Half term at the Hancock

We look at activities at the Great North Museum: Hancock this half term.

Transcript

00:00When you come into the museum you can get to know our museum collections as you make your way around

00:05the museum. We've got some amazing objects on display from natural history that you can see

00:11behind me in the Living Planet Gallery, through to ancient cultures such as the ancient Egyptians

00:16and ancient Greeks, and some amazing collection from pre-history. Whilst Ruth certainly explained

00:24how much there is to do at the Great North Museum, Hancock, on a normal day, I know that there's a

00:29lot of people at home looking for things to do with their family in half term. So I asked Ruth

00:33about that. This half term we're quite excited to launch a new trail and we've got underground

00:42adventures with Murray the Mole. This is Murray, which you can meet at the museum over half term,

00:49and there'll be four trails that you can do at the museum on, well, four separate visits, or if

00:55you're really keen you can do them in one day. And the trails take you around the whole museum

01:01and each trail explores different aspects of the collection, and you can spend time with

01:06Murray between October half term and Easter, so it's over a good few months, and there'll be

01:12three prize draws throughout that time that you can be entered into to win a Murray the Mole toy.

01:18Well I know I'll certainly be entering the prize draw to win a Murray the Mole, but whilst that

01:22deals with the fun for the younger children, I wondered was there anything for the arts and

01:26crafts fans or children who were maybe a little bit older than that? They print 3D print mitochondria

01:35discs, or large-scale mitochondria, and it's a really engaging way to teach people about science.

01:43What we're going to do is turn mitochondria into wearable accessories, so I've got a brooch here

01:48on my lanyard, but we're also going to do bracelets and key rings, and I think hair clips, and other

01:56fun things so you can engage with science, but in a way that's really accessible, and you

02:02learn and you get to take something home as well. Well it certainly seems like there's something for

02:06kids of all ages. Is there anything at the museum for me or for other adults? We also have a really

02:12good offer for adults and grown-ups, with our Great North Nights that happen roughly six times a

02:19year, and they're after-hours experiences for adults to take part in activities almost the same

02:25way children do, but with a bar and with pizza and with music on the 18th, 19th and 20th of October.

02:34It's clear that Ruth thinks there's something at the museum for everybody and that it is accessible

02:37to anyone. A lot of people are maybe put off before they even come into a museum, maybe don't

02:43think museums are places for them to visit, but we're here to tell people that museums are actually

02:49for everyone, and everything in here, even though it might be a very academic subject matter, is

02:56broken down into a way that's accessible to everyone.