Weston Museum

Wildlife Photographer of the Year world-renowned exhibition
2023-06-07 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-06-08 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-06-09 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-06-10 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-06-11 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-06-12 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-06-13 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-06-14 10:00 - 16:00 UTC and 15 more dates | Somerset
Stunning images unveiled as Wildlife Photographer of the Year arrives in Weston Museum
Exhibition information:
Dates: 26 November to 8 February
The world-renowned exhibition, on loan from the Natural History Museum in London, will open at Weston Museum on 26 November 2022, featuring exceptional images which capture fascinating animal behaviour, spectacular species and the breathtaking diversity of the natural world. Using photography’s unique emotive power to engage and inspire audiences, the images shine a light on stories and species around the world and encourage a future of advocating for the planet.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the most prestigious photography event of its kind, providing a global platform that showcases some of the best photography talent from around the world for over 55 years. Launching in 1965, today the competition receives entries from over 90 countries all over the world, highlighting its enduring appeal. This year’s award-winning images will embark on an international tour that will allow them to be seen by well over a million people.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year 59 competition opens for entries on 17 October and closes on 8 December 2022.
The judges of the fifty-eighth Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition had an extremely difficult task. Every entry was judged anonymously on its creativity, originality, and technical excellence by an international panel of industry experts.
The winning images, including the prestigious Grand Title Award winners, were announced on 11 October 2022 during a glittering awards show hosted by wildlife presenter and conservationist Chris Packham.
Dr Doug Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum says, ‘Captured by some of the best photography talent from around the world, the 100 photographs encourage curiosity, connection and wonder. These inspiring images convey human impact on the natural world in a way that words cannot – from the urgency of declining biodiversity to the inspiring bounce back of a protected species.’

Heritage Talk - West Country Myths and Legends
2023-06-08 11:00 - 12:00 (Europe/London) | Weston Museum, Burlington Street, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, BS23 1PR, United Kingdom
A free talk about West Country Myths and Legends by Jane Hill, Heritage & Community Officer. Ghosts, dragons, witches, giants and pixies, all feature in this fascinating talk. Please note, the content is different to the ‘Mysterious North Somerset’ talk given last year.

Civic Society Talk - Mould, Damp & Bad Landlords
2023-06-12 19:00 - 20:30 UTC | Weston Museum, Burlington Street, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, BS23 1PR, United Kingdom
Join the Civic Society for their FREE monthly talk. Alan Rice of Weston Housing AcTion recounts seven years of experience assisting tenants in issues with their landlords and proposes a solution.

Part of the Heritage Talk series thanks to support from Historic England and the High Street Heritage Action Zone.
Times:
doors open 19:00
talk starts 19:30
Cost:
All are welcome – entrance is free.

Amazing Artefacts - Home Educators Monthly Sessions
2023-06-14 10:30 - 13:00 UTC | Weston Museum, Burlington Street, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, BS23 1PR, United Kingdom
Welcome to the Summer Season of Amazing Artefacts – Home Educators Monthly Sessions!
Each month, we will take part in a variety of different hands on activities inspired by an item from the collections. Each season, we will explore a new theme, which for the Summer Season will be ‘Ancient Words’.
Summer season dates and times are as follows:
Wednesday 14th June (10:30-11:30 Juniors, 12-1 Seniors)
Wednesday 12th July (10:30-11:30 Juniors, 12-1 Seniors)
Wednesday 9th Aug (10:30-11:30 Juniors, 12-1 Seniors)
Sessions are designed to be active and accessible for a mix of ages and abilities with 2 separate sessions for younger or older children. The morning session will be aimed at slightly younger children aged approximately 5-8, nicknamed our Juniors, and the afternoon session will be aimed at the slightly older children aged approximately 9+, nicknamed our Seniors. If you would like to attend as a family group with mixed ages, then just pick whichever session you feel would be most suitable for the group as a whole.
If you would like to let us know about any specific considerations for your children then we would welcome this, just get in touch.
Tickets need to be purchased for each child attending, but grown ups do not need to purchase a separate ticket. It usually works best for the younger or less confident children if grown ups stay and join in with activities. Whereas for older or more confident children it is usually fine for grown ups to not stay in the session, although they will need to stay within the museum building whilst the session is taking place. Tickets cost £17.50 per child for the 3 month seasonal block and can be booked via Ticketsource or by popping into or phoning the museum directly.
Attendees will be encouraged to continue their learning at home between sessions and the year will finish with a display of the children’s work from all of the sessions within the museum.
Rusty Club (YAC) Membership – Please note that we occasionally do the same crafts or activities in Rusty Club sessions as we do in Home Educator sessions, so if you decide to join in with both programmes there may be some sessions with duplicated topics.

Myths & Monsters Exhibition
2023-06-20 10:00 - 2023-06-24 16:00, 2023-06-27 10:00 - 2023-08-01 16:00 (Europe/London) | Weston Museum, Burlington Street, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, BS23 1PR, United Kingdom
Open daily Tues to Sat, 20 June – 7 October 2023
Explore the wild worlds of Myths and Monsters in a new exhibition featuring artwork from some of our best loved children’s stories.
Get ready to meet a motley crew of fantastic beasts, from the Gruffalo to the Iron Man, from fearsome dragons to monsters of the deep, and even monsters in underpants!
Monsters have been around since the earliest myths and legends, keeping us terrified and captivated for millennia. The imaginations of some of the world’s most celebrated illustrators and artists bring them to life.
See over 70 artworks by 17 of our most-celebrated children’s book illustrators. Star contributors include:
Axel Scheffler – The Gruffalo and other Julia Donaldson books
Chris Mould – The Iron Man
Jim Kay – A Monster Calls
Kristina Stephenson – The Museum of Marvellous Things, Sir Charlie Stinky Socks
Lydia Monks – What the Ladybird Heard, Sugarlump and the Unicorn and other Julia Donaldson books
Chris Riddell – The Cloud Horse Chronicles
Victoria Topping – Mythologica: An encyclopedia of gods, monsters and mortals from ancient Greece
This family-friendly exhibition has been created in collaboration with Events of Wonder.

Nature-Themed Rainbow Sands Workshop
2023-06-24 10:00 - 12:00 UTC | Weston Museum, Burlington Street, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, BS23 1PR, United Kingdom
Join us and Rainbow Sands for a Nature-Themed Activity Workshop.
Throughout the 45-minute session you will complete 4 activities to take home with you.
1. create a sand art picture of a woodland animal 2. paint an insect window sun catcher
3. make an insect sand art fridge magnet
4. native wildlife colouring

Please note that activities may vary depending on availability. Please note that adults must stay with the children throughout the workshop, and adult support may be needed for younger children.

Workshop Times:
10:00 – 10:45
11:00 – 11:45
Ticket Link:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/westonmuseum/e-zqjvby
Cost:
£8.00 per child.

JOIN US - TWINNING CHARTER SIGNING
2023-06-28 13:30 - 14:00 (Europe/London) | Somerset
On Wednesday 28th June, 1.30pm, at Weston Museum The Mayor of Weston super Mare and the Mayor of Hildesheim Dr Ingo Meyer will be celebrating our 40th anniversary of the twinning between Weston-super-Mare and Hildesheim by signing a new twinning charter – reconfirming our commitment between our two areas.

If you’re interested in witnessing the signing of the charter feel free to come to Weston Museum at 1.30pm.
