Activity Thursdays

A truly brilliant day out for children of all ages. Our museum volunteers bring history to life with demonstrations, crafts and fun activities.

There are also our usual Step Back Together family activities around the museum.

Try your hand as a farm worker, help with the washing 'Victorian style', play with vintage toys, have a terrifying lesson in the school room… With so many hands-on activities, children will be kept amused all day.

Activities vary on different days; however, here is a taste of what you might discover:

• Learn to make rope from hay
• Use a yoke to carry buckets
• Make your own rocket
• Play on stilts, ride a hobby horse or troll a hoop
• Explore the giant dolls house
• Try green wood turning with the bodger
• Use a water pump, dolly and mangle in the Victorian laundry
• Tile a roof
• Meet a Victorian school teacher
• Use a slate to do your sums
• Learn to track wildlife
• Try out a vintage scooter
  
  
  

The Rural Life Centre is brimming with artifacts cleverly displayed in their original settings. Over 150 years of village life, farming and rural industry are represented. We cannot detail every aspect of the museum, however we have chosen a taste of what you might discover on your visit, and given some extra information if you would like to know more.

Find out more during your museum visit by scanning our QR codes with your mobile or tablet. This will give you access to insteresting images and additional facts about the exhibits.

Annual Passes:
For all admissions, Annual Passes are available. These are economical for anyone visiting several times in a year. It is normally possible to obtain a refund for normal entry tickets bought at the time of purchasing annual passes. For 2017, annual prices are:

	Village Life Find out about the unusual buildings relocated and restored in the Museum grounds.		Domestic Scene From the Victoria laundry to the post-war pre-fab there was always work to do on the home front.
	Farming Past The Farmers tools. Hops and Picking, Thatching and Harvest, Shepherd's hut.		Smiths and Wrights Discover the history of our rural industries - visit the Wheelwrights Shop, the Wealden Iron Furnace and the Old Forge.
	Wartime  Find out how rural life changed during the two world wars.		Forestry A fine collection of the tools used by the forester - from billhooks and saws to tractors and sawmills.
	Tweedsmuir Polish Camp A permenant exhibition exploring the post-war lives of displaced Polish families.		The Old Kiln Light Railway  Operated by a group of volunteers. The line is in operation on Sundays and bank holidays, in the main season.
	Behind the Scenes Find out about the latest exhibits the volunteers are working on.