Ways to Play: Summer Holiday Activities for the family
17 July 2024
Families are invited to enjoy a great value day out across museums and galleries on Tyneside.
(All images available to download here)
Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (TWAM) and Tyne and Wear Metro are continuing their award-winning partnership to offer families low-cost fun days out. At a time when everyone is conscious of rising costs, Tyneside’s museums are offering a range of high quality, low-cost events at well-loved family destinations across South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Newcastle and Gateshead. All of Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums’ venues are near a Metro station, so families can take advantage of free travel for children under 11, with a fare paying adult. The Ways to Play campaign is inspired by the range of ways a child can play, and encourages children to be active, creative and imaginative. Highlights of the Ways to Play programme include: a Family Arts Festival at Shipley Art Gallery; Heritage Train Rides at Stephenson Steam Railway and a whole host of family-friendly activities at Discovery Museum. Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums first partnered with Tyne and Wear Metro on the Ways to Play campaign in Summer 2021. The campaign has since received recognition at the North East Culture awards in 2022 by winning Best Arts and Business Partnership, as well as the best Not for Profit Marketing Award at the North East Marketing Awards in December 2022. It was also shortlisted at the Museum + Heritage Awards in May 2023 for Partnership of the Year
Click to view the Ways to Play webpage.
The full list of events include:
Spark your child’s imagination with stories about science and curious objects. This is an opportunity for tiny engineering, inventing, discovering, designing and investigating. At Tiny Sparks young children, aged 3-5, can explore science, history and museum collections each week through play, craft, activity, song and story.
Spark Club is an exciting way to engage young people in stimulating days of experiments, making and exploring, all inspired by the new Steam to Green: A North East Energy Revolution exhibition.
Monday 22 July – Robotics
Monday 29 July - Lightbulbs and Circuits
Monday 5 August - Transport
Monday 12 August - Green Energy
Monday 19 August - Light and Sound
Discover what’s on at Discovery Museum
Download the Mythquest app before or during your visit and experience an interactive journey as you explore the museum and learn about myths from around the world.
Space Investigators North East
>span class="NormalTextRun SCXW181570594 BCX0"
In this workshop, you'll journey into the marvellous world of microbes. These tiny superheroes are paving the way for environmental sustainability in ways you wouldn't believe, from cleaning water to making energy. Daily shows at 11am and 2pm. Suitable for those aged 4-7 and their grown-ups.
Come along and meet Georgina and Albany Mouse for Mouse Tales. Mouse Tales will include an interactive storytime, songs, and object handling. This activity is aimed at under 5's and their families.
SHRINK 01995 by Lawrence Malstaf
Two large, transparent plastic sheets and a device that gradually sucks the air out from between them leave the body (in this case, local people from Newcastle) vacuum-packed and vertically suspended!
Secret City: Newcastle Exhibition
The images captured by Andrew Brooks while exploring sites and rarely-seen Newcastle locations will be displayed in an exhibition in the Civic Centre Gardens and at the front of The Great North Museum: Hancock during NOVUM Festival.
Discover what’s on at Great North Museum: Hancock
Take a four-mile return trip following the route of the coal trains from the collieries to the River Tyne behind a vintage locomotive in our 1950s passenger carriages. It’s the perfect experience for train-lovers and families.
Make & Take Thursdays: Free craft activities every Thursday
Join the learning team every Thursday in the activity room to create a new craft each week.
25 July – Make a train driver hat
1 August – Train print making
8 August – Make a train driver figure
15 August – Make a woodland animal mask
22 August – Make a train clock
29 August – Get creative with clay
Meet the Baby Dinosaurs Experience
This is the perfect adventure for dino fans aged 5 – 12 but anyone is welcome to join the adventure. You’ll get to learn all about these adorable dinosaurs from their expert handlers in this hands on experience that is both educational and entertaining for all the family. So come along today and earn your diploma in dino know how and begin your training as a palaeontologist of the future.
Discover what’s on at Stephenson Steam Railway
South Shields Museum & Art Gallery:
Tremendous Tuesday: Free Family Craft Activities
Explore the paintings in the art gallery, before heading into the Learning Room to create a new craft each week.
23 July – Rangoli Designs
30 July - Felt Flower Gardens
6 August – Design a Metro Sign
13 August – Charcoal Pictures
20 August – Abstract Newspaper Cats
27 August – Flexible Fish
Discover what’s on at South Shields Museum & Art Gallery
Marvellous Monday: Free Family Craft Activities
Transport yourself back in time! Every Monday the museum learning team will have a new craft for you to enjoy for free.
22 July - Exploring Archaeology
29 July - Design a Badge
5 August - Create your own piece of Hadrian's Wall
12 August - Make your own jewellery
19 August - Writing Though Time
26 August - Become a Roman God or Goddess for the day
Victor the Veteran will be talking about life on a military campaign and recruiting for the Roman army. Get your hands on Roman armour, helmets, shields and swords and join Victor's boot camp
Roman Living History: Join the Legions
Take your Oath of Allegiance as you sign up for 25 years service. Learn to march like a Roman and how to form up in ‘testudo’, the famous tortoise defensive position, as you face the blood-curdling charge of a fearsome Ancient Briton. During this event, you can try on armour, helmets and equipment, handle the weaponry of the Roman Legionary or British warrior. Find out what life might have been like in Roman-occupied Britain and try throwing spears at your enemy. Weather permitting, there’ll be archery to try your hand at too.
Discover what’s on at Segedunum Roman Fort
Arbeia, South Shields Roman Fort:
Crafty Romans: Free Family Craft Activities
Enjoy free craft activities every Wednesday during school holidays.
24 July - Egg Carton Flowers
31 July - Plant and Flower Suncatcher
7 August - Garden Wind Spinner
14 August - Build a Bug and Nature Detective
21 August - Wildflower Seed Bombs
28 August - Decorate a Roman Altar
Discover what’s on at Arbeia, South Shields Roman Fort
Join the Gallery Learning Team for a summer of free creative craft sessions for 4-10 year olds and 12-28 year olds:
24 July – Chinese Painting
31 July – 3D Bird Collage
7 August – Easy Printing
14 August – Make an Artists Book
28 August – Summer Collage
12-18 year old sessions:
25 July – Painting with Acrylics
1 August – Sketchbook Workshop
8 August – Young people drawing big scale
Discover what’s on at Hatton Gallery
Join the team for a taught art class for 7-12 year olds and their grown ups. At each session you'll be taught by professional artist Simon and will try different techniques such as watercolours, ceramics, mixed media, drawing, and more.
25 July - Make a row of beach huts, using concertina-folded paper
1 August - Transform a paper plate into a seaside scene to hang on your wall
8 August - Create a boat picture with 3-D elements, using paper and cardboard
15 August - Make a rocking mermaid / merman sculpture using a paper plate and embellishments
22 August - Invent a delicious giant ice-cream using colourful paper, and write your own menu for playing cafes at home
29 August - Create an origami fish that really moves, and make a paper plate octopus
Join the team for a taught art class for 7-12 year olds and their grown ups
