Essential Information
| Type | Family fun |
|---|---|
| Location |
National Maritime Museum
|
| Date and Times | Select dates between 28 July and 1 September 2024 | Drop-in activities |
| Prices | Free |
At the National Maritime Museum, we take play seriously! This summer, come and enjoy lots of maritime-themed fun for the whole family.
Unless specified, activities are drop in and will take place in the Learning Space, located on the ground floor of the National Maritime Museum.
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July
Monday 29 July: Sensory fishes
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Experiment with different materials and texture to collage your own sensory fish.
Tuesday 30 July: Play Outdoors Tuesdays
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Head to the lawns in front of the National Maritime Museum for a fun-filled adventure, perfect for under 5s and their adults. Our fantastic team of Early Years facilitators have created playful activities, encouraging little ones to explore all things connected to water.
This session is all about sensory sea monsters. From manatees and mermaids to dinosaur bones and dragons, use our sensory boxes to learn about how real sailors mistook sea creatures for otherworldly beings – and invent a new sea monster from your discoveries!
Play Outdoors Tuesdays takes place every Tuesday during the summer holidays.
Wednesday 31 July: Unity tote bags
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Explore Sarah Hawke's crochet kanga on display in Traders: the East India Company and Asia gallery and delve into her perspectives on colonialism, revolution and connections through our unity tote bag workshop.
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August
Thursday 1 August: Cyanotype printing
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Discover the Victorian art of cyanotypes and investigate the shapes and forms found on beaches. We will use sunlight to create the images of seaweed, shells and much, much more!
Friday 2 August: Songs from around the world
11am-11.30am, 12pm-12.30pm, 2pm-2.30pm and 3pm-3.30pm | Voyagers gallery
Come on a musical adventure and explore traditional maritime-themed songs from Hawaii, Jamaica and the Torres Strait Islands. The songs will feature live instruments, movement, lights and even some delicious fruits!
Sunday 4 August: Boat building
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm | Lawns in front of the National Maritime Museum
Which materials make the best boat? Come and design your own boat and then float it down our mini canal.
Monday 5 August:
11am-1pm and 2pm - 4pm | Lawns in front of the National Maritime Museum
Families takeover: Join us for a unique family activity where you'll design and explore an immersive art gallery on the lush grounds of the Queen’s House.
Engage your senses and creativity as you shape a living art experience! Come with your ideas on what changes would make art galleries more accessible – and friendly – places for your family.
Games without wires: Meet members of the Caribbean Social Forum and learn how to play games from around the world.
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Tuesday 6 August: Play Outdoors Tuesdays
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Head to the lawns in front of the National Maritime Museum for a fun-filled adventure, perfect for under 5s and their adults. Our fantastic team of Early Years facilitators have created playful activities, encouraging little ones to explore all things connected to water.
This session is all about maritime flags: "Man overboard!", "Turn to Starboard!", "Stop the Ship!" – explore the world of maritime signal flags through live music, singing, movement, games and sensory play.
Play Outdoors Tuesdays takes place every Tuesday during the summer holidays.
Wednesday 7 August: Make your own lighthouse
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines and helps to guide ships safely into harbours. Join us for a fun and easy lighthouse making workshop.
Thursday 8 August: Home in a bottle
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Inspired by Yinka Shonibare's Nelson's Ship in a Bottle outside the National Maritime Museum, this workshop explores what you would choose from home to put in a bottle if you were setting out to sea, using poetry, drawing, and songs.
Friday 9 August: Migrating bird puppets
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Come and spread your wings! Make your very own flying seabird puppet in this inclusive, colourful and creative session.
Monday 12 August: Playful paintings
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Inspired by Minoru Tanabe's Sunset seen from the sail training barque Nipon Maru, families can create their own sensory abstract painting. Use your hands and blunt tools to swirl paint around in sealed plastic pockets for a fun and colourful experience!
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Tuesday 13 August: Play Outdoors Tuesdays
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Head to the lawns in front of the National Maritime Museum for a fun-filled adventure, perfect for under 5s and their adults. Our fantastic team of Early Years facilitators have created playful activities, encouraging little ones to explore all things connected to water.
In this session, come and explore the many possibilities of paper as we rip, scrunch, fold, stick, make marks and more. This immersive workshop will provide open-ended opportunities to explore this versatile material in a safe and supportive environment, suitable for all ages.
Play Outdoors Tuesdays takes place every Tuesday during the summer holidays.
Wednesday 14 August:
Games without wires
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm | Lawns in front of the National Maritime Museum
Meet members of the Caribbean Social Forum and learn how to play games from around the world.
Unity tote bags
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Explore Sarah Hawke's crochet kanga on display in Traders: the East India Company and Asia gallery and delve into her perspectives on colonialism, revolution and connections through our unity tote bag workshop.
Inspired by her diverse roots from Tanzania, India, and Brixton, which convey a message of unity, this workshop offers families a chance to create a tote bag as a memorable keepsake from their museum visit, thinking about their own identity.
Thursday 15 August: Songs from around the world
11am-11.30am, 12pm-12.30pm, 2pm-2.30pm and 3pm-3.30pm | Voyagers gallery
Come on a musical adventure and explore traditional maritime-themed songs from Hawaii, Jamaica and the Torres Strait Islands. The songs will feature live instruments, movement, lights and even some delicious fruits!
Friday 16 August: Fidget snakes
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Codes are an important part of communicating at sea. Come and make your own fidget snake with a special hidden code to take home.
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Sunday 18 August: Labyrinth exploring
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm | Lawns in front of the National Maritime Museum
Ancient Cretan maps depict the labyrinth – a confusing maze that is hard to navigate. Join us to create a huge labyrinth in our grounds (or inside, weather dependent). We will also be making finger labyrinths to take home. Come and see where it leads...
Monday 19 August: Ocean sunsets
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Inspired by beautiful ocean paintings in Royal Museums Greenwich's collection, you'll use oil pastels to create stunning sunset scenes over the sea.
Tuesday 20 August: Play Outdoors Tuesdays
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Head to the lawns in front of the National Maritime Museum for a fun-filled adventure, perfect for under 5s and their adults. Our fantastic team of Early Years facilitators have created playful activities, encouraging little ones to explore all things connected to water.
This session looks at medicinal marvels. Explore the herbs sailors used as medicine, and then create your own herbal medicine pouch to take home!
Play Outdoors Tuesdays takes place every Tuesday during the summer holidays.
Wednesday 21 August: Migrating bird puppets
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Come and spread your wings! Make your very own flying seabird puppet in this inclusive, colourful and creative session.
Thursday 22 August: Astronomy sun catchers
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Get creative with sun catcher papercraft inspired by astronomy, and add a little colour into your day – and windows! This easy workshop is suitable for all ages and great fun for the whole family.
Sunday 25 August: Ocean sunsets
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Join us for this sunset art workshop. Inspired by beautiful ocean paintings in our collection, you'll use oil pastels to create stunning sunset scenes over the sea.
Monday 26 August: Make a lighthouse
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Lighthouses mark dangerous coastlines and helps to guide ships safely into harbours. Join us for a fun and easy lighthouse making workshop.
Tuesday 27 August: Play Outdoors Tuesdays
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Head to the lawns in front of the National Maritime Museum for a fun-filled adventure, perfect for under 5s and their adults. Our fantastic team of Early Years facilitators have created playful activities, encouraging little ones to explore all things connected to water.
Inspired by the trade of food by sea, join us for this session to get playful with food. Make a painting using fruit and herb teabags and shake sugar and aromatic spices onto paper to make a sensory picture.
Role play with teapots and cups and serve tea to your family on the picnic blankets dotted around on the grass. For a full sensory experience, make some noise with coconut shells and shakers made with coffee beans.
Play Outdoors Tuesdays takes place every Tuesday during the summer holidays.
Wednesday 28 August: Underwater sculptures
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
Inspired by Rowan Mersh's Asabikeshiinh Aeris (Bronze Dreamcatcher), families can work together to describe images from our collections to each other and shape them from playdough or clay.
Thursday 29 August: Families takeover
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm | Lawns outside the National Maritime Museum
Join us for a unique family activity where you'll design and explore an immersive art gallery on the lush grounds of the Queen’s House.
Engage your senses and creativity as you shape a living art experience! Come with your ideas on what changes would make art galleries more accessible – and friendly – places for your family.
Friday 30 August: Wonderful windsocks
11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm
What are windsocks for? Come and learn about this underappreciated technology and make your own to take home.
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September
Sunday 1 September: Labyrinth exploring
Ancient Cretan maps depict the labyrinth – a confusing maze that is hard to navigate. Join us to create a huge labyrinth in our grounds (or inside, weather dependent). We will also be making finger labyrinths to take home. Come and see where it leads...
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