Half Term Family Fun At Ironbridge Museums

Lunar and space themed family fun at the Ironbridge Gorge Museums 
Half-term holiday 26 October – 3 November 

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing with various space and lunar themed activities at the Ironbridge Gorge Museums in Shropshire during the half-term break between 26 October and 3 November.

Go along to Enginuity, on 1 November or 28 October and join a drop-in Galaxies and constellations workshop to help create a new universe! Make a paper rocket, load it with glow-in-the dark paint and launch it into space to build Enginuity’s own ‘galaxy’. Then experience the constellations of the Northern Hemisphere as you walk through the Museum’s light installation.

On certain other days, experience life as a Mini-engineer by fixing electrical components together and making your very own moon buggy. Once it's working, set your buggy to explore the Enginuity lunar landscape. Sessions run hourly with a cost of £3.50 per buggy (plus admission).

Workshops on 29 and 31 October will use Lego-We-do, a resource for younger children to introduce control technology and programming using robotics. Families will go through a series of stages to build and programme a Science Rover called Milo. The workshop run at 11am and 2pm and are included in the admission fee but should be pre-booked on arrival at the Museum as spaces are limited.

The Shropshire Astronomical Societywill be at Enginuity on 30 October with a series of craft activities and free talks. Starting at 11am, the first is an introduction to astronomy followed by a talk about our solar system at 12.30pm and the powerful James Webb telescope at 2pm. 

While at Enginuity don't miss the stunning Museum Of The Moon in the Engine Shop where artist Luke Jerram’s enormous 7-metre spherical Moon sculpture has been installed. Created using NASA imagery of the lunar surface with an approximate scale of 1:500,000 – each centimetre represents 5 kilometres of the moon’s surface!

Dine under the Museum of the Moon on 24 October at a special fundraising dinner with a champagne reception, raffle, live auction and speaker from the Lunar Society.  For more information and to book tickets email Adam Siviter, Fundraising Manager at fundraising.manager@ironbridge.org.uk or call 01952 435 900. 

Wax and Wane at Blists Hill Victorian Town

Go along to Blists Hill Victorian Town between Saturday 26 October and Sunday 3 November and join in some fun moon-themed activities for the whole family. Follow a moon-inspired trail around the Victorian Town; see a cinema showing of 'Le Voyage Dans La Lune’, a 1902 short-film about a moon landing, and print your own poster with a lunar twist. Then make a glittering candle inspired by the stars in the night sky and paint a plaster lunar mould.

Afterwards, explore the lovely autumnal woodlands around the Town, see what wildlife you can spot alongside the canal and peep into the allotments to see what crops are ready for harvest.

Get creative at Jackfield Tile Museum

Join a lunar or Halloween themed hands-on workshop at Jackfield Tile Museum to decorate a ceramic tile with your own design. The fun sessions will take place Monday to Friday on 25 October or between 28 October and 1 November.  

Be as creative as your imagination allows and make your own ceramic masterpiece; perhaps the moon and stars shining in the night sky, a witch on a broom or a mischievous black cat. The Victorian tube lining technique will be used to decorate the tiles, which is just like icing a cake! Tiles are priced from £5 each (p&p extra to have your tile sent home after firing) plus the admission fee. 

The Ironbridge Gorge Museums are open at various times between 10am and 5pm. A great value Annual Passport Ticket allowing multiple visits into all 10 museums costs £26.50 per adult, £20.50 for seniors, £16.50 for children (16 years or under), £70 for a family of two adults and all their children and £50 for a family with one adult; under 5s free (terms and conditions apply); Passports can also be bought online in advance saving 5% and individual entry tickets are available at each museum. Activities will vary from day-to-day and some additional costs will apply.

For further information, call the Ironbridge Tourist Information Centre on 01952 433 424 or visit www.ironbridge.org.uk. The Gorge is easily reached via the M54 motorway exiting at Telford junction 4 or 6.