Fun doesn’t need to break the bank this half term with dozens of things to see and do at your local museum.
National Museums Liverpool has arranged an action-packed week of exhibitions and events from Monday 13 to Friday 17 February 2012.
Highlights:
- Both ends of William Brown Street offer entertainment for the whole family. Channel your inner supermodel in the Big Booth at the Walker Art Gallery where families can dress up, play with props and strike a pose for the camera in a giant photo booth (15, 16 & 17 February). Down the hill at World Museum visitors can have a close encounter with beasts of a prehistoric kind in the exhibition Age of the Dinosaur (open daily, this paid for exhibition is free for under 5s. Book online to avoid disappointment)
- At the Albert Dock and waterfront the fun continues with craft activities inspired by the most famous ship of them all, the Titanic, at the Merseyside Maritime Museum (14 & 15 February). The International Slavery Museum is celebrating the half term with a free showing of Disney’s The Frog Princess (16 February). While visitors can explore life in a Victorian court in the wonderful new Museum of Liverpool (15 February)
- Out of town, Sudley House is hosting an event for budding fashion designers (16 February) and Lady Lever Art Gallery is continuing the Chinese New Year celebrations with a free performance of the Pagoda Chinese Youth Orchestra (15 February).
Further details on these events and more:
Merseyside Maritime Museum
Hands on with the Vikings
Thursday 16 February 2012
Intervals between 1 & 4pm
Join us for hands on activities and learn how the Vikings lived. (All)
Sam’s musical voyage
Monday 13 February 2012
1.30, 2.30 & 3.30pm
A story following a small child who sails around the world. Join in the fun and play instruments from different countries. (Under 8s)
Marine Art
Monday 13 & Tuesday 14 February 2012
Intervals between 1& 4 pm
Painting workshop inspired by our fabulous maritime paintings. All welcome, pick up a brush and have a go. (All)
Saved by the bell
Friday 17 February 2012
Intervals between 1& 4 pm
A fun filled music workshop for all. (All)
Titanic crafts
Tuesday 14 & Wednesday 15 February 2012
1-4pm
Join us for an afternoon of crafts inspired by the world’s most famous ship. (All)
Seized – The Border and Customs uncovered
Inside Merseyside Maritime Museum
Customs contraband
Friday 17 February 2012
1-4pm
Discover more about our Seized! collections by actually handling some of the items. (8+)
Save our species
Wednesday 15 & Thursday 16 February 2012
1-4pm
Learn how Customs protects endangered species and make an animal mask to take away. (All)
Mother Redcap
Tuesday 14 February 2012
1, 2 & 3pm
Mother Redcap will be on the gallery to captivate you with stories and songs about the dark and dangerous world of smuggling around the Mersey. (8+)
International Slavery Museum
Free exhibitions
‘42’ Women of Sierra Leone
Until 15 April 2012
Learn about life in Sierra Leone through these portraits of 42 women taken by photojournalist Lee Karen Stow.
Born in Hull, a city twinned with Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, Lee Karen Stow has been working with the women there since 2007 to document their lives following the end of the civil war in 2002.
Special event
African beats
Wednesday 15 & Thursday 17 February 2012
1-4pm
Find your rhythm in our African drumming workshop. (All)
Love Sankofa card making
Monday 13 & Tuesday 14 February 2012
Intervals between 1 & 4pm
Learn about the Ghanaian Sankofa symbol and make your own greetings card. (All)
The Frog Princess
16 February 2012
Join us for a free screening of The Frog Princess and afterwards make your own colourful headdress. (All)
Walker Art Gallery
Big Art for Little Artists
Open daily 10am – 5pm
Craft activities 11am – 4pm
Big Art for Little Artists is our children’s gallery that brings art to life through paintings, sculpture, toys and costumes. Get creative with hands-on activities and interactive fun! (All)
Big Art workshops
Valentine’s Day cards
Tuesday 14 February 2012
10am- 4pm
Get some ideas from our Matisse exhibition and create your own greetings card for someone special. (3+)
Free exhibitions
The Art Books of Henri Matisse
Until 15 April 2012
Henri Matisse spent over two decades illustrating art books, each issued in a limited edition and signed by the artist. This exhibition includes text and illustrations from some of his most important books.
This exhibition is provided by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Art in our Communities programme.
Titian ‘Diana and Actaeon’ on tour from the National Gallery
13 January – 26 February 2012
Bring your little ones to see a national treasure, bought for the nation after an emergency fundraising appeal. Now owned by the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery in London, this masterpiece is part of a series of famous mythological works by Titian.
Savage Style: costumes from Lily’s wardrobe
Until 19 February 2012
Get inside the wardrobe of Lily Savage, the acid-tongued drag queen alter ego of comedian and television presenter Paul O’Grady. The display will feature seven dresses and outfits worn by Lily in her many different guises; as host of Blankety Blank, star of pantomime and all round fashion icon.
Special events
Fashion fix
13- 17 February 2012
11am-4pm
A week of fashion fun. Join in with fashion workshops, dress up and have a family picture taken in our 1970s photo booth. (All)
World Museum
Exhibition
Age of the Dinosaur
Until 15 April 2012
Adults £6, Families £14
Children/concessions £3, Under 5s free.
Advance tickets available at liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/
The dinosaurs are in town! Travel back in time and discover what life was like more than 65 million years ago for the creatures that inhabited the planet. The sights, sounds and smells of the Jurassic forest and Cretaceous deserts are brought to life in this new major exhibition created by the Natural History Museum.
Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to come face to face with Tarbosaurus, the fearsome cousin of T Rex, see fascinating fossils and even some real life dinosaur poo!
Lady Lever Art Gallery
Activity rooms
Discover how William Lever created Sunlight Soap and collected art for his gallery. Explore our collections through puppets, toys, books and costume or get creative at one of our fun workshops. (All)
Storysacks
Want to explore the gallery in a different way? Each of our storysacks looks at a different theme in the gallery such as farm animals, St George and the dragon, bubbles and picnics. Choose a bag at the information desk and get exploring! (Suitable for under 5s)
Free exhibition
An Age of Confidence: photographs by Bedford Lemere & Co.
27 January to 7 May 2012
Stunning photographs from Bedford Lemere & Co., the leading English firm of architectural photographers between 1870 and 1930. The company took lots of pictures of buildings in Liverpool and on the Wirral. Step back in time and see the grand interiors of some of these beautiful buildings.
Special events
Shades of the shoreline
Monday 13 & Friday 17 February 2012
1 – 4pm
Help us make a magnificent mural and find out about Port Sunlight’s links to Wirral’s coast. (All)
Imagined Village
Tuesday 14 February & Thursday 16 February 2012
1 – 4pm
Help us create a miniature village, inspired by the Bedford Lemere exhibition. (All)
Pagoda Chinese Youth Orchestra
Wednesday 15 February 2012
1pm
Performance by the Pagoda Chinese Youth Orchestra. (All)
Elephants everywhere!
Wednesday 15 February 2012
1 – 4pm
Make an Elephant finger puppet to take home. (All)
Sudley House
Free exhibition
Costume Drama: Fashion from 1790 to 1850
Until 17 June 2012
See beautiful hats, shoes, clothes and accessories in this new exhibition. The fashionable ladies of the early 19th century certainly knew how to dress. Bring your budding fashionistas along for some inspiration.
Special events
Costume capers
Thursday 16 February 2012
1-4pm
Design a colourful costume inspired by the different outfits and accessories in our exhibition Costume Drama: Fashion from 1790 to 1850. (5+)
Museum of Liverpool
Little Liverpool
Little Liverpool is crammed with hands-on activities for children under 6. It is the perfect place to introduce little ones to the Museum. Collect a free timed ticket for Little Liverpool at the Welcome Desk and prepare to have some fun! Explore our interactive A-Z of Liverpool. Peer through a periscope and have a splashing time at the Liverpuddles water zone.
Special events
That’s the way to do it!
Tuesday 14 February 2012
1-4pm
Find out about Professor Codman’s Puppet Theatre and the Punch and Judy tradition through some fun activities. (All)
Toys in the Museum
Friday 17 February 2012
1-4pm
There are lots of Liverpool toys in the Museum. Explore them and make your own to take home. (All)
Life in a Victorian court
Wednesday 15 February 2012
Intervals between 1 & 4pm
Step back in time to the Liverpool of 1870 and find out all about life in the back to back court houses for children and adults. (All)
