Schools

The Port Centre organises various educational trips: there are educational harbour visits for the third grade of primary school, for the first grade of secondary school there is a "harbour in landscapes" trip, and for the higher secondary grades and higher education students there are guided tours of the harbour with visits to companies, as well as specialised tours for technical students, for students of logistics or a themed visit about foodstuffs.

For pupils in the fifth and sixth year of primary school the Port Centre, in collaboration with a shipping company,  organises educational trips round the harbour. During these highly informative boat trips an experienced harbour educator pilots the pupils through the docks, alongside large and small ships and past terminals and warehouses. The pupils are brought face to face in a learning context with the vibrant activity of one of the largest harbours in the world. In the six areas into which development objectives and final exams have been subdivided, there is sufficient common ground so that one or more themes crop up during the harbour visit.

The trips are available on all school days except Wednesdays, from 1 October to 30 November and from 1 February to 30 June. The boat departs from quay 14 at Londenbrug and passes through both the old and the new harbours. On board the boat there is a separate area for the class, equipped with various teaching aids.

The Port Centre Lillo has also put together a learning package for this harbour trip, which will be sent to you when you register. It consists of class preparation, various worksheets to use on the boat, and follow-up learning. Educational added value is therefore obtained from the guided tour of the harbour, the learning package, and not least, getting close up to the vibrant harbour activity. During the return trip an evaluation game is introduced. Each member of the winning group receives a surprise present from the Port Centre.

Practical information

• When: every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 1 February to 30 June and 1 October to 30 November

• Start at 9.45 sharp, embarkation a quarter of an hour before departure. End at 12.30 pm.

• Start and end point: Pier 14, Kattendijk dock West, 2000 Antwerp

• Cost: 8 euros per pupil

• Booking required

A study of the landscape around the harbour and its neighbouring districts has been developed by the Port Centre for pupils in the first grade of secondary education. This programme fits in perfectly with the latest teaching syllabuses prepared for the new year-end exams taken in the first grade of middle school.

In a trip round the harbour area the pupils make an in-depth study, with an experienced harbour guide, of the natural, harbour, transport and industrial landscapes. The various ways of living are also looked at. The excursion is rounded out by an educational excursion package which includes advance preparation in the classroom, worksheets to use on the bus and follow-up learning.

Practical information

• When: every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday during the school year

• Start: 9:30 - end: 16:00

• Start and end point: Scheldelaan 444 – Port 621 – 2040 Antwerp

• Cost: 6 euro per pupil with a minimum of 120 euro per group

• NB: you must provide your own bus transport!

• Bring your own lunches and eat them in our cafeteria.

• Booking required

Older secondary school pupils can explore the Antwerp harbour, together with the Harbour Centre, as a group on any working day including visiting some of the companies here. This provides an economic and geographical view of the harbour. During the trip our harbour guides will explain the various types of goods handling, the harbour infrastructure, employment, the economic significance of the harbour and environmental values. Calling at various companies you come face to face with different types of ships, you see how conventional goods, bulk goods and containers are loaded and unloaded and you meet the dock workers who keep the harbour working. So you find out about the full activities of the harbour.

The trip is rounded off with a visit to our interactive exhibition where videos, simulators, information panels, computer applications and other educational methods provide additional information on what's going on in the harbour and the world of transport. The Harbour Centre has also put together an excursion package for this excursion which includes worksheets, which provide good preparation for your trip through the harbour and which allow you to put your observations on the ground into a proper context. Other complementary packages can also be found on our website.

Practical information

• When: any working day year round

• Start and end point: Scheldelaan 444 – Haven 621 – 2040 Antwerp

• Cost: 6 euro per visitor with a minimum of 120 euro per group

• NB: you must provide your own bus transport!

• Bring your own lunch and eat it in our cafeteria. At request a sandwich lunch can also be provided.

• Booking required

As well as a general visit to Antwerp harbour, the Port Centre has developed various themed visits. These start with a general overview of the harbour, but also delve deeper into one particular theme. It is possible to get to know the harbour from a technical or logistical point of view, or see the role it plays in our food chain. The practical information for these excursions is the same as for the general visit.

Technical excursion

Students in a technical discipline can get to know the Antwerp harbour from a technical point of view with the Port Centre. Together with our harbour guides, who have a technical background themselves, you visit various companies in the harbour where the technical aspects of the world of the harbour and of transport are explained. For example you will study how the Berendrecht and Zandvliet locks work, visit a workshop where parts are produced for the machine-room on a ship, take a look in a garage for the rolling-stock for a container terminal, get to know the training centre for harbour workers and go into a real shipyard.

• Note: we can only accept a maximum of twenty students per group for this visit.

Themed visit 'A Harbour full of Taste' about foodstuffs

The Antwerp harbour plays an important role in the import and export of foodstuffs. Many basic ingredients of our food come into the country via the harbour, other foods are produced here, processed, stored, packaged or distributed. Just think about bananas, unroasted coffee, refined sugar or concentrated fruit juices. The Port Centre has developed a special excursion where you can discover the Antwerp harbour in its role in our food chain.

During the trip you will visit both the left and the right bank. You will visit various enterprises, including a fruit terminal, discuss loading sugar, the storage of cocoa and coffee beans, production of malt,... And alongside this you will get to know the people in the harbour. Harbour workers have their own canteen, truckers from all the countries of Europe bring their own food traditions with them to the harbour, and on board the ships there is a truly global cuisine.

• If wanted, a suitable hot meal can be provided.