Families are being invited to celebrate summer with Sandwell Museums and Arts Service during the school holidays, with a packed programme of activities for all ages.
Here’s just a taster of what’s on offer at each museum site over the holidays.
Check out the full list of activities (the text takes you to a web link).
Oak House, West Bromwich
Celebrate Archaeology Week with our own version of The Great British Dig on Tuesday 26, Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 July from 11am-3pm each day.
Enjoy an introduction to archaeology and explore the tests pits on the front lawn of the seventeenth-century Oak House as Wolverhampton Archaeology excavates a small area over the three days.
Visitors will be encouraged to help dig and sieve for artefacts and follow them through a washing and identification process.
Make a prehistoric pot to take home, meet historic characters and enjoy crafts and trails.
Bromwich Hall (Manor House)
Celebrating the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, there’ll be games, activities, quizzes and trails at Bromwich Hall on Saturday 6 August from 11am-3pm.
The free games day includes the ever-popular egg and spoon, and sack races, plus garden games along with activities in the sandpit area.
Bishop Asbury Cottage/Bromwich Hall
Two special open days – on Friday 5 August (12noon-2pm) and Sunday 7 August (10.30m-12.30pm) – provide a rare chance to visit the eighteenth-century cottage, which was the boyhood home of Francis Asbury, the first American Methodist Bishop. Virtually unknown in Britain, he has his own statue on Capitol Hill in Washington DC.
Plus there’s a special evening guided tour of Bromwich Hall on Wednesday 3 August.
Haden Hill House and Park
Beside the Seaside and on the Pier – Thursday 11-Friday 19 August.
Come along and enjoy a fun day at a1920s ‘seaside’ and celebrate 100 years since the park opened.
Discover Tutankhamun – Thursday 18-Friday 19 August.
The tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered in 1922, there’ll be quizzes, trails around the museum and the chance to make a craft-inspired Egyptian artefact.
Tots at the Museum event – Wednesday 24 August.
Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery
Visitors can enjoy a fantastic Northern Soul exhibition with photos, objects and fashion, telling the story of two people’s experiences of the scene in the 1980s. Younger visitors can make a clock, decorate pump bags, make badges and add their record design to the larger pieces of art.
Councillor Laura Rollins, Sandwell’s cabinet member for leisure and tourism, said: “It’s fantastic to see so much going on this summer for everyone to enjoy and get involved with. There are so many opportunities for families to get active, get creative and have some summer fun.
“A big thank you to our Museum and Art Services Team for all their hard work behind the scenes in organising and delivering these events.”
Entrance to the museums is free but there may be a small charge for some activities and they may need to be pre-booked. Find out more information (the text takes you to a web link) or follow social media @sandwellmuseums
