Family fun day at Saffron Walden Museum - Wednesday 17 August
A one-off day of activities for the whole family at Saffron Walden Museum launches a new art commission for Uttlesford to record, celebrate and share your lost or hidden stories about the plants and animals we see every day.
Get up close and personal with fearsome birds of prey, let our storyteller take you to fairy tale times and fantastic wild places, explore the museum and castle grounds like never before with bug hunts and plant surveys for important local wildlife, step back in time with a scythe demonstration in our wildflower meadow, and get making with children's Crafts at the Castle.
The art project and activity day are part of the wider Lost Language of Nature project, which aims to remember, celebrate and share the lost words and stories of wildlife through research and storytelling. Do you remember Jenny Wren, or maybe you call all partridges 'Alan'? The community art commission, supported by Essex Cultural Diversity Project, will visit communities around Uttlesford to hear stories about nature, wildlife and countryside and create a fantastic new artwork to tour community spaces across the district.
Memories, rhymes, fairy tales and local or made-up names from across the district will also add a missing dimension to the scientific information that Saffron Walden Museum has for the plants and animals in its collection.
Charlotte Pratt, Learning and Outreach Officer at the museum, said: "We love nature-themed events, and this one is even more special because it's all about what members of the public have to say about nature and the countryside in their lives, in their own words.
"I hope that people coming to the activity day will be excited to share their words and stories for the community art project. It will make a huge difference to the usual scientific information that museums record."
The Lost Language of Nature Family Fun Day is on Wednesday 17 August, 10am to 4pm. No booking is necessary. Standard admission fees apply (£2.50 / £1.25 / under-18s FREE) although there is an additional charge for Crafts at the Castle.
26 July 2022