What’s On

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Culture in the Countryside Event Feb 13th–21st

(Family Event for Half Term)

Stowmarket Free Day Sun 21st March

(Engine in Steam)

Easter Fun Day & Easter Egg Hunt Sun 4th April
Engine in Steam Sun 11th April
May Day Celebrations Mon 3rd May
Engine in Steam Sun 9th May
Happy MEAL 23  May Sunday – Embrace / Good life
London Sinfonietta – Surf and Turf Concert Sun 30th May
(in association with Mid-Suffolk District Council)
Victorian Fun and Games Day Wed 2nd June
Engine in Steam Sun 13th June
Crucial Crew 14th–25th June
14th Festival of Beer & Brewing Thurs 1st–Sun 4th July

(in association with CAMRA)

Engine in Steam Sun 4th July
Gypsy Arts Festival 9-10th July

(in association with Hungry Arts)

www.gypsyartsfestival.com

Summer Holiday Activities see details below
Steam & Crafts Weekend Sat 14th–Sun 15th August
Traditional Music Day Sat 4th September

(in association with the East Anglian Traditional Music Trust)

Engine in Steam Sun 19th September
Engine in Steam Sun 10th October
Big Read & Big Draw in the Big Barn Thurs 28th October
Bonfire Night CelebrationsEngine in Steam (evening only) Sat 6th November

Events

Beer Festival 2010

The Museum of East Anglian Life in association with CAMRA – the Campaign for Real Ale, kicks off its 14th Beer Festival on Thursday 1st July. The event which runs through to the Sunday afternoon of 4th July is perhaps the Museums most celebrated annual event. Visitors will have the chance to sample up to 60 East Anglian real ales and a number of ciders. The festival takes place in the beautiful setting of the museum’s 14th century Abbots Hall barn.

Read more about Beer Festival 2010

Steam and Crafts Weekend

On the weekend of the 14th & 15th August 2010 the Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket will be holding its fourth annual Steam & Traditional Crafts Weekend.

Visitors to the museum will be able to talk to the craftspeople and steam engine owners whilst they demonstrate their crafts and engines. There will even be a chance to make your own poster on the museums original 1870 Colombia printing press.

Read more about Steam and Crafts Weekend

Feb Half Term Children FREE

Come along to the Museum of East Anglian Life and have a go at handling museum objects this half-term!

The Museum of East Anglian Life with the Sainsbury Centre, Norwich will be holding the Culture of the Countryside event on Wednesday 17th February 2010 at the Museum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket. The event is a half-term family object handling day where visitors will be able to handle objects from around the world.

Read more about Feb Half Term Children FREE

A new season at the Museum of East Anglian Life

The Museum of East Anglian Life opens its doors for the 2010 season on Sunday 21st March with its traditional free Stowmarket Day. It provides the opportunity for visitors to see what’s new around the museum and take advantage of a 25% discount on the normal price of a museum season ticket. Visitors will see historic traction engines in steam, demonstrations of 19th century printing, the working Alton water mill and children’s activities such as badge making and face painting.

Read more about A new season at the Museum of East Anglian Life

Easter Fun Day Sunday 4th April

Solve the clues and find the famous rabbits on the Easter Egg Hunt.

Become the Easter Bunny! Make bunny ears and have your face painted to become the Easter Bunny.

Design your own Easter Egg

Fete games: stick and hoops, splat the rat, welly throwing and more will be taking place on our top field

Read more about Easter Fun Day Sunday 4th April

May Day on Bank Holiday Monday May 3rd

The Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket is searching for a May Queen to be crowned at the Museum’s May Day Celebrations on the 3rd May 2010.

Read more about May Day on Bank Holiday Monday May 3rd

Happy MEAL Event 23rd May

The Museum of East Anglian Life (MEAL) will be holding a FREE event called Happy MEAL on the 23rd May 2010. Come along and find out how you can make your life a ‘Happy life’!

Come and sample local produce, watch or join in with some fun and interesting demonstrations and find out about your local organisations. BBC Radio Suffolk will be here all day with their radio car. Learn about local sports groups, have a go at belly dancing with Bellycise, see demonstrations of dog agility and much, much more!

Read more about Happy MEAL Event 23rd May

Victorian Fun and Games Day

Have you ever wondered what children did before the invention of the play station? What were toys like before plastic? What did people do in the evenings before TV? Come along to the Museum of East Anglian Life for our Victorian Fun and Games Day and find out!

Read more about Victorian Fun and Games Day

Surf and Turf – London Sinfonietta perform at MEAL

You can join Britain’s most renowned contemporary chamber orchestra, the London Sinfonietta, to celebrate new music and poetry inspired by the Museum of East Anglian Life and Suffolk’s changing landscapes, traditions and memories. Concerts feature local Mid Suffolk schools, poet Dean Parkin as well as the Sinfonietta.

Read more about Surf and Turf – London Sinfonietta perform at MEAL

Gypsy Arts Festival 2010 @ MEAL

Friday 9 July -Bari Radt / Big Night

Saturday 10 July - Gypsy World Music Concert

Read more about Gypsy Arts Festival 2010 @ MEAL

Activities

Childrens Holiday Activities for 2010

Children’s Holiday Activities for 2010

Family activities are available at all our events – check out our events page for more information

17th February 2010 Culture of the Countryside. Fun family event for half term – have a go at handling real Museum objects, hear some local stories and join in with craft activities.

Open to all – children free with a paying adult all half term!

4th April 2010    Family Fun Day and Easter Egg Hunt – Have a go at the Easter Egg Hunt, make a May Garland and see Jack-in-the-green, the Lord and Lady or May and the May Queen at the May Day Parade.

Open to all, normal admission applies.

13th April 2010   Mad Museum Inventors! – Use the museum collection for inspiration to invent your own mad farming machine using lots of old junk. Add to the giant grass art on the top field. 10am – 2.30pm.

No need to book. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Normal admission applies & a small extra cost for the activity of £2 per family.

2nd June 2010    Victorian Fun and Games Day – find out what children did for fun before the Playstation. Have a go at decoupage, croquet, hoops and sticks and much more!

Open to all, normal admission applies.

Summer HolidaysActivity Days – There will be fun activities for the whole family at the Museum every Wednesday, Friday and weekend throughout the summer holidays! Including pond-dipping, baking bread, making bird feeders, exciting activity trails and packs and much more!

Open to all. Normal admission applies with a small extra charge for the activities of £1 - £2 per family.

29th October 2010 Big Read and Big Draw in the Big Barn – Fun art activities, storytelling and more based on the book ‘Flat Stanley’ by Jeff Brown. Find out what happens to Stanley Lambchop after he is squashed by a bulletin board, help him catch the Museum burglars and make your own flat Stanley!

Watercolour Course in January 2010

Watercolour Course
please click above for poster

Watercolour Course at the Museum of East Anglian Life

Every Saturday for 10 weeks 11am-1pm
£95 for course
Begins Saturday 23rd January 2010

Interested?

Our tutor is Jim Kemp, a local talented artist and occupational therapy Instructor who uses art as a therapy treatment for people with mental illness. He also holds beginners workshops and arranges occasional art exhibitions. Jim has been painting since the 1960's and uses several mediums but his speciality is in watercolour. He is particularly interested in encouraging beginners to explore the wonderful world of watercolour.

If you would like to know more about this course or any other courses in the future please contact Patsy Cane on

enquiries@eastanglianlife.org.uk or
01449 612229

Watercolour Courses Level 1 and 2

Due to a very successful first course we will be running more Water Colour Courses.

We will be running again a level 1 for beginners which will start on the 22nd May 2010 from 2pm until 4pm every Saturday as a 10 week programme.

We will also be running a level 2 course; this is for people who have completed the level 1 or have previous water colour experience, also a 10 week programme starting on Saturday 22nd May 2010 from 11am until 1pm.

Some of the comments from the previous leisure course:-

...We received an excellent introduction to a wide range of topics

...Perfect for our needs

...I had a fantastic time and developed my skills incredibly

If you would like further details of courses that will be run at the Museum please contact Patsy Cane at the above phone number or email address.

Victorian Fun and Games Day

Have you ever wondered what children did before the invention of the play station? What were toys like before plastic? What did people do in the evenings before TV? Come along to the Museum of East Anglian Life for our Victorian Fun and Games Day and find out!

Step back in time this half term and join in with some traditional games such as croquet, cricket and the potato race. Have a go at Ludo, Snakes and Ladders and Draughts and try out some Victorian toys such as the hoop and stick. We will also be making ‘East Anglian’ paper dolls and discovering the art of decoupage.

Jo Rooks, Museum Learning Officer says “Families can come along and try out games that are still as fun today as they were 150 years ago. The Victorian Fun and Games Day is a hands on event for all the family”.

The museum also has a brand new exhibition in the Gt. Moulton Chapel, Happy Days, created by Lavenham Primary School that explores what made Victorian children happy and what makes children happy today.

The museum is set in over 70 acres of beautiful Suffolk countryside with a number of historic buildings, a nature trail and farm animals. Why not bring a picnic and make a day of it!

Enquiries to:     jo.rooks@eastanglianlife.org.uk or Tel: 01449 612229