October half term at the National Maritime Museum

Character Encounters

12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm | Meet at Tudor and Stuart Seafarers gallery

Join an exciting performance and see maritime history brought to life with resident National Maritime Museum character Tamera the Time Traveller! Tamera travels through time and place, exploring incredible stories throughout the Tudor and Stuart Seafarers, Polar Worlds, Pacific Encounters and Sea Things galleries.

Learn more about Character Encounters

Harnessing the wind

11am-1pm, 2-4pm | Learning Space

Join for a workshop inspired by the story of William Kamkwamba (The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind) who saved his town in Malawi from famine by engineering a windmill to supply his community with water and electricity at just 14 years old. Families are invited to experiment with wind power to create your own turbines.

Science in nature

11am-1pm, 2-4pm | Learning Space

Science is all around us! Inspired by the spinning seeds on the sycamore trees surrounding the Museum, join us to create paper helicopters and experiment with how fast you can make them spin.

Games without wires

11am-1pm, 2-4pm | Rethink Space

Try out a variety of board games big and small with the Caribbean Social Forum.

Sea creature finger puppets

11am-1pm, 2-4pm | Learning Space

Use scrap materials to make little puppets of underwater creatures and plants that we can wear on our fingers! Learn about the creatures and wildlife living in our rivers and oceans, and the connections between us and them.

Innovations of engineering

11am-1pm, 2-4pm | Rethink Space

Get creative with our guest facilitators Geo Jam for an engineering workshop where families are invited to create their own innovative structures inspired by our collections using unusual materials.

Arctic fashion and technology

11am-1pm, 2-4pm | Rethink Space

Learn about the ingenuity of Inuit technology at our family workshop, where you'll craft traditional snow goggles designed to navigate the polar climate. Explore the rich heritage of the Inuit people as you discover their innovative solutions for navigating extreme environments.

Mega monoliths

11am-1pm, 2-4pm | Learning Space

From Easter Island to Stonehenge, learn about the use of stone structures around the world and make your own monumental megalith sculpture to take home.

Games without wires

11am-1pm, 2-4pm | Rethink Space

Try out a variety of board games big and small with the Caribbean Social Forum.

Character Encounters

11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm and 2.30pm| Meet at Nelson, Navy, Nation gallery

Join an exciting performance and see maritime history brought to life with resident National Maritime Museum character John Simmonds.  John Simmonds (1783–1858) was a black sailor who served with Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, 1805. Developed with John’s descendants and using over 40 years of family research, the performance will take you on a journey through the museum, from Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle by Yinka Shonibare CBE to the Nelson, Navy, Nation gallery.

Learn more about Character Encounters

Innovations of engineering

11am-1pm, 2-4pm | Rethink Space

Get creative with our guest facilitators Geo Jam for an engineering workshop where families are invited to create their own innovative structures inspired by our collections using unusual materials.