Why are some mushrooms delicious but others deadly? What is a jelly ear fungus? And can mushrooms really talk to trees? Join us for our next Home Educators’ Day to explore the fantastic world of fungi!
This packed programme is designed especially for home-educating families with children of all ages.
Demonstration: Friendly or Fatal?
11am & 1pm
Join our expert pathologist in the Victorian Operating Theatre for a dissection exploring the inner workings of the heart, and uncover the impact of poisonous mushrooms on our organs. How can something so tiny be so harmful to us?
Thackray Boffins Show: Funky Fungi
10.30am, 12pm & 2pm
Wander into the Apothecarist’s shop where the supernatural blends with the superstitious. Learn about magical concoctions and remedies cooked up by our resident Apothecarist and discover the power of nature in this multi-sensory show.
Expect folklore tales, strange recipes and cap-tivating cures – from wobbly fungi treating ear ailments to lung-like lichens easing our breath.
The Truffle Shuffle Trail
10am–3pm
Mush-vroom around the museum in search of seasonal woodland treasures. Follow the trail, choose what to forage at each stop, and uncover fascinating facts about mushrooms. Complete your trug by rubbing in your bountiful autumn harvest!
Drop-in Activity: Small but Mighty!
10am–3pm
Zoom in on the fantastic world of fungi with our microscopes, and have a go at making a cell diagram to take home.
Craft: Spore Stamping
10am–3pm
Create your own woodland-inspired artwork using real mushroom. Experiment with colourful ink pads to print beautiful fungi and take home your own foraged masterpiece.
For our younger visitors:
Under-5s Explorer Bag: Foraging Friends
10am–3pm
Grab your wicker basket, use your foraging map and unearth what’s growing around the museum.
Finish in the Disease Den, transformed into a magical mush-room, with a nature soundscape, cosy cushions and lots of books to explore.
This programme is inspired by our latest exhibition Where Magic Grows and in partnership with the RHS, the UK’s gardening charity, helping people and plants grow.
Hungry for more? Grab your Family Membership and enjoy a year’s worth of museum entry for free.
