Marie Kennedy

Learning Associate: Young People, University of Cambridge Museums


Marie works across the eight University of Cambridge Museums and Botanic Garden. She specialises in SEND inclusion and supporting underserved teenagers. By consulting families with lived experience, she has developed an embedded programme for children with SEND who usually find visiting museums overwhelming due to conditions that affect their sensory processing and/or have a developmental disability. She trains people in disability and autism awareness.
Two women sit in front of a table at the Sedgwick Museum. The table is covered in the museum logo with a dinosaur skeleton and with sensory toys.

Radically Changing SEND Provision in Museums

by | 10.09.26

We’re thrilled that Marie Kennedy, our Learning Associate: Young People in the University of Cambridge Museums team, has been shortlisted for a national Museums Change Lives Award for her work. Led by the Museums Association, the Museums Change Lives Awards celebrate the achievements of museums that are making a difference to the lives of their audiences and communities across the… Read full article

The group of students and staff standing outside the Centre for Material Culture holding a large illustrated drawing of the Fitzwilliam Museum.

Supporting young people with SEND to discover museum jobs

by and | 09.12.25

Earlier this year, the University of Cambridge Museums (UCM) piloted a new programme of work experience for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Our current programme for young people with SEND offers a broad range of creative opportunities, but it has lacked progression for older participants, especially those transitioning into adulthood and employment. Looking to address these… Read full article

Creating opportunities for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

by | 05.07.23

With the start of Collections in Action, our new Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) programme 2023-2026, getting underway, we’re taking the opportunity to talk to colleagues whose work aligns with one of the four main themes of the programme to find out what it means to them and their work. The four themes are Creating Opportunities, Social Justice,… Read full article