Category Archives: Events

Events

Holocaust Memorial Day 2021

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This Image is courtesy of the Fox Family

Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) takes place each year on 27 January. We remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of other people killed under Nazi Persecution and in genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

The museum will be hosting a special exhibition The Boys: Holocaust Survivors in the Epping Forest District from 8 May to 4 September 2021.  This will tell the incredible story of the young Holocaust survivors, young men between the ages of 16 and 21, who came to stay at Holmehurst, a house on the borders of Buckhurst Hill and Loughton from December 1945 to January 1947 as part of their recovery.  We think up to 30 young men came to Holmehurst, and they became known as the Loughton Boys. 

The Loughton boys were part of the first group of around 300 young survivors who were brought to Britain after the war.  A total of 715 children eventually came to Britain.  They are collectively known as ‘The Boys’ as, despite the mix of genders and ages in the group, the majority were teenage boys.

You can find out more about them and their incredible personal stories of recovery in the new education resource packs available on our website, which include profiles of each boy.

HMD is for everyone. Each year across the UK, thousands of people come together to learn more about the past and take action to create a safer future. We know they learn more, empathise more and do more.

If you would like to take part in Holocaust Memorial Day, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s website has suggested activities you can do at home to mark the day.

The Holocaust threatened the fabric of civilisation, and genocide must still be resisted every day. Our world often feels fragile and vulnerable and we cannot be complacent. Even in the UK, prejudice and the language of hatred must be challenged by us all.

Where’s Wally? Spooky Museum Search – find Wally in Epping Forest District Museum!

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Where’s Wally? Spooky Museum Search – find Wally in Epping Forest District Museum!

This Halloween, Wally, the world’s favourite children’s book character – wearing a red-and-white striped shirt and black-rimmed specs – will be travelling the country, appearing in museums, including Epping Forest District Museum in Waltham Abbey. Families will be able to join the search for Wally at Epping Forest District Museum as part of the Where’s Wally? Spooky Museum Search, organised by Walker Books and Kids in Museums, to celebrate the release of the new book, Where’s Wally? Spooky Spotlight Search.

Over 75 museums around the UK have signed up to run the promotion,which is perfectly timed for Halloween. The activity will run in participating museums from 9th October – 1st November 2020 and will be tailored within each museum to comply with their social distancing measures. Additional online activities will be available for those families choosing not to visit museums in person.

Families will be able to visit their local participating museum to hunt for Wally amongst their collections, as well as spell out a spooky phrase with letters hidden alongside mini Wally standees, and receive a special “I found Wally!” bookmark on completion of the search, as well as the chance to enter the Where’s Wally? and Kids in Museums grand prize draw competition to win an ArtFund Family Membership and a bundle of Where’s Wally? goodies.

Walker will provide participating museums with an array of supporting print and digital materials including mini standees, activity sheets, posters, bookmarks, pin badges for staff and social media assets.

Alison Bowyer, Executive Director of Kids in Museums, said:

“We’re thrilled to be working with Walker Books again this year. The last few months have been a challenging time for the heritage sector so we are pleased to support even more museums to hold a fun and safe activity this October. We hope to encourage families back into heritage sites and help them enjoy all the rich experiences on offer.”

For more information on the Where’s Wally? Spooky Museum Search at Epping Forest District Museum, call 01992 716882 or email museum@eppingforestdc.gov.uk

For fun online activities, visit https://wally.walker.co.uk/

Download your activity pack here too:

Where’s Wally Activity Pack Download

Family Craft Activity Packs

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We are sorry we can’t run our family activities at the museum this summer. 

We hope you will enjoy getting creative at home with our activity packs.

There will be a simple template, plus a few craft materials to get you started then see what else you can find at home to finish your craft.

We would love to see what you’ve done – share your photos on the museum’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/efdmuseum/

There will be a different pack available to buy at the museum each week but we will have all the packs available to pick up anytime.

Price just £1 per pack.

Week 1: Saturday 1 to Friday 7 August

  • Make a mini mammoth

Week 2: Saturday 8 to Friday 14 August

  • Roman mosaic

Week 3: Saturday 15 to Friday 21 August

  • Anglo Saxon Helmet

Week 4: Saturday 22 to Friday 28 August

  • Tudor Shield

Week 5: Saturday 29 to Friday 4 September

  • Spiral Snake

Art and craft activities

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Week 4 – Make a Mark Activity

Mark makingResources you’ll need

  • sheet of paper folded into quarters
  • colouring pens or pencils

 

 

 

 

This week’s family fun art activity also comes from Leanne and the Art Resource boxes.  This time, all you need to do is take a sheet of a paper and fold it into quarters.  Unfold it again, then in one box draw circles, in another draw wavy lines, in a third draw a spiral then in the fourth try a scribble.  Add colour to the spaces you’ve created with your lines.  The artist Paul Klee talked about drawing as being like taking a line for a walk – this activity is a great way to practice this!

Easter Egg Hunt Ideas to try at home

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Alternative Easter Egg Hunt ideas

We are sorry not to be welcoming you to the museum for our annual Easter Egg Hunt.  However, we thought we’d share some alternative chocolate-free ways of doing Egg Hunts that we enjoy.

Easter Trail sheetHave a go at our Easter Egg Letter Hunt – there are 9 eggs, each with a different letter on them.  Cut out the letter clues and hide them in different places, or if you haven’t got a printer just cut egg shapes out of paper or card and write letters on them.

The challenge is to find the letters around your home and garden and rearrange the letters to see what word it makes!

There’s some blank eggs so you can have a go at making up your own trail based on different words.

Download the trail sheet here: Alternative Easter Egg Hunt Letters and Blanks

Download the answer sheet here: Alternative Easter Egg Hunt Trail Sheet

Easter Scavenger Hunt Objects

Another fun thing to try is an Easter scavenger hunt – this really gets your brain working!  Think of a word that suits this time of year – it could be anything like bunny, spring, daffodil etc.  Then try and find things in your house that begin with each letter of that word.  I’ve had a go with Easter and managed to find …

Egg, Apple, Snake, Triceratops, Envelope, Rock

Don’t forget to share a photo of your word and objects – we love to see how creative you can be.

Have fun, and Happy Easter.

Art and Craft Activities

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Week 2 Family Art and Craft – Easter Bunny!

Easter Bunny Mask Example photo with ears and handle

We are sorry not to see you all at the museum for our Easter Family Fun activities.  We thought you might be missing the museum as much as we are so why not have a go at the Easter Activity at home?

If you would like to have a go at one of the activities at home, here’s the Easter Bunny Mask Template 1 for our Easter Bunny Mask – it’s simple and fun to make at home.

 

 

 

Resources you’ll need

  • sheet of paper or card
  • printer (if not you can draw out the template
  • glue
  • cotton wool and any other materials to make your bunny as fun as possible.
  • string or strip of card

All you need is a sheet of paper or card.  You can print the template off, colour it in and cut it out.  If you don’t have a printer just have a go at drawing it yourself – you can even fold the paper in half lengthways so you just draw half the bunny face, then cut it out while still folded to give you the whole mask!

If you have glue you could add cotton wool and any other materials to make your bunny as fun as possible.  Just tie on some string or staple a strip of card from a cereal box on the side to make a handle to hold the mask in front of your face!  Happy Easter!!

Takeover Day 2019

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On Wednesday 20 November, year 8 students from King Harold Business & Enterprise Academy, took over the running of the museum as part of Takeover Day.

Visitors took part in a tour, activities and a trail all devised and led by the students, and were in charge of our Twitter and Facebook accounts for the day.

Three students were even interviewed live on BBC Essex radio – something they only found out about an hour before going on air.

Lilly live on air with Richard Smith from BBC Essex

The 10 pupils worked with staff, in a series of preparations days, to learn more about the day to day running of the museum; they were given a behind the scenes tour, handled objects from the collections, created posters and content for their tours.

Climate change

They themed their take over around climate change, linking it to the current Ice Age exhibition; this period was a natural form of climate change, comparing it to now as more manmade through global warming.

One gallery had been declared a ‘no go zone’ to represent how, through climate change, parts of the world will disappear and be submerged in the oceans. Another gallery was filled with one week’s worth of rubbish to show how much waste each household has and to encourage visitors to recycle as much as they can.

Jack, Rhiannon, Rhianna and Archie with Woolly and a small forest of handmade trees

One activity the year 8s run was to make little trees from cork, a cocktail stick, beads and ripped paper. Each tree represented a real endangered tree and was given a label with details of where the tree currently survives and why it is under threat of extinction. This small forest of trees will be on display until the beginning of December.

A word from the students

We asked the pupils what they did as part of Takeover Day, what they enjoyed and what they learnt that surprised them about working in a museum – here are their answers:

Mark: I did the tours [and enjoyed] all of it.

Rhianna: I was posting on social media updating Twitter and Facebook for the public and update our #takeoverday . I enjoyed making captions and doing the social media.

Mark and Dmithry giving their tour to the headteacher and deputy head of King Harold Academy

Obinna: I did a tour, [and enjoyed] doing tours and being on the radio.

Dmithry: I did the tours with Mark, [enjoyed] all of it and [learnt that working in a museum] is really fun.

Joni: I took part in the tree activity. I enjoyed making trees and helping others make them. I was surprised that I was going to be on the radio.

Louie: I advertised outside, I had a go at a tour, I spoke to the chairman and helped people make trees. [I enjoyed] speaking to the chairman 1 on 1 (I found that really exciting). I’m quite good at advertising and drawing people in.

Lilly: We learnt about climate change and we done tour and other jobs that people who work here do. [I enjoyed] everything. I learnt a lot about climate change and how people work in the museum.

Rhiannon: I was posting on social media updating Twitter and Facebook about our takeover day. I enjoyed making the different captions for our tweets and taking the pictures, I also enjoyed spotting our woolly mammoth. I learnt how much work, effort and time goes into the takeover day.

Archie: I made trees, helped with snakes and ladders and made a poster. [I enjoyed] making trees. [I learnt working in a museum] is easy.

  • Epping Forest District Museum – Take Over Day 2019
  • Epping Forest District Museum – Take Over Day 2019
  • Epping Forest District Museum – Take Over Day 2019
  • Epping Forest District Museum – Take Over Day 2019
  • Epping Forest District Museum – Take Over Day 2019

Takeover Day

Takeover Day is a national celebration (created by Kids in Museums) of young people’s contributions to museums, galleries, arts organisations, archives and heritage sites. It’s a day on which they work alongside staff and volunteers to participate in the life of the organisation or venue.

To find more, visit https://kidsinmuseums.org.uk/takeoverday/

Singing in the Wilderness

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Swinging in the wilderness poster

 
Where: St John’s C of E Primary School, High Road, Buckhurst Hill, IG9 5RX

When: Saturday 29 September

Time: 3pm – 7pm

Price: Free (some activities may be charged for; all money raised will go to the school)

Everyone welcome

 

 

 

Epping Forest District Council’s Museums, Heritage and Culture team and St John’s C of E Primary School, Buckhurst Hill are hosting an event to celebrate the life and work of local artist Walter Spradbery.

IMG_1022 Open Air SocialIn 1938, Spradbery and his wife Dorothy held an ‘Open Air Social’ with stalls, sideshows, donkey rides, traditional dances and art displays. This will be recreation of that event on its 80th anniversary.

There will be a specially choreographed dance performance by Flux Dance Collective who has been working with pupils from the school to create a piece inspired by Spradbery. A historical interpreter will play the role of Walter Spradbery, leading tours into the wilderness to visit the site where the house once stood. The day will end with a fun performance by Impropera, the world’s only improvised Opera Company. Buckhurst Hill Community Association will have an art display, and there will be a small exhibition about Walter Spradbery.

1997-240

The Wilderness

 

He lived next door to St John’s C of E Primary School, in a house known as ‘The Wilderness’ from 1929 – 1969. The site is now part of Epping Forest and a stone plaque marks where the house once stood.

 

 

spradbery-events-flyer-front.jpg

This event is part of a programme of activities for the ‘Walter Spradbery, Artist in War and Peace’ exhibition, at Epping Forest District Museum, Waltham Abbey; on display from Saturday 21 July to Saturday 22 December 2018. For more information visit http://www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/museum

 
Walter Spradbery
Spradbery is best known for his poster designs for London Transport, one of which was recently used on the new signboards marking the boundaries of Epping Forest. He and his wife, opera singer Dorothy D’Orsay, also held many musical and opera performances in the gardens of ‘The Wilderness’ for the local community.
Spradbery was also a committed pacifist. He served in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the First World War, receiving the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his bravery in rescuing injured comrades under intense enemy fire.

Adult art workshops at Epping Forest District Museum

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Adult art workshops at Epping Forest District Museum.

For the first time Epping Forest District Museum is offering art workshops for adults, led by professional artists this September, as part of the Paths Unseen project.

Poetry workshopPaths unseen capturing a moment in poetry 2017

In this adult workshop you will create beautiful and powerful written works of art that will capture your thoughts, feelings and memories using poetry techniques with performance poet Keely Mills. You will also get a chance to develop written, performance and craft skills.

Where: Epping Forest District Museum, 39 – 41 Sun Street, Waltham Abbey, EN9 1EL

When: Saturday 23 September 2017

Time: 10:30am – 3pm

Price: £20 (includes materials)

Booking required

 

Paths unseen illustrate a moment 2017.jpgIllustration workshop

Lead by illustrator Jef Winter, in this adult workshop you will discover the fun of drawing and learn how to draw faces using just numbers to create different emotions, break down barriers of what illustration is and how ‘happy accidents’ can make works of art.

Where: Epping Forest District Museum, 39 – 41 Sun Street, Waltham Abbey, EN9 1EL

When: Saturday 30 September 2017

Time: 10:30am – 1pm

Price: £15 (includes materials)

Booking required

 

3AAC Low res web posterThree Acres and a Cow

Connecting the Norman Conquest and Peasants’ Revolt with fracking and our housing crisis via the Enclosures and Industrial Revolution, the show draws a compelling narrative through the people’s history of Britain. Part talk, part folk club sing-a-long; come and share these tales as they have been shared for generations.

 

Where: Lopping Hall, 189 High Road, Loughton, IG10 4LN

When: Saturday 21 October 2017

Time: 6pm (meal)

7pm (performance starts)

Price: £5 (£9 with a meal)

Booking required

 

Booking information

To book your place visit https://eppingforestdc.bookinglive.com/ or call 01992 564226 (Monday – Friday 10am – 4pm).

 

Paths Unseen project

Paths Unseen shows how poetry can be a shared sociable activity. Over the past 18 months performance poet Keely Mills and illustrator Jef Winter have engaged with many individuals and groups from across the local community enabling them to write, tell their own stories and share their work in their own voices.

Inspiration has also come from local folklore, encouraging museum audiences to consider art as a medium for rediscovering local history.

The exhibition is at Epping Forest District Museum until 30 September 2017.

Paths Unseen project has been funded by Arts Council England.