Children and young people

Heritage has a crucial role to play in enriching the lives of children and young people, creating a more inclusive society.

Over the past 25 years, we are proud to have invested over £60million across the UK in projects working with children and young people. This includes the £10m Kick the Dust programme.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is committed to making heritage more inclusive and accessible to a wider range of people and this includes the younger generations. We know that children and young people can play a significant role in creating innovative and exciting heritage projects that really speak to them.

Explore some of our work below and find inspiration for your project, then discover whether your idea is eligible for funding.

Stories

Advice: how to involve young people in heritage

Involve them from the start, treat them as equals and be open-minded about what heritage can be in the 21st century.

Blogs

Kick the Dust - what we learned in year two

Four years ago, we set out to change the way young people are involved in and experience heritage.

03/02/2020

Stories

Helping all young people get hands on with nature

We spent a day in Sydenham Hill Wood, south London, where theories about wellbeing are guiding young people's interactions with our wild places.

A blog by Rosie Gibson, The National Lottery Heritage Fund Social Media Manager

Blogs

Ways to meaningfully involve young people in heritage

We believe involving young people in heritage projects is vital - but it can be tricky. Here are some ideas.

04/07/2019

Projects

Pitt Rivers Global Heritage Youth Action project

Young people at risk of exclusion showcased new talents, taking inspiration from museum collections in Oxford.

15/03/2016

Projects

Crime & Punishment: A digital storytelling heritage collection youth project

The Crime and Punishment project used digital storytelling to explore the heritage of the criminal justice system with young people whose lives were affected by offending.

26/10/2015

Projects

From Parks to Pavilions: The history of the first Asian cricket league in Yorkshire

Young people took leading roles to share the story of Yorkshire’s first Asian cricket leagues.

11/05/2016

Young people in Crewe connected with the heritage of their town using digital gaming

Projects

CreweCraft: Young Roots Crafting Crewe's Heritage in Minecraft

Young people in Crewe connected with the heritage of their town using digital gaming.

09/03/2017

Blogs

Teen Digital Takeover: getting young people into museums

Today is the Kids in Museums Teen Digital Takeover: when young people take over the social media accounts of museums, galleries and heritage sites across the UK. The 2018 Audience Agency Museums Audience Report identifies 16-24 year-olds as one of four key museum audiences. However, it also

16/08/2019

Publications

Kick The Dust year one evaluation, February 2019

Our ambitious £10million Kick the Dust (KtD) programme is transforming how heritage organisations engage with young people.

Blogs

What is Kick the Dust?

In 2016 The National Lottery Heritage Fund launched a £10million investment to make heritage relevant to the lives of young people aged 11-25.

27/08/2019

Long green grass and rushes surrounding water at Woodwalton Fen

Woodwalton Fen. Credit: Robert Enderby

Projects

Peatland Progress: A New Vision for the Fens

We have awarded more than £8million to this ground-breaking project that addresses climate change, carbon emissions, biodiversity loss and the mental health and wellbeing of young people.

13/07/2021

A person wearing a mask touches a creative display of glass jars

Getting work experience curating the 'Museum in a Jar' exhibition

Blogs

Kick the Dust Norfolk Journeys: helping young people into work

To celebrate World Youth Skills Day, discover how a heritage-themed work experience programme is helping young people to develop crucial skills and secure employment.

15/07/2021

Group of volunteers and children in a park waving paper butterflies

One For All Community. Credit: Megan Lower

Projects

All The Moor Butterflies: preserving rare species and improving wellbeing

This project helped to safeguard some of South West England’s rarest butterfly and moth species. The conservation work engaged a wider range of people through working with partners.

01/09/2016

Credit: Bentley Priory Museum

News

Podcasts: how the heritage sector is embracing the trend

Podcasts are on the rise. As well as engaging audiences who cannot physically visit a site, they can be a great way to continue delivering a project.

25/03/2021

Blogs

Time for a change: outdoor learning for every child

The pandemic has shown us that education needs to value the outdoors and natural heritage more.

16/03/2021

Two school children learning outdoors, watched over by a teacher

My School, My Planet at Whinhill Primary, Inverclyde

News

Nature restores hope for children disproportionately impacted by COVID-19

My School, My Planet worked with 49 school across the country from September to November 2020. It was delivered by Learning through Landscapes with a £275,000 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The programme aimed to help children re-engage with learning after a significant period away

25/02/2021

A national Welsh flag with rainbow background.

A Welsh flag with rainbow background from the Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales collection

Projects

Hands on Heritage: youngsters research the LGBT+ past of Wales

The Hands on Heritage project at Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales’ enabled young people from diverse backgrounds to have an impact on the collections.

18/07/2017

Chantelle Lindsay outdoors enjoying nature

Exploring Trinidad and Tobago's natural heritage at Fort George, Port of Spain.

Blogs

Black History Month: breaking down barriers to nature for young Black people

Throughout my life, telling people my aspirations to have a career in wildlife conservation has often been met with surprise and disbelief.

29/10/2020

Young people receiving training from the Windsor Fellowship

Photo credit: Windsor Fellowship

Stories

Training and employment opportunities to build a diverse heritage sector

We’ve launched a programme in partnership with Windsor Fellowship to help Black, Asian and minority ethnicity (BAME) graduates kickstart their careers.

Experimental photography at Llannon Cottage, Ceredigion

Blogs

Engaging young people in heritage from home

One Welsh project shares how they are continuing to involve young people in heritage, even under lockdown.

20/04/2020

A mannequin in a T-shirt saying 'we should all be feminists'

Blogs

International Women’s Day: Giving young women a voice in heritage

To celebrate International Women’s Day, two young women making their mark in heritage describe their experiences of a project at the Ulster Museum.

06/03/2020

News

Boost for youth heritage thanks to £7million government investment

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is to distribute an extra £1.27m funding to its Kick the Dust programme, aimed at helping to involve young people in heritage.

31/01/2020

Children and young people

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