Every week over the summer holidays, we took part in the Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF) in local community centres and schools. The Explainers ran coding workshops, enabling our young visitors to programme their own Battle Buggy and test how it fared against obstacles and other buggies. Each time, these workshops generated lots of excitement and even repeat visits from the keenest little engineers—programming has never been such an engaging sport to watch.
This year, we participated in the Summer Reading Challenge programme for the second time, bringing our handling collections to libraries across Bradford. Following the theme of Marvellous Makers, we presented visitors with inventors and inventions to get inspired by in a series of hands-on workshops. From accessible gaming technology to a 100-year-old magic lantern projector, we chose objects and stories which use sound and vision technology and showcase local achievement.
Each Monday, we ran all-day activities at Grass Hoppers, a children’s play area at Tong Garden Centre. Families with children of all ages got hands-on making and launching paper rockets, and gathered to watch the Elephant’s Toothpaste science demo. This was an exciting opportunity for us to engage new audiences and have some great conversations about the museum’s offer during the temporary closure, as well as our reopening plans.
On occasion, we ventured further into Bradford District, taking part in the Shipley Summer Special carnival, a one-day festival in multiple venues across Shipley. Festival-goers created optical illusion toys and enjoyed a variety of quick demos exploring the science of sound.
In early August, we celebrated Bradford Pride for the third year in a row, bringing an array of activities for all ages to City Park. There was a chromatography activity inviting visitors to make their own flags, and objects from the handling collections and library which represent the LGBTQIA+ community in the museum.
Towards the end of the holidays, we partnered up with Shipley Glen Tramway, whose brilliant team opened the tramway mid-week for a special event with us. It was attended by families from all over Bradford District, who enjoyed getting messy and creating their own ‘mouse-tronauts’ to send off into space. The event provided a great opportunity to engage with diverse audiences, and start an exciting new friendship with a local heritage venue.
This year’s summer programme has been an immense success, with record levels of engagement across the diverse programme of events and activities. We welcomed visitors who haven’t engaged with our off-site offer until the past few weeks, as well as those who have been our regulars throughout the temporary closure period. It was an exciting time to explore new ventures and partnerships, as well as strengthen existing relationships with Bradford organisations and venues.