Museums Week fun in Bath this October

Museums and venues across Bath & North East Somerset will host a bumper programme of events and activities over October half-term for Museums Week (Saturday 21 October to Sunday 29 October 2023).

Organised by Bath & North East Somerset Council, Museums Week celebrates the unique collections and activities in our local museums. Admission is free for local residents with a Discovery Card*. 

Councillor Paul Roper, Cabinet Member for Economic & Cultural Sustainable Development, said: “Museums Week is a brilliant time to explore our local museums, with a huge array of events and activities on offer, from Halloween trails to Surrealist art activities and a family planetarium show. Check out the Museums Week website to find out what’s happening across Bath and North East Somerset.”  

Museums Week highlights include:

• Get inspired by the Victoria Art Gallery’s Surrealism exhibition, play the Surrealists’ drawing game, and create a surreal pair of sunglasses or mask. 
• - See the gilt bronze head of goddess Sulis Minerva at the Roman Baths, make a Minerva mask, and set off on ‘Mission Minerva’ to discover the gods and goddesses of ancient Rome on a new family trail. 
• Experience ‘Gaia,' a beautiful replica of planet Earth by artist Luke Jerram, and create a colourful banner at Bath Abbey. 
• Head to the American Museum for free access to the garden for Discovery Card holders on Tuesday 24 October, plus Halloween trails, costume parades and family activities. 
• Enjoy free admission for families at the Holburne Museum, plus a wonderful range of creative activities for all ages and a spooky Halloween trail. 
• Join a bug-themed hunt and create your own bug to take home at Beckford’s Tower, and make a brilliant bug hotel at No.1 Royal Crescent. 
• Explore the night sky and find out about William and Caroline Herschel and their amazing space discoveries at the Herschel Museum’s family planetarium show at Percy Community Centre. 
• Listen to autumn-themed storytelling and follow the special family trail around the Museum of East Asian Art. 
• Enjoy free admission to the National Trust’s Prior Park (Monday to Friday) and follow the autumn trail (£2) around the site to solve Halloween-inspired puzzles and claim a prize. 
• Head to Sally Lunn’s to sample their famous Bath Bunns, with different sweet toppings available every morning during Museums Week, plus a ‘four for three’ deal on takeaway Bunns for Discovery Card holders. 
• Visit the historic Saltford Brass Mill and see the unique furnace and eighteen-foot working cast iron water wheel. 
• Visit Keynsham MakeSpace to discover the Keynsham Through Time exhibition, exploring artefacts recovered from Keynsham Abbey and items made at Saltford Brass Mill. Learn how medieval floor tiles were used for storytelling, and try your hand at brass rubbing.
• See and handle amazing objects during Keynsham’s Archaeology Day at Keynsham Library, from beautiful Roman brooches to magnificent medieval metalwork, and make your own miniature Keynsham Abbey to take home.
• Experience the historic Somerset and Dorset Railway, with its station buildings, museum, shop, buffet car and WWII pill box. Train rides (ticketed) available on certain days.

There’s plenty on offer for adults too, including a series of vintage documentary films at the Museum of Bath at Work, and a chance to visit Bath Jewish Burial Ground for a tour.

For full event listings, please visit www.bathmuseumsweek.co.uk.

* Free admission with a Discovery Card may be limited to certain activities or times – please check the Museums Week website for details. Advance booking is essential at some venues.