Yesterday we were invited along to the Imperial War Museum in Manchester to have a sneak peak at their new exhibits and activities they have planned for the summer holidays.
Having never visited the IWM before I was unsure what to expect. Although we like to visit museums they often don’t cater for very young children and the Little A’s can end up becoming quite bored! We needn’t have worried. The IWM caters for all ages of children right from babies! They have lots of toys for little ones to play with in the Learning Studio whilst older children can join in with the craft activities or story time.
The main exhibition hall is really well laid out. It is a huge space so none of the exhibitions are too close together so you can have a good old wander round at your own pace. There are some interactive displays to keep children entertained as you walk around to.
Also in the main exhibition hall they have big picture shows. These are great as it is projected onto all of the walls so you can stand or sit anywhere to watch it. The one we watched was the Horrible Histories film about rationing. At around 5 minutes long it was the perfect length for Little Mr A and he sat and watched the whole thing.
There is so much that goes on each day from storytelling sessions to crafts as well as being able to look at some of the items at various times. All this is free too!
The only thing you have to pay for at the museum is a trip up to the viewing platform. This is not for the faint hearted. You can take a lift or the stairs nearly to the top of the building then have a walk out to the viewing platform where you get some great views over the city. I would warn you though, don’t look down!
The restaurant was very child friendly. For children you can buy a ration pack; they can pick any 5 items from sandwiches, fruit, crisps, chocolate and drinks all for £3.95 which I think is very reasonable and certainly in line with other places. There are lots of activities to keep them occupied; crayons, hats to decorate and activity sheets. There are also some drawers filled with toys for them to borrow whilst you sit and have lunch.
So, onto the new exhibitions and events. At the IWM this summer it is all about keeping fit for action. From Saturday 20th July until Thursday 4th September visitors are invited to shape up and learn new skills through a variety of free activities. As well as this, each Sunday throughout August there will be family friendly sessions run by Commando Joe’s energetic ex-military team, as seen on Dragon’s Den.
There are too many events on for me to list them all here, however, you can keep up to date with upcoming events on their website here.
When we visited we were lucky enough to preview their new In the Spotlight: Sport and War exhibition pieces which included a frisbee used by soldiers in Afganistan and a leather football presented to a First World War officer almost 100 years ago amongst others. Together with interactive screens it really is an exhibit worth visiting and it was really interesting to hear the stories behind the items.
We also previewed one of the new story telling sessions that will be on during the holidays. It was about a little boy called Billy who was sent away during the war. The session was really interactive and fun and all of the children were kept enthralled throughout. In fact I don’t think Little Mr A has sat that still and quiet for ages!
The other event we previewed was a new craft session – making ‘Fit for Action’ t-shirts. The children were given a plain t-shirt each and some fabric pens and were told to decorate their own t-shirts. The theme was sport but they could decorate them however they wanted. Little Mr A had a great time decorating his t-shirt with a football and a picture of himself and he put his name and a number on the back. This craft session will be taking place between the 20th an 28th July.
I would certainly recommend the IWM for anyone looking for a great day out with children during the summer holidays. There is certainly enough going on to keep them entertained all day and best of all it won’t cost you a penny! It certainly tired our two out, they were both fast asleep on the way home (although Little Mr A insisted he hadn’t been to sleep, I think the photographic evidence proves otherwise!).
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