Ironbridge Gorge Museums – great half term activities

Coalport China Museum ceramic workshop, Sara Robinson helps a young visitor

Blists Hill Victorian town, Sweet Shop’s Gilly Clayton

Enginuity Flight workshop using craft materials

Jackfield Tile Museum tile decorating workshop

Super food for super people (I love this Bol.com advert) is what we sell in abundance at Apley Farm Shop, sourced from the Apley Estate & local Shropshire producers. We have great courtyard shopping, a 45 min free nature trail, our lovely Creamery Cafe & fun activities in Pigg’s Playbarn. To fill next week’s school half term holiday, look no further than the events to be held at the Ironbridge Gorge Museums – only 6 miles from Apley Farm Shop. They’ve just sent me their press releases with all you need to know:

“Design and launch pneumatic rockets and discover the fun of flying at  Enginuity

Design, build and launch a pneumatic rocket and discover the fun of flying during the February school half-term week at Enginuity, near Ironbridge, Shropshire.

Go along to the hands-on design and technology discovery centre between Saturday 13^th and Sunday 21^st February and join the drop-in workshops between 10.30am and 3.45pm. Craft materials such as paper, card and plastic will be used to create model rockets of around 30cm in length, which can then be ‘fired’ from Enginuity’s air powered pneumatic launcher through a selection of suspended targets.

Afterwards see a display of flight-related exhibits and discover more about the engineers and inventors that helped us take to the skies such as the Wright Brothers, who flew the world’s first successful airplane back in 1903. Activities will vary from day-to-day and some additional costs will apply.

Circus themed tile decorating workshops at Jackfield Tile Museum

Join a circus themed, drop-in workshop at Jackfield Tile Museum, near Ironbridge during the February half-term and decorate ceramic tiles with your own colourful designs. The motifs can be as creative as your imagination allows; perhaps a clown, juggler, trapeze artist or tightrope walker.

These fun and informal sessions will take place on Saturday, 13^th February and again between Monday 15^th and Saturday 20^th February.

The Victorian tube lining technique will be used to decorate the tiles, which are priced from £5 per tile (p&p extra to have your tile sent home after firing) plus the museum admission fee. Workshops start from 10am, but allowing up to 1½ hours to decorate your tile, last admission is at 3.00pm.

Sweethearts’ themed activities at Blists Hill Victorian Town

Go along to Blists Hill Victorian Town, near Ironbridge during half term, Saturday 13^th to Sunday 21^st February, and join in ‘sweethearts’ themed craft activities.  Listen to romantic poetry readings and visit the Town’s Victorian Printers which will be packed full with romantic love notes, poems and cards to browse and buy. Then discover more about the history of sweets and Victorian confectionery following a self-led sweet history trail around the Town.

The Valentine’s industry boomed during Victorian times when more and more people sent love notes, poems and cards to their sweet heart as paper and printing became cheaper and 1840 saw the establishment of the Penny Post. Over the weekend of Saturday 13^th and Sunday 14^th February you can typeset and print a Valentine’s card for someone you love using Victorian techniques in the Town’s Goods Shed.

In addition, from Monday 15^th until Friday 19^th there will be sessions making miniature roof tiles from air-drying clay. Each tile will be personally decorated using alphabet stamps and hand prints.  From Monday to Friday at 1pm you can also make your own heart-shaped lavender bag.

A variety of other activities will also be on offer throughout the half-term holiday. Choose from making striped candles using brightly coloured liquid wax; building a wall with mini-bricks using different ‘brick bonds’ to discover which is the strongest and colouring-in pictures of Victorian scenes.  

All drop-in sessions take place from 11am to 1pm and 2pm to 3.30pm with activities varying day-to-day; candles and roof tiles also carry a small extra charge in addition to the museum entrance fee.

Celebrate Chinese Year of the Monkey at Coalport China Museum

Oriental themed family activities and hands-on workshops celebrating the Chinese Year of the Monkey are being held at Coalport China Museum in Shropshire’s Ironbridge Gorge during the February school half-term.

Join the drop-in sessions from Monday 15^th – Friday 19^th February and decorate your own Chinese design on a clay plaque or try your hand at sculpting a monkey, pagoda or lotus blossom from clay. You can also paint a delicate china flower or fridge magnet and join in free paper based activities. 

The half-term workshops at Coalport China Museum will be held from 11am until 1pm and 2pm until 4pm; ceramic activities carry an additional fee from £1 for unfired clay modelling or £4 to paint on biscuit-ware. 

General information on opening times & prices (for all the above) 

Open 10am to 5pm Coalport, Jackfield, Blists Hill & Enginuity  are some of the ten Ironbridge Gorge Museums. A great value Annual Passport Ticket allowing unlimited entry into all ten Ironbridge Gorge Museums costs £27.95 per adult, £21.50 for seniors, £16.95 for children under 18, £68 for a family of two adults and all their children and £50 for a family with one adult; under 5s free (terms and conditions apply); Passports can also be bought online in advance saving 10% and individual entry tickets are available at each museum. Activities and workshops vary day-to-day and some carry an extra charge.

For further information, contact the Ironbridge Visitor Information Centre on Tel: 01952 433 424 or visit www.ironbridge.org.uk.  The Gorge is easily reached via the M6 and M54 motorways exiting at Telford (M54 junction 4 or 6).”