All Birmingham Museums sites are currently closed, but it doesn’t mean fun activities have to stop! Here are some ideas you might want to try.
This list is inspired by our galleries and collections.
Look at the sky at night
Missing Thinktank’s incredible Planetarium? After dinner head out into your back garden or just look out your window at the night sky. Use a telescope, binoculars or even the naked eye. See what you can spot. Aeroplanes, stars, the ISS! Can you pick out the North Star? And remember you can always use the online ISS tracker to see when the ISS will be passing overhead.
Art inspiration
If you’re a fan of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, why not get creative? Paint, draw, sketch or make collages. There is plenty of inspiration from the collection on our Digital Image Resource website.
Mini-beast hunt and den building
If you have little ones, you can try mini-beast hunting in your back garden. Look under logs and plant pots and see what you can find. Count them if you can. You can also do den building, like in MiniBrum. All kids need are boxes and sheets to make their own mini fortress.
Tolkien inspiration
Sarehole Mill is the childhood home of Tolkien. If you’re a fan of his work or new to it, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are fantastic tales for children and adults alike (and there are always the film adaptations). Something to do on your own or with family.
Make bread
Sarehole Mill also makes bread. This is definitely something you can do at home and is especially fun for kids. If you’ve got a few ingredients in the back of the cupboard, why not give it a go? And when you’ve finished you can always go on a picnic.
Moon phase wheels
Soho House was the home of Birmingham Industrialist Matthew Boulton. He was also a member of the Lunar Society, so called because they met under the full moon. If you fancy getting crafty, there are plenty of templates online for moon phase wheels, which can be done at home. They are very educational too for little ones.
Lego challenge
At Thinktank, we love our fantastic Lego Innovation studio and all the amazing things we can build, but most people keep a box at home (even if it is from the 1980s). Do a time challenge with your family or give yourselves a theme and see who can build the best model.
Make jewellery
The Museum of the Jewellery Quarter is a perfectly preserved jewellery workshop. You can do a bit of jewellery making and crafting at home with children, making friendship or beaded bracelets.
Write a story
Perhaps the best home activity is story writing. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein whilst competing with her literary friends. Whilst shut in due to the plague, Shakespeare wrote King Lear. Take a drop of inspiration from one of our sites, whether it’s a ghost story about Aston Hall or tales of adventure inspired by Tolkien. Good for young and old!
We love to see what you’ve been up to so please tweet us and we look forward to seeing you at our sites soon!
Twitter:
- Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery: @BM_AG
- Thinktank Museum: @thinktankmuseum
- Thinktank Planetarium: @ThinktankPlanet
- Aston Hall: @AstonHallMuseum
- Blakesley Hall: @Blakesley_Hall
- Museum of the Jewellery Quarter: @MJQBirmingham
- Sarehole Mill: @Sarehole_Mill
- Soho House: @SohoHouseMuseum
