Antares Design by Gemma Goodall. 1994 - present.
    On-going art and design projects. Textile artwork, garden design, card design, animal portraits and art workshops for children held for schools and public in Shropshire and London.
  • Haygate Veterinary Centre, Wellington, Telford, Shropshire. 1991-1993.
    • Veterinary Nursing.

    Educational establishments attended and qualifications gained:

  • Staffordshire University, Stoke on Trent. 1994-1996.
    HND Design Ceramics. With electives in Surface pattern design, photography, textiles, fine art, pottery, and art history. Grade: Pass.
  • Btec in Foundation studies Art. 1993 - 1994.
    'Bridgnorth College' of Arts and Technology, Shropshire. Pass level: Distinction.
  • Pre-Foundation Art. 1992-1993.
    Gained at Telford College of Art and Technology, Telford, Shropshire. Pre-Foundation Art: advanced A-level in Painting. Grade: C.
  • Telford College of Arts and Technology, Telford, Shropshire.
    A-Level: In advanced Painting.
  • Veterinary Nursing qualification. 1993.
    Awarded whilst working at 'Haygate Veterinary Centre', Telford, Shropshire. Grade: Distinction.


    • Snapdragonworkshops Home Page

    - Curriculum Vitae - Exhibitions - Future Workshops - Locations -

    To contact us, please email gemma@snapdragonworkshops.com or call 079777 34344.