Institutions across Wales take part in Welsh Museums Festival

Museums across Wales are putting on special events and activities as part of the annual Welsh Museums Festival, which runs from 26 October to 3 November this year.

The weeklong celebration is organised by Museums Federation Cymru with funding provided by the Welsh Government.

It celebrates its 10^th anniversary this year, having first launched to coincide with the Museums Association’s 2014 annual conference in Cardiff.

Twenty-one museums are running individual events including: a Dragon’s Cave installation at Rhayader, Halloween Horror trials at Greenfield Valley near Holywell, a Halloween-themed light and shadow play event at Glynn Vivian in Swansea, and spooky crafts linked to the history of Halloween at Cyfarthfa in Merthyr Tydfil.

Visitors can also take part in a Museum Passport Challenge where children can get a stamp at participating museums. If they visit one museum in half term, they can enter a prize draw to win a den making kit. If they visit six museums by April, they are entered into a prize to win a micro scooter.

The minister for culture, Jack Sargeant, visited Rhondda Heritage Park last week to take a look at this year’s passports and to check out the Park’s new digital Black Gold exhibition.

He said: “This fantastic festival is such a great opportunity to see how Welsh Government funding, with intrinsic support from the Museums Federation Cymru, can make a real impact on visitors’ experiences to our nation’s beloved museums.

“We are keen to highlight the contributions museums make across Welsh communities, and with so many taking part in this year’s festival it’s a real chance for people to visit their local museum and have fun this half term.  

“With such a variety of events and activities planned, there’s sure to be something for everyone to enjoy.”

Jane Henderson, board member of the Museums Federation Wales, said: “The Welsh Museums Festival is a wonderful example of the relevance of our heritage as a focus for family fun, lifelong learning and social wellbeing.

“We are delighted that the Welsh Government has invested in Welsh museums and their communities and look forward to welcoming everyone to our exciting week of events. We hope our visitors take up our bilingual passport challenge and are inspired to take part in free events across warm and welcoming spaces during half-term and well into the future.”

As part of the Welsh Government’s Transformation Capital Grant, Rhondda Heritage Park was awarded over £130,000 last year to bring its exhibition on the history of the Coal Society of the South Wales Valleys to life in five languages, including British Sign Language.

The exhibition consists of more than 140 artefacts on display as well as interactive digital touch screens on which visitors can explore oral history, news clips, timelines, maps and digitised artefacts.