M Shed- Early Years Learning Facility

Tender description

Bristol City Council’s Culture and Creative Industries Service (C&CI)wishes to appoint a contractor to design, project manage, fabricate, manufacture, install and handover an Early Years Facility (EYF) for young children aged 0-7 years at M Shed Museum, Wapping Wharf Road, Bristol. Lot 1: The EYF is the centrepiece of our vision to create a modern, relevant 21st century museum that appeals to young children and families. The facility will be the cornerstone of a refreshed offer for young children at M Shed that aims to deliver Bristol City Council’s One City Plan ‘Children and Young People’ priority. We are seeking a contractor with a real understanding of the nature and importance of active learning and learning-through-play for young children. Play is essential for children’s development and is how children make sense of, and consolidate, their understandings about the world they live in. This includes both child-led play and collaborative play with other children and adults. We envisage that the EYF will be positioned between commercial play offers and interactive galleries more typically found in museum settings. The appointed contractor will need to demonstrate an awareness of the commercial requirements of the space but retain a focus on delivering diverse learning opportunities and outcomes especially related to M Shed’s collections and themes that focus on Bristol’s docks and industrial and maritime heritage.