Easter Holidays & May Half Term

Look very closely and you might notice more than just the post when you visit the museum this spring. 

Some very hungry creatures can live in unexpected places, from helpful beasties to the bugs keen to make a meal out of the museum collection.

Come and join us for a programme of wild activity and unleash your creativity and imagination.

Through a range of sustainable games, crafts, making and storytelling, get to know the animals who like to call the museum home and learn some fun ways you can help protect the natural world using recycled and re-used materials. Are you up for the challenge?  

The Wild Escape is a major creative project uniting hundreds of museums and schools in a celebration of UK wildlife and creativity.  

Mischievous Mice 

1, 2, 5, 6, 12 & 13 April / 11:00 – 16:00 

Attention sustainable storytellers! A furry creature with an appetite for letters and envelopes has been spotted scuttling around the museum. Can you guess which one it is? 

Join us for sensory storytelling to learn about the ways the museum protects the collection and discover the true story of Tibs, the Post Office cat employed to chase away mischievous mice munching on the mail.

You can also create and bring to life your own sensory story using recycled and re-used materials. 

Munching Moths

30 May / 11:00 – 16:00

A hungry creature with a passion for fashion is causing trouble at the museum. Can you guess which one it is?

Learn what makes fabrics such a tasty dinner for moths and embroider a decorative patch to mend clothes and bring new life to your own damaged fabrics.

Slippery Silverfish

31 May / 11:00 – 16:00

A tiny insect is on the loose at the museum!

Come and visit the museum and see what impact silverfish can have on paper. Make your own seeded paper from recycled materials to grow your own tasty treat at home. Much better food for the slippery silverfish.

Bothersome Beetles

1 June / 11:00 – 16:00

This damp-loving bug nests in wooden items, from vehicles to historic tables and chairs.

Build a new home for beetles using materials we find right here in the museum. An alternative fortress for the beetle means wooden items stay off the menu!

Spider Guardians

2 June / 11:00 – 16:00

Did you know there is a friendly insect that sometimes has a scary reputation, that we love spotting at the museum? It’s the spider!

Come and learn about the important role spiders play in keeping our treasures safe.

Inspired by the spiders found in the museum’s green wall and the beautiful webs they spin, imagine and bring to life your own insect guardian using recycled and re-used materials.

Snail Mail

3 June / 11:00 – 16:00

This munching machine isn’t found in the museum but it can cause problems when it makes a home in the cold, dark environment of a post box.

Can you guess which one it is? That’s right, it’s the snail!

Inspired by a range of stamps, decorated envelopes and illustrations, use recycled and reused paper materials to make your own plant pot.