Come and hear a feast of seasonal stories from near and far. Dwell for a while in the magic and the wonder of this celebrated time of year.

Suitable for adults as well as for children aged 7+ … come with family, or come on your own, relax and enjoy.

Free, but booking recommended (only 25 spaces).

Book online, call 01453 763394 or ask at the Front Desk.

Join Stroud Valleys Project and the Museum team for an afternoon of fun, festive activities. SVP can take you on a winter flower hunt, help you make a willow star (this is a bookable event), or decorate a jam jar lantern in the Walled Garden Pavilion. Join museum staff in Gallery Two and make Christmas cards and gift tags, paper stars and tree decorations (drop in between 1pm and 5pm).

There are activities to enjoy throughout the afternoon, including storytelling at 3pm (booking required), our special festive museum explorer trail, and out in the park music at the bandstand and mini railway rides.

It’s the last day of the fantastical ‘Twisted Tales’ exhibition and Miss Daisy will be selling soup, hot mulled apple juice and sweet and savoury treats. It’s also our last day open of the year - we hope you can join us.

Museum open until 5pm. We’ll close with a short Carol Singing sing-along session outside the Museum at 5pm - bring warm coats and a torch, song sheets will be provided.

10% off in the shop to help you get your Christmas shopping sorted.

Ever wondered where our Christmas traditions come from? Or how people celebrated Christmas in the past? Join folklorist, storyteller and writer Kirsty Hartsiotis in a hunt for Britain's quirkiest Christmas traditions, and discover the secrets of some of the things we take for granted at Christmastide. From hunting the wren to kissing under the mistletoe, and from eating a mince pie a day to ensuring the house was clean to keep out the fairies, find out about the Christmas season from Advent to Candlemas – and discover some of our Christmas traditions in the Cotswolds from midwinter fires to wassailing, and those mummer’s plays of course – In Comes I!

Tickets £7 (£5 Museum in the Park Members & Concs)

Tea, coffee & mince pies included

Booking required - book online or call 01453 763394

Drop in and have a go at crochet, or bring your own sewing, mending or craft project, meet other people and enjoy spending time at the Museum. Our warm and friendly textile tutor Sue McNamara will be here to welcome you and offer tips and advice, if needed. A gentle, free, drop in session in our downstairs meeting room (‘Gallery Two’). Teas and coffees available to buy from our coffee shop dresser (we have a new loyalty card too, please ask for one!)

Everyone welcome, we look forward to seeing you.

As we journey through Advent and mid-Winter approaches, come and hear a feast of seasonal stories from near and far. Dwell for a while in the magic and the wonder of this celebrated time of year.

Suitable for adults as well as for children aged 7+ … come with family, or come on your own, relax and enjoy.

Free, but booking recommended.

Book online, call 01453 763394 or ask at the Front Desk.

Join talented sculptor Jim Pilston for a one day workshop learning how to make paper mache clay, how to design, build, mix and  apply the clay and how to decorate and finish a magical, folklore inspired mask.  

Participants can bring their own ideas and plans for a wall mask, or create one from a template that will be provided.

Jim has been working in the arts for many years after initially studying prop and costume making. He has worked as a theatre practitioner, a community artist and an illustrator. His collaborative exhibition with Hannah Dyson shows at the Museum’s art gallery until 15 December - not to be missed!

All materials and tea and coffee included but please bring a packed lunch. For adults and ages 18+.

Cost: £75 (£70 concs / Museum in the Park Member)

Booking essential. Book online or call 01453 763394.

Come and celebrate the start of the festive winter season! We invite you to come together to sing some traditional carols led by the inspirational choir leader Eleanor Holliday, with the talented Robert Kempner at the keyboard. Everyone welcome, come and enjoy singing together in the Garden Pavilion. Song sheets will be available to help you remember the words, warming drinks will be served, free community event but donations welcome.

Santa & Sven are very excited to be bringing their magical Christmas show to The Museum in the Park this December!

I don’t know if you know, but filling the stockings of every child in the world in just one night is a HUMONGOUS undertaking. It requires planning, team work, dedication and - of course - a sprinkling of Christmas magic. These last few years Santa has taken to recce-ing ahead of the big drop to help Christmas Eve run as smoothly as possible. He brings with him Sven the reindeer handler, his excitable and talented Snow Elf.

Together, they’re hoping to shave valuable seconds off their busy Christmas Eve schedule by gathering crucial stocking location and roof landing intel ahead of time. Are you up to the challenge of helping our festive heroes with their quest? Get a peek into their enchanting world, see Sven play with his favourite snow elf circus toys, enjoy a Q&A with Santa and more. They’ll also answer the big questions of the Santa story and show glimpses of their Christmas magic. Come and see why they’ve been selling out venues from Tobacco Factory Theatres to Soho House and beyond! Guaranteed to bring a sense of fun, mischief and anticipation to all.

An interactive family show for ages 3+.

The planting, management and harvesting of Withies was once a significant industry across the whole of Britain and especially in the Severn Vale. This was before the advent of other materials such as cardboard and plastics, a ubiquitous and critically important source of material for all imaginable forms of willow basket-work. After harvesting, Withies were used to make a range of containers for movement and storage of goods of all sorts and a wide variety of other articles used in town and country life. In Gloucestershire it was inexorably linked to the brick-making industry and provided employment of many craftspeople in its own right. The Withy beds themselves provided a habitat for many animals, birds and invertebrates but the industry declined and died out in a very few decades after WW2.

Guest speaker Andrew Bluett is the Museum's Chair of Trustees, a trustee of the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, Membership Secretary & Trustee of the Gloucestershire Naturalists’ Society.

Talk lasts around 45 minutes to one hour, followed by tea and coffee.

Tickets £5. Booking recommended, book online or call 01453 763394

This time with an assortment of yarns and decorative threads, join Sue McNamara to make decorated Christmas trees, a line of tiny baubles or intricate (and easy) individual larger baubles. All materials and crochet hooks provided, or feel free to bring your own. You'll need to have some crochet experience to get the most out of this workshop - if you'd like to learn the basics, look out for our free monthly crochet drop-ins which run through the winter. All materials and tea and coffee included.

Cost: £20 (£15 for Museum Members - Membership is free to join)

Booking essential. Special festive offer: Bring a friend for free!

Book online or call 01453 763394

Come along and meet the Buzz Club in the Garden Pavilion, enjoy hot and cold drinks, find out what our bees are up to, and have a go at candle dipping. All ages welcome - drop in and say hello. You can also find out about Buzz Club Ghana and the fantastic projects they are running. Free, but donations to support Buzz Club Ghana very welcome.

Have you discovered the mysterious hulks on the banks of the River Severn at Purton, which is between Slimbridge and Sharpness? We are delighted to welcome back maritime historian and author Paul Barnett, who has been researching the now-famous Purton Hulks for 25 years. He’ll share his latest discoveries of the Stroud District’s gem of a maritime time capsule. Paul shares his expert knowledge of this fascinating place which contains 86 vessels, a destroyed railway crossing and echoes of a long lost maritime way of life.

Talk lasts around 45 minutes to one hour followed by tea and coffee.
Tickets £5. Booking recommended, book online or call 01453 763394

Photograph by Steve Marshfield 

Discover mysterious, funny and romantic Cotswolds tales - delving into the traditions of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Bath and much more! The Cotswolds spans the west of England from Bath in the south up to Chipping Campden in the north, from Woodstock in the east to Stroud in the west. We’ll be going as far back in time as King Bladud of Bath, explore a medieval love affair at Woodstock, dip into Tudor history in Bisley, be petrified at the Rollrights and discover what the mice were doing in Gloucester – and more! This talk by folklorist and storyteller Kirsty Hartsiotis explores the tales told by the folk in the region - taking in evil queens, greedy kings, flying monks, little folk, big cats and much, much more! Discover what makes the Cotswolds tick!

Tickets £7 (£5 Museum in the Park Members & Concs)

Tea & Coffee included

Booking required - book online or call 01453 763394

Illustration by Katherine Soutar

Drop in and have a go at crochet, or bring your own sewing, mending or craft project, meet other people and enjoy spending time at the Museum. Our warm and friendly textile tutor Sue McNamara will be here to welcome you and offer tips and advice, if needed. A gentle, free, drop in session in our downstairs meeting room (‘Gallery Two’). Teas and coffees available to buy from our coffee shop dresser (we have a new loyalty card too, please ask for one!)

Everyone welcome, we look forward to seeing you.

You are invited to join The Women’s Art Activation System (The WAAS) to celebrate their project with the museum - The Baby Makers: Making History. This is a National Heritage Lottery funded project.

There will be:

Round-table discussions about birth practices, maternal histories and Black maternal health.

Film premiere of Stroud’s Birth Histories

Presentation of new artwork from The WAAS

Whether you are a birth professional, a parent or someone interested in birth history, please do come and join us.

For more details and to let us know you are coming please follow the link:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-baby-makers-making-history-tickets-1044878649167

Free but donations welcome.

In this epic creative workshop, comics genius Neill Cameron, creator of “Mega Robo Bros” and “Donut Squad”, will show you how to come up with your own awesome ideas for stories and characters. Then he’ll show you how to tell those stories using the amazing power of COMICS!

For ages 8-14

£12, all materials provided.

Sorry, this workshop is SOLD OUT!

Drop in and meet Hannah and Jim in the Art Gallery and see their new exhibition, ‘Twisted Tales’. They’ll be on hand to answer questions and discuss the work on display and chat about their artistic lives. Free, informal drop in event, all welcome, soft drinks available.

Be part of Stroud Book Festival with this exciting, hands-on workshop with award-winning author and illustrator of many picture books including “Silly Suzy Goose”, “Blue Penguin”, “Puffin Peter” & “The Perfect Present”.

Petr will be reading from some of his books and introducing his favourite characters including the very new “Blue Monster”! Petr will also show you how you can draw and make your very own monster.

It may be a teeny bit scary, but it's definitely going to be fun! Anyone aged 5 to 11 who likes picture books is welcome!

Cost: £12. All materials provided.

30 places total. For ages 5 to 11, booking essential.

 Book online via Stroud Book Festival

Calling young artists aged 11+ …. please come and join local illustrator Imogen Harvey Lewis in this relaxed and inspiring workshop! Drop in, or stay all morning, it’s up to you and how you feel on the day.

We’ll be looking at Illustration and how it works for books, as part of the fabulous Stroud Book Festival. Expect a no-pressure morning of creativity and chat about drawing for publication with plenty of tips and examples to look at.

Taking abstract backgrounds as our starting point, we will ease into simple page layout: considering character; focal point; direction of action; colour pallet; speech and text placement.

We won’t manage an entire book (obviously!), but we will enjoy time to explore visual ideas, put together creative options and experiment with the construction of  image to tell an inspiring story.

A fun few hours of looking , drawing, sharing, and aesthetic experimentation for teenagers and young adults.

FREE but booking recommended - call Abigail on 01453 763394 to book. You’ll get the most out of the workshop if you arrive at 11am and stay until 2pm, but you’re very welcome to drop in too! For young people aged 11+.

Are you fascinated by the magic of pop-up books and the ingenious art of paper sculpture? Want to learn some fun and fabulous paper engineering techniques?  If the answer if yes, then this day course is for you!

As part of Stroud Book Festival, we are delighted to present another opportunity to join Pop Up Book making expert Duncan Birmingham for a creative day workshop.

We’ll explore the enchanting art of paper pop-ups and aim to:
1. Make a comprehensive set of useful pop-up mechanisms
2. Play with the building techniques that can be used to enhance and develop them
3. Look at the simple underlying theory and explore the design potential

We’ll also look at and analyse a range of delightful and astounding pop-up books which Duncan will bring for you to enjoy. And fear not … beginners welcome, no maths or measuring involved!

Cost: £45
For adults and ages 18+, booking required.
Book online or call the Museum in the Park on 01453 763394

Please bring: a packed lunch, scissors, craft knife, ruler, pencil.
Card and glue will be provided, and a complimentary hot drink. 

Time to have some creative fun with the Christmas Box! We'll be using Christmassy fabrics (sourced from local charity shops) and Stroud-made felt to make mini trees, wreaths, stars, puddings and angels suitable for hanging indoors on a tree, branch or wall. All materials and tea and coffee provided, or bring your own if you wish. Suitable for all levels of sewing experience. With Sue McNamara.

Cost: £20 (£15 for Museum Members - Museum Membership is free to join).

Booking essential. Special festive offer: Bring a friend for free!

Book online or call 01453 763394

Are you aged 16 to 25 and interested in photography, film, music, art, sculpture, textiles, fashion, writing or any other artform? If yes, please join this FREE workshop! The workshop is part of the Canal Creatives project, for any young people who’d like to be part of creating an exhibition at the Museum in the Park.

Contact John, Canal Creatives at info@spanielworks.co.uk to reserve a place and find out more.

No experience necessary!