Penguins and Polar bears!

Although we’ve been a little quiet on the blog front, we have been working away behind the scenes here at Creative Learning HQ getting ready for a brand new exhibition we know you’re going to love!!!

This weekend the museums new temporary winter exhibition ‘Among The Polar Ice’ brings together two major series of artworks by leading Scottish artists Frances Walker and James Morrison. The exhibition features the extreme landscapes of the Polar Regions at a time when melting ice and rising sea levels are making world headlines. The spectacular paintings offer a visual record of these fragile areas and raise awareness of global warming.

You will notice our ‘Family Space’ may appear a little icier than usual … the penguins have escaped from an original Frances Walker print and made it feel a little more like home! Wrap up warm with our ‘Polar Dress Up’ corner and prepare for your own expedition to see how many penguins you can find! We also have an exciting new range of books for you to enjoy, and lots of other creative activities to keep your little polar explorers busy!

 

Our Exhibition ‘Among the polar ice’ in the Here & Now Gallery, opens on Saturday 7th September. Play and learn in the Museum’s Family Space. Drop in each day to try out our fun creative activities, themed costumes, books and games  The Family space is open daily 10am until 5pm and returns this weekend.

 

Christmas at McManus!

We are well and truly getting into the spirit of Christmas here at Creative Learning HQ! We’ve popped on our Santa hats and we have decorated our Family Space to make sure Christmas at McManus on Saturday the 8th of December is jam packed with festive cheer and creative, Christmas activities for you and your family to enjoy!

Christmas at McManus gets underway from 12pm this Saturday and you can look forward to drop-in Christmas crafts from 12 to 4pm across the museum and our resident community choir Loadsaweeminsingin’ will be spreading Christmas joy as they sing a selection of beautiful Christmas Carols in our Gothic Hall from 1 to 1:30pm!

For little ones and their grown ups, we have a special series of interactive Christmas stories including The Dundee Star, Santa’s Lost His Presents and The Christmas Donkey. We have plenty of opportunities for the kids to get involved and join in with our magical storytellers and sessions are at 12:30 to 1pm; 1:30 to 2pm and 2:30 to 3pm in our Victoria Gallery.

Our Family Space will also be filled with art materials and will open all day. Get your sleigh bells and Christmas jumpers at the ready and join us to celebrate Christmas at McManus!

Family Fun!

Over the last two weeks, we have been reflecting on our Beano-tastic Summer Skool programme here at Creative Learning HQ. On the 2nd of August we celebrated the close of the project with our amazing Bash Street Summer Skool participants, their families and our fabulous tutors. Our Summer Skool departments shared their work with their family and friends and got to see all of the great work that was created at their very own Celebratory reception!

The Big Bash Summer Skool sharing celebration.

The Big Bash Summer Skool sharing celebration.

After a fabulous summer of Bash Street and celebrating the Beano’s 80th Birthday, here’s some information on our regular family events and activities that you can take part in at the museum. Our Family Space is open daily during regular opening hours for dress up, worksheets and reading materials. Discover your inner Dennis the Menace in our Beano-fied Family Space and celebrate all things Bash Street until the 21st of October!

As well as our Family Space, we have a range of creative learning sessions for our younger visitors and their families.

Join the Creative Learning Team for Navigate Create on Saturday the 18th of August 2:00-3:15pm as we journey through the Museum’s collections and exhibitions. These fun, interactive sessions are designed especially for families to explore and create together, through gallery tours and hands-on activities. Suitable for children under 12 years and their families. FREE. Booking essential, please call our reception on (01382) 307200.

We also have our next ‘A Day to Play’ session on the 19th of August at 2:00 – 3:15pm, led by Dundee-based dance company Shaper/Caper. Spend a magical afternoon with Shaper/Caper in the Museum’s Creative Learning Studio. With a different theme each month, these interactive workshops feature song, dress-up, dance and play and are led by professional dancers and award-winning choreographer, Thomas Small. Perfect for children of all ages and their grown-ups!

For further information and to book, visit http://www.shapercaper.com/!

Fun Facts and Smashing Selfies!

We have lots to see and do here at the museum, with 8 galleries full of amazing objects from our collection. Our Family Space is the room to head to once you’re ready to be creative after finding out about Dundee’s history and our fantastic artworks and collection.

The Family Space is located on the 1st floor, opposite our Creative Learning Studio. Here you’ll find our Art Cart, gallery worksheets, paper, clipboards, art supplies, dressing up clothes and a great range of children’s books to inspire you to get creative! The space is relaxing, exciting and fun and helps to link our youngest gallery visitors with our collection and exhibition programmes. We even have the occasional museum object on display for you to learn about!

We come in quite often, the dress up clothes are always a big hit!

[It’s] good to have a space where kids can express themselves, draw and make some noise!

We sometimes use the space for Creative Learning sessions, such as with our Youth Action Group, for dance and pop-up theatre rehearsals and as a temporary exhibition space for work made through our learning programmes. There is always something new to see and do in the space!

Art materials and templates.

Our Family Space

The space theme changes regularly in line with our programme; at the moment pop in and meet Percy the Penguin and celebrate Dundee’s upcoming Penguin Parade by designing your own penguin!

Stay tuned for our upcoming Bash Street exhibition this summer where you will be able drop into our Beano-fied Family Space!

…and don’t forget, all the children’s books you can read in the Family Space are available to take home from our museum shop!