October at National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
October 2024
All visitors, including Members, are advised to pre-book their tickets at least 24 hours in advance. Please check rmg.co.uk for the latest information on what is open.
Highlights this month include:
- Visit the new Astronomy Photographer of the Year exhibition for free at the National Maritime Museum.
- Join a tour of the Museum’s conservation centre to learn more about how RMG’s vast collection is cared for.
- Discover different characters from history and hear their fascinating stories.
EXHIBITIONS AND DISPLAYS
Women of the RNLI
To mark the bicentenary of the RNLI, Royal Museums Greenwich is hosting an exhibition celebrating the vital role that women have played in saving lives at sea.
Women of the RNLI highlights the work and success of women in a variety of roles including their pioneering contributions to fundraising, campaigning, technological innovation, training and as members of onshore and offshore crew throughout the RNLI’s history. The exhibition features a series of Jack Lowe photographs taken from Lowe’s ongoing Lifeboat Station Project, an attempt to photograph every RNLI station and members of its crew. Alongside these images, the exhibition includes oral histories from some of the sitters, sharing their experiences of life with the RNLI.
Date: 2 March 2024 – 1 December 2024
Time: 10.00 – 17.00
Age: Suitable for all ages
Location: National Maritime Museum, Special Exhibitions Gallery
Admission: Free
URL: www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/national-maritime-museum/women-of-the-rnli
Astronomy Photographer of the Year 16
The Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition is now in its sixteenth year and returns with an expert panel of judges from the worlds of art and astronomy. The winners of the competition’s nine categories, two special prizes and the overall winner will be announced on Thursday 12 September, then displayed in an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum alongside a selection of exceptional shortlisted images. The competition is run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, supported by Liberty Specialty Markets and in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
Date: Daily from 13 September 2024
Time: 10.00 – 17.00
Age: Suitable for all ages
Location: National Maritime Museum, Photography Gallery
Admission: Free
Feeling Blue
A major tapestry commission is on display in the Queen’s House. Scottish-Barbadian artist Alberta Whittle’s ‘Feeling Blue’ (2023) is collaborative piece woven in Edinburgh by Dovecot Studios. The artwork has been developed in response to the large and varied collections of Royal Museums Greenwich, as well as the history and cultural significance of Greenwich. The 160 x 155 cm tapestry is filled with richly evocative textures, symbolic shapes, and tropical colours.
‘Feeling Blue’ is displayed on powder-coated steel gates in the Queen’s Presence Chamber where visitors can draw links between the cultured freshwater pearl beads woven into its design, and the jewelled gown in the nearby Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I. The tapestry’s blue colour scheme also provides a nod to the famous Tulip Stairs in the Queen’s House.
Date: Daily
Time: 10.00 – 17.00
Age: Suitable for all ages
Location: Queen’s House, Queen’s Presence Chamber
Admission: Free
URL: www.rmg.co.uk/queens-house/attractions/feeling-blue
FAMILIES AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Safe Harbour
Safe Harbour is a series of free workshops created to provide a safe space for foster and adoptive families. The sessions are an opportunity for families to have fun together in a friendly and welcoming space. Safe Harbour has been created in consultation with support organisations including We Are Family, and local foster and adoptive families.
Date: 26 October 2024
Time: 12.30 – 14.30
Age: Suitable for families with children aged 13 or under
Location: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Admission: Free
URL: www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/national-maritime-museum/safe-harbour
SENsory Sailors
Families with children with special educational needs and disabilities are invited to a monthly session at the National Maritime Museum. Explore the collection, enjoy the opportunity to be creative together, and meet other local families.
Sessions are led by a SEND-specialist and will respond to the needs of the families participating.
Date: 12 October 2024
Time: 11.00 – 12.30
Age: Suitable for ages 13 and under
Location: National Maritime Museum, Group Space
Admission: Free
URL: www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/national-maritime-museum/sensory-sailors
Play Tuesdays
Bring your little ones along for song, stories, and sensory play as we explore the Museum together. During these sessions your facilitator will lead you in creative and playful activities that will support the development of your child, providing you with a toolkit of activities to use even outside of these sessions.
Date: Tuesdays during term-time
Time: 10.30 | 11.30 | 13.00 | 14.00
Age: Suitable for ages 5 and under
Location: National Maritime Museum, Learning space
Admission: £4 per child and accompanying adult | Under 6 months free
URL: www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/learning-space/play-tuesdays
Discover Sundays
Each week a different artist will take visiting families on a journey into the Museum’s collection. Discover objects that introduce different people, histories and cultures. Participate in different creative activities inspired by these objects before heading into the galleries to see what else can be discovered.
Date: Sundays during term-time
Time: 11.00 – 13.00 | 14.00 – 16.00
Age: Suitable for all ages
Location: National Maritime Museum, Learning space
Admission: Free
URL: www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/learning-space/discover-sundays
Character Encounters
Encounter different characters who will take you on a special tour and bring the stories in the Museum to life before your eyes. Meet John Simmonds, a sailor who served with Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, Pearl Morris will tell you what life was like for a Caribbean woman in Britain in the 1950s, or hear Alice Leghorn talk about disguising herself as a man to board a pirate ship.
Date: Every Saturday
Time: 11.30 | 12.30 | 13.30 | 14.30
Age: Suitable for ages 5 and over
Location: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Admission: Free
URL: www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/national-maritime-museum/character-encounters
Saturday Art Club
These weekly classes aim to introduce young people to a range of different art forms and practices. It is an opportunity to work with a professional artist, develop new skills, make new friends, and create artworks. Club members will gain an accredited Bronze Arts Award.
Date: Saturdays during term-time
Time: 10.00 – 13.00
Age: Suitable for ages 13 – 16
Location: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Admission: Free
URL: www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/national-maritime-museum/saturday-art-club
Family Trails and Backpacks at the National Maritime Museum
Pick up a family trail or borrow a backpack of activities from the ‘Play and Explore’ trolley at the National Maritime Museum to discover exciting objects in the galleries. Choose from seven different trails across a range of galleries, with activities suited to any age, or try the Sensory Explorer backpack.
Date: Daily
Time: 10.00 – 17.00
Age: Suitable for all ages
Location: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Admission: Free
URL: www.rmg.co.uk/family-trails-national-maritime-museum-0
Family Trails and Backpacks at the Queen’s House
Discover art, conservation, and the stories of the Queen’s House with the Create trail and the Creative Conservator’s kit. Pick up your trail or borrow a kit from the welcome desk.
Date: Daily
Time: 10.00 – 17.00
Age: Recommended for ages 6 and over
Location: Queen’s House, Greenwich
Admission: Free
URL: www.rmg.co.uk/queens-house/queens-house-family-trail
PRINCE PHILIP MARITIME COLLECTIONS CENTRE
BSL Tour
Delve deeper into Royal Museums Greenwich’s collection during this bespoke British Sign Language (BSL) tour of The Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre. This state-of-the-art facility is home to the Royal Museums Greenwich stored collections and conservation studios. Go behind the scenes on this tour with historian and guide John Wilson. Highlights include a whistle from the Titanic and Queen Victoria’s fireplace from the Royal yacht Victoria and Albert. This tour is designed for D/deaf people who are BSL users. There is no English voiceover.
Date: 24 October 2024
Time: 13.30 – 14.30
Age: Suitable for adults
Location: Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre
Admission: Free
Saturday Super Store Tours
Gain an insight into the treasures of RMG’s collection with a tour of the stores at the Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre. The specialist tour guides will lead visitors through a sprinkling of the 2.5 million objects and archives in the Royal Museums Greenwich collection.
Date: 5 October 2024
Time: 13.30 – 14.30
Age: Recommended for adults but families welcome
Location: Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre
Admission: Adult £12
URL: www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/prince-philip-maritime-collections-centre/saturday-super-store-tours
Make, Do and Maintain
Ever wondered how to keep your silver shining or how to mount a picture? Join Prince Philip Maritime Collection Centre’s community of makers and menders. This is a club for old and young to share current skills and discover new ones.
Date: 5 October 2024
Time: 15.00 – 16.30
Age: Suitable for ages 7 and over | Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult
Location: Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre
Admission: Free
URL: www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/prince-philip-maritime-collections-centre/make-do-maintain
CoderDojo
The Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre’s CoderDojo is a free coding club for young people interested in programming. The monthly club consists of 90 minutes of programming; in which participants can take part in an array of specially designed coding activities inspired by Royal Museums Greenwich’s vast collection. In the final half an hour of the session, there will be an opportunity to share and present the projects with each other.
Date: 5 October 2024
Time: 10.30 – 12.00
Age: Suitable for ages 7 to 17 | Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult
Location: Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre, Learning Space
Admission: Free
URL: www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/prince-philip-maritime-collections-centre/coder-dojo
For updated information prior to visit please visit:
www.rmg.co.uk or phone 020 8858 4422.
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