MakeIt! 2024 Calendars
We're getting ready for 2024!
Make your own calendar and prepare for a brilliant New Year.
This activity will run in our Education Room on the lower ground floor 10.30am - 12.00pm and 1.30pm-3.00pm. The workshop is suitable for ages 4-11, but if you're older or younger you'll still be more than welcome.
No booking is necessary, although if it gets a little busy we may have to limit numbers for everyone's comfort and safety.
Activities are FREE with but a donation (suggested £1.00 per child) towards workshop materials is appreciated.
For further details CLICK HERE to go to our contact form, call 01303 257946 and select option 0 (office hours only) or call into Folkestone Museum & Town Hall.
MakeIt! Christmas Lanterns
We're getting ready for the big Christmas light switch on!
Join us during the morning and get ready for Folkestone's Christmas light switch on, which is later in the day, by making a very festive lantern!
This activity will run in the displays on our lower ground floor from 10.30am to 12.30pm - please note that there isn't an afternoon session. The workshop is suitable for ages 4-11, but if you're older or younger you'll still be more than welcome.
No booking is necessary, although if it gets a little busy we may have to limit numbers for everyone's comfort and safety. Please note that due to preparations for the Christmas light switch you may have to use the cinema front door or the Museum's rear entrance in Market Place.
Activities are FREE with but a donation (suggested £2.00 per child) towards workshop materials is appreciated.
For further details CLICK HERE to go to our contact form, call 01303 257946 and select option 0 (office hours only) or call into Folkestone Museum & Town Hall.
For more details of the big switch on and times of performances CLICK HERE.
Dinosaur Detectives - The Search for Britain's Last Dinosaurs
A talk by Steve Friedrich on a very special part of Folkestone's fossil heritage...
Back in September 2017, Steve made a major discovery which has helped re-write the story of our past, and confirmed an earlier theory regarding dinosaurs in Britain. Meet the co-discoverer of Britain's last Dinosaurs, and join him on a detective trail discovering how the last dinosaurs to live in Britain were "Tracked Down".
This talk will be accompanied by special access to Steve's own fossils as well as those donated to the Museum by him.
Booking
The talk is £5.00 per person, as with all our talks, they tend to fill up quickly. For further details CLICK HERE to go to our contact form, call 01303 257946 and select option 0 (office hours only) or call into Folkestone Museum & Town Hall to buy your ticket and reserve a seat. If you are a subscriber to the Museum e-newsletter don't forget to quote the discount code at the till!
Refreshments will be available after the talk, donations appreciated
Autumn Half-Term - Halloween
Ghoulish goings on for half-term!
Looking for something for your little monsters to do over the Autumn half-term, we probably have the answer!
Saturday 21st October - Haunted house collage and colouring
Wednesday 25th October - Bats, hats & wings
Thursday 26th October - Halloween shadow puppets
Friday 27th October - Ghostly suncatcher and trick or treat basket
Activities run downstairs in our learning space (10.30am-12.00pm and 1.00pm-3.00pm) and are suitable for ages 4-11, but if you're older or younger you'll still be more than welcome.
No booking is necessary, although if it gets a little busy we may have limits numbers for everyone's comfort and safety; a voluntary donation towards materials would be gratefully received.
For further details CLICK HERE to go to our contact form, call 01303 257946 and select option 0 (office hours only) or call into Folkestone Museum & Town Hall.
Triumph and Tragedy - Stories from Folkestone Old Cemetery, A Talk
Pioneering Ladies, Folkestone’s answer to ‘Flashman’, an Explorer, a Town Catastrophe, a Reformed Smuggler and a Shipwrecked Lady...
The people that came to stay at Cheriton Road come from far and wide and from all walks of life. But let’s start at the beginning where all the good story’s start. Cheriton Road did not start to come to life until the beginning of 1855, Her Majesty’s Inspector R.D. Grainger Esq. came to Folkestone and suggested that a new cemetery be sited east, north-east or north of the town. In December of 1856 the new burial board instructed the churchwardens that no more burials should take place within the grounds of the town's churches after the 1st September 1857. With this the scene was set for the new (now old) to become not just a place containing people, but also stories, some of which are explored with this talk by members of the Friends of Old Folkestone Cemetery.
About The Friends of Old Folkestone Cemetery
The idea for the ‘Friends’ group originated with Jan Holben, Richard Grundy (Jan’s partner), Peter Anderson (Historian) and Giles Barnard (District Council Community Safety Officer). Noticing how badly some of the graves had been neglected when visiting the old Folkestone cemetery for a Remembrance Ceremony Jan (as Chairman of the District Council at that time), Richard, Peter and Giles discussed what could be done to save this lovely place which tells a unique story of Folkestone – and the idea of ‘Friends of old Folkestone cemetery’ grew from this discussion.
The Friends were formally constituted in July 2016 and since that time have helped to care for the Cemetery and promote its heritage. For more details and how to get involved with their regular Saturday morning working parties CLICK HERE.
Booking
The talk is £5.00 per person, as with all our talks, they tend to fill up quickly. For further details CLICK HERE to go to our contact form, call 01303 257946 and select option 0 (office hours only) or call into Folkestone Museum & Town Hall to buy your ticket and reserve a seat. If you are a subscriber to the Museum e-newsletter don't forget to quote the discount code at the till!
Refreshments will be available after the talk, donations appreciated
MakeIt! Eanswythe's Day - Anglo-Saxon Runes
Anglo-Saxon Alphabet pendants!
Folkestone's patron saint St Eanswythe has her feast day every 12th of September. Eanswythe lived during the mid-600s - the time of the Anglo-Saxons; they used runes as a form of writing.
We'll be making our own runes in celebration of Eanswythe, suggested donation £2.50 per participant.
Activities run downstairs in our learning space (11am-12.45pm and 1.30pm-3.30pm) and are suitable for ages 4-11, but if you're older or younger you'll still be more than welcome.
No booking is necessary, although if it gets a little busy we may have limits numbers for everyone's comfort and safety.
For further details CLICK HERE to go to our contact form, call 01303 257946 and select option 0 (office hours only) or call into Folkestone Museum & Town Hall.
Summer Holidays - Fossils & Dinosaurs
What left the three-clawed footprint on a Folkestone beach 120 million years ago???
This week we're exploring the the fossils of Folkestone for the last few days of the summer holidays.
Wednesday 30th August Steve Friedrich's fossil roadshow
Thursday 31st August Dinosaur babies (life size interactive puppets) roaming the Museum
Friday 1st September Pterodactyl gliders
Saturday 2nd September Tricera'toss' game
Activities run downstairs in our learning space (11am-12.45pm and 1.30pm-3.30pm) and are suitable for ages 4-11, but if you're older or younger you'll still be more than welcome.
Please note that last entry to the activity is 30 minutes before the session ends; 12.15pm and 3.00pm respectively.
No booking is necessary, although if it gets a little busy we may have limits numbers for everyone's comfort and safety, a voluntary donation towards materials would be gratefully received.
For further details CLICK HERE to go to our contact form, call 01303 257946 and select option 0 (office hours only) or call into Folkestone Museum & Town Hall.
Summer Holidays - Myths & Legends
We're off to the ancient Mediterranean to explore myth & legend!
Trojan horses, medusa and the fearsome cyclops; we're taking this week's inspiration from Greek myths for our make & take holiday activities.
Activities run downstairs in our learning space (11am-12.45pm and 1.30pm-3.30pm) and are suitable for ages 4-11, but if you're older or younger you'll still be more than welcome.
Please note that last entry to the activity is 30 minutes before the session ends; 12.15pm and 3.00pm respectively.
No booking is necessary, although if it gets a little busy we may have limits numbers for everyone's comfort and safety, a voluntary donation towards materials would be gratefully received.
For further details CLICK HERE to go to our contact form, call 01303 257946 and select option 0 (office hours only) or call into Folkestone Museum & Town Hall.
Summer Holidays - Pirates & Smugglers
Arrrr me hearties!
We're casting the net a bit wider then Folkestone's own maritime traditions. Tales of smuggling, piracy on the high seas, this week we're making wanted posters, miniature treasure chests... And on Saturday we're joined by the redoubtable Commander Blunt AKA the pirate Edward Teach; who'll be teaching you all the tricks of the pirate trade! learn more about Commander Blunt by clicking HERE.
Activities run downstairs in our learning space (11am-12.45pm and 1.30pm-3.30pm) and are suitable for ages 4-11, but if you're older or younger you'll still be more than welcome.
Please note that last entry to the activity is 30 minutes before the session ends; 12.15pm and 3.00pm respectively.
No booking is necessary, although if it gets a little busy we may have limits numbers for everyone's comfort and safety, a voluntary donation towards materials would be gratefully received.
For further details CLICK HERE to go to our contact form, call 01303 257946 and select option 0 (office hours only) or call into Folkestone Museum & Town Hall.
Summer Holidays - Trains to the Seaside
All aboard - the train is now departing!
The railway arrived in Folkestone 180 years ago, with the towns first station opening on the 28th June 1843. The arrival of the railway would lead Folkestone grow more than ten times the size it was beforehand - that's how important the railway was! We'll be making steam engine driver hats, green & red guards flags (whistles optional) and also building a railway themed window displays during the week.
Activities run downstairs in our learning space (11am-12.45pm and 1.30pm-3.30pm) and are suitable for ages 4-11, but if you're older or younger you'll still be more than welcome.
Please note that last entry to the activity is 30 minutes before the session ends; 12.15pm and 3.00pm respectively.
No booking is necessary, although if it gets a little busy we may have limits numbers for everyone's comfort and safety, a voluntary donation towards materials would be gratefully received.
For further details CLICK HERE to go to our contact form, call 01303 257946 and select option 0 (office hours only) or call into Folkestone Museum & Town Hall.