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Events and programmes
Summer Holiday Activities
As part of Time Travellers Club with the National Museum of the Royal Navy
Travel through time with the National Museum of the Royal Navy to find out about the important discoveries and inventions that changed the Navy - and the world! Each week there will be crafts and quizzes plus the chance to add our giant timeline. And, if you get your Time Travellers Logbook stamped every week, you can enter into our free prize draw!
Wednesday 28th July 2010
Back to the 1500’s as part of Time Travellers Club with the National Museum of the Royal Navy
11am – 1pm & 2pm - 4pm
Find out about the Tudor voyages of discovery including Sir Walter Raleigh’s search for El Dorado, the city of gold. Then make your own golden treasures to take home.
FREE drop-in workshop, all ages welcome
Wednesday 4th August 2010
Back to the 1600’s as part of Time Travellers Club with the National Museum of the Royal Navy
11am – 1pm & 2pm - 4pm
Celebrate Galileo and the invention of the telescope by making a stellar spyglass or see stars and make your own ‘planisphere’.
FREE drop-in workshop, all ages welcome
Wednesday 11th August
Back to the 1700’s as part of Time Travellers Club with the National Museum of the Royal Navy
11am – 1pm & 2pm - 4pm
Ever heard of the Turtle Submarine? Discover more about the first combat submarine. Then have fun making and testing your very own submarine craft.
FREE drop-in workshop, all ages welcome
Wednesday 18th August
Back to the 1800’s as part of Time Travellers Club with the National Museum of the Royal Navy
11am – 1pm & 2pm - 4pm
Follow in the footsteps of Darwin! Join the Victorian Navy on a voyage of discovery and create your own ‘specimen cabinet’ full of wonderful creatures.
FREE drop-in workshop, all ages welcome
Saturday 21st August and Sunday 22nd August
Big Game Weekend with the National Museum of the Royal Navy in the Victory Arena
11am – 4.30pm
Fun, games and the Navy have always been linked - just think of Francis Drake playing bowls (allegedly) as the Spanish Armada sailed up the Channel. Join us as games with a naval theme come to Victory Arena and National Museum of the Royal Navy. Our masters of ceremonies will commentate as players compete in giant games. See if you can become our ‘Battleships’ champion. Adults only can enter our restricted zone; get a tattoo, meet ‘Tokyo Rose’, and lose their money at ‘Uckers’. Everything from board games to computer games will feature in fun for all the family.
FREE event, no booking required, all ages welcome
Wednesday 25th August
Back to the 1900’s as part of Time Travellers Club with the National Museum of the Royal Navy
11am – 1pm & 2pm - 4pm
From hovercraft to airplanes and spaceships, flying machines changed the world in the twentieth century! Come and create your own fabulous flyer!
FREE drop-in workshop, all ages welcome
Wednesday 1st September
In to the future as part of Time Travellers Club with the National Museum of the Royal Navy
11am – 1pm & 2pm - 4pm
What will life at sea be like in 2020? Use your imagination to make a fantastic floating, flying or fighting invention for the Navy to use in the future!
FREE drop-in workshop, all ages welcome
Thursday 5th 12th 19th 26th August
Telescope tales at the National Museum of the Royal Navy
11.30am - 12.30pm
Join us every Thursday for storytelling, songs, fun and games in the Family Area.
FREE session for the under 5s and accompanying adults
Thursday 29th July, 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th August
All hands on deck! On board HMS Victory
11.30am - 12.30pm
What is a fid? Where would you find a holy stone? Join us for themed object-handling sessions on board HMS Victory led by the Learning Volunteer Team.
Drop-in, FREE with a valid attraction ticket, all ages welcome
Super Sea Life fun at Buckland Community Centre
Wicked, brill, fun and cool were just a few of the ways children described the Sea Life Roadshow held at Buckland Community Centre during the February half term holiday. Headed up by the National Museum of the Royal Navy and funded by Find Your Talent PUSH, the Roadshow attracted around 350 local people, who were welcomed by a host of local museums and other organisations. Find Your Talent Project Director Jane Bryant said,
' This was a fantastic opportunity for families, children and young people to experience - on their own door step - the amazing range of work the historic museums of Portsmouth can offer. There were lots of opportunities for genuine participation and hands on activity too! Find your Talent is delighted to support this new collaboration of museums which brought museums into the heart of the community and reached people in new ways.'
The day itself was a great success with opportunities to try new things and a chance to explore the history of Portsmouth in a fun and exciting way. As well as fascinating objects to handle and clothes to try on, families were entertained by salty sea tales from HMS Warrior, created their own Nelson hats and medals with the National Museum of the Royal Navy, designed badges with Portsmouth CHAT and made their own mini ships with the Mary Rose. Mary Kinoulty, Head of Learning for the Mary Rose Museum believes ‘it was a great opportunity to meet families who do not usually visit the dockyard. The range of activities on offer meant that there was something for everyone to enjoy. Let’s hope that this is the first of many such events. ’
As well as the Roadshow, Find Your Talent also supported a schools art project which allowed almost 100 children to try out new art techniques and look at their local area in a different way. The pupils from Flying Bull Primary School, Charles Dickens Junior School and Corpus Christi RC Primary School created ‘Soul Sails’ with local artist Debbie Dodsworth during the schools project. Each sail was made up of several unique panels each designed and printed by a child and including patterns and shapes they chose during a visit to the Dockyard. It also included their own silhouette which was inspired by ones they had seen at the Portsmouth City Museum and the National Museum of the Royal Navy.
The Soul Sails were on display for the first time during the Roadshow. The children and their families were delighted to be able to see their creations on display in the community, with ‘Beautiful artwork. My daughter really enjoyed being part of it’ just one of the many of the really positive comments during the day.
The fun doesn’t end with the end of the Roadshow though! Local families attending the event were all offered vouchers to come down to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard for free during the Easter Holidays. They will be able to visit some of the attractions, including the world famous ships Victory and Warrior. Families can also take part in more free art and craft activities at the National Museum of the Royal Navy. As part of the day there will also be another chance to view the children’s Soul Sails which on display in the National Museum of the Royal Navy.
Find Your Talent - PUSH is being delivered through a partnership of Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth City Council and Southampton City Council in the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire area (PUSH)*.
The Museum runs activities throughout the year so why not come down and have a go? More information will appear on this page so please do check back!
If you would like to be kept up to date with what we have to offer please email us and we will add you to our mailing list!