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Events
Browse through our events or click on the following sections to skip to the area you are interested in:
Astronomy Events
Half Term Fun - The Vikings!
Garden Tours
Workshops and Tours
Curators' Talks
York Museums Trust Book Club
Finds Days - bring your archaeological objects to be identified,
Royal Salutes
York Mystery Plays 2012
Astronomy Events
Viking Astronomy Talk
15 February, 3.30pm - 4pm
Find out more about what the Vikings saw in the night sky.
Observatory Open Evening
15 February, 6pm - 8pm
Gaze at the night sky through our observatory telescope.
Observatory Open Days
Every Saturday plus every second Tuesday, from 4 October, 2011 (closed 24 and 31 December)
11.30am - 2.30pm
Come and gaze upon the stars in what is the oldest working observatory in Yorkshire.
The observatory was built in 1832 and 1833 and its 4in refractor telescope was built by York man Thomas Cooke in 1850 before he went on to make the then-largest telescope in the world. York played a crucial role in the development of astronomy in the 1780s when York-based astronomers John Goodricke and Edward Piggot laid the foundations of the study of stars of varying brightness.
Free entry.
Viking Belts and Braces!
13 - 17 February, 10.30am - 12.30pm and 1.30pm - 4pm
Come and try your hand at Viking fashion and design. See how the Vikings accessorised - it was definitely not just for girls!
Have a go at designing your own belt. Make it from leather and plait it from wool and then you can even wear it home. Be inspired by our wonderful objects on display and take a close look at the the decoration and design on Viking artefacts.
Make a Viking Long Boat
13 and 14 February, 10.30am - 12.30pm and 1.30pm - 4pm
Why not join artist Mary Passeri who will be making a full-size Viking Longboat and decorating it with printed patterns.
If you visit us after it had been made you can dress up and play at being a Viking, navigating your way across the seas.
Viking Astronomy Talk
15 February, 3.30pm - 4pm
Find out more about what the Vikings saw in the night sky.
Observatory Open Evening
15 February, 6pm - 8pm
Gaze at the night sky through our observatory telescope.
Museum Gardens tours
Every Sunday, noon - 1pm
These weekly tours begin next to our Museum Street gates and give an insight into one of the most popular gardens in York, which contain a wealth of plant life, botanical specimens and wildlife, as well as the spectacular ruins of St Mary's Abbey and the Roman Multangular Tower.
Free, no booking required.
The Gardens in Spring
28 March, 2pm - 3pm
A guided tour of the Museum Gardens with the Garden Manager, Sjaak Kastelijn, to look at the spring horticulural highlights.
Free, but please book by telephoning 01904 650333.
Garden Tour: Wildlife Friendly Gardening
27 June, 2pm - 3pm
A guided tour of the Museum Gardens with Garden Manager, Sjaak Kastleijn. Discover how to attract insects and wildlife to your garden.
Free, but please book by telephoning 01904 650333.
An Introduction to Rocks
31 January, 2pm - 4pm
Handle rock specimens from the museum and view their thin sections in beautiful technicolour to get to grips with basic identification. Learn more about how people have used different types of rocks through time, with a chance to look at artefacts with curator Stuart Ogilvy.
£5 per person. To book, telephone 01904 650333.
Fossils of the Yorkshire Coast
18 February, 9.30am - 4.30pm
This one-day class will show you examples of common fossils to be found on the Yorkshire Coast and give you an idea of what you might find where, and how.
Discover how a bit of beach-combing can help improve our understand of the history of life on Earth with palaentologist, Liam Herringshaw.
£35 per person. To book, telephone the University of York Centre for Lifelong Learning on 01904 328473 or visit www.york.ac.uk/lifelongleearning
The Geology Behind York's Buildings
Part of National Science and Engineering Week
14 March, 10.30am - 12.30pm and 2pm - 3pm (both sessions the same)
Join our geology curator for a different and surprising look at what the buildings of York are built from! Following the walking there will be chance to examine specimens from the Yorkshire Museum geology collection.
£5 per person per two-hour session. To book a place, telephone York Museums Trust on 01904 650333.
1212: The Making of a City
3 April, 12.30pm - 1.30pm
An introductory talk to this new exhibition about York in 1212, with curator Natalie McCaul.
Free, no need to book.
A Thousand Years of Gardening in York
19 May. 16 June, 14 July, 10am - 4pm
Join Peter Goodchild, director of The Garden and Landscape Heritage Trust for these three sessions. The first looks at Gardening in York in the Middle Ages and the second Gardening in York from 1822 - 1922. Both these sessions involve an introductory talk in the morning and a guided tour in and around the Museum Gardens in the afternoon.
The third session is called York's Gardeners and Botanistsand focuses on gardeners and botanists and their connections with York.
£20 per session or £55 for the full course of three sessions. To book, telephone 01904 650333.
Yorkshire's Sea Dragons
29 May, 2pm - 4pm
Find out more about the marine reptiles that swam in the seas off Yorkshire when dinosaurs roamed the land, including the science behind how they lived and stories of their discovery.
Explore and handle specimens from the museum's collections with curator Isla Gladstone.
£5 per person. To book, telephone 01904 650333.
Sketch&Stitch: Moth Magic
23 and 24 June, 10am - 4pm, at York Art Gallery
Using inspiration from moths in the Yorkshire Museum's collections, develop design ideas, begin a sketch book and create stitch sample with an experienced embroiderer. Experiment with a variety of design and stitch techniques, building towards a finished piece of textile work.
£40 per person including all materials - you may with to bring your own materials and sewing kit. To book a place, telephone 01904 650333.
Moth Trapping
28 June, 6pm - 7pm
Join Stuart Ogilvy, assistant curator of natural science, to discover which moths have been caught in traps he has set in the Museum Gardens, right in the heart of the city. Release these beautiful and surprising insects back into the wild and find out how to set a trap yourself. Suitable for all the family!
Free, but please book by telephoning 01904 650333.
The Archaeology of York Castle
17 July, 1pm - 3pm
Discover the history of York Castle through objects at the Yorkshire Museum with our curators of archaeology. Then take a walk through the city to see the remains of the castle itself. Part of the CBA Festial of Archaeology (14 - 29 July).
£5 per person. To book, telephone 01904 650333.
All these lunchtime talks are free (aside from usual admission charge) and run from 12.30pm - 1pm, no need to book.
Roman Gods of Love
7 February
Prehistory Through an Eggshell
6 March
The Seal of Snarrus the Tax Collector
20 March
A Yorkshire Herbarium
3 April
York's Mystery Plays
8 May
St William of York
22 May
Ancient Animal Bone from the Teesdale Cave
12 June
York's Mystery Plays
26 June
Athletes of the Natural World
10 July
York Museums Trust Book Club
Second Saturday of the Month, 3pm - 4.30pm, various venues
A Book Club with a difference - all these books have been chosen to highlight aspects of York Museums Trust's historic collections. As well as discussing each month's book, every Book Club session includes an opportunity to handle or get close to collection objects.
Free, but please book by telephoning 01904 650333.
Books, dates and venues
As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann
11 February, York Castle Museum
Dry Store Room No 1 by Richard Fortey
10 March, Yorkshire Museum
Headlong by Michael Frayn
14 April, York Art Gallery
The Millstone by Margaret Drabble
12 May, York Castle Museum
This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson
9 June, Yorkshire Museum
Life Class by Pat Barker
14 July, York Art Gallery
Finds Days
All 10am - 1pm, in the Yorkshire Museum reception area.
Bring your archaeological object to show our experts from the Portable Antiquities Scheme.
Saturday, 4 February
Saturday, 7 April
Saturday, 2 June
Saturday, 4 August
Saturday, 6 October
Saturday, 1 December
The Museum Gardens hosts regular military gun salutes to mark significant dates in the Royal Family's calendar. These are organised by the Army's York Garrison at Imphal Barracks.
They all take place at noon and the gardens are usually closed during the mornings of the salutes for security checks to be carried out.
Monday, 6 February - Anniversary of Her Majesty the Queen's accession to the Throne
Saturday, 21 April - Birthday of Her Majesty the Queen
Saturday, 2 June - Anniversary of the Coronation of Her Majesty the Queen
Monday, 11 June - Birthday of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh (birthday on 10 June)
Saturday, 16 June - Official Birthday of Her Majesty the Queen
Wednesday, 14 November - Birthday of His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales
York Mystery Plays
2 - 27 August, 2012
The York Mystery Plays make a return to the Museum Gardens in 2012 in a spectacular outdoor production by York Theatre Royal, Riding Lights Theatre Company and York Museums Trust.
A purpose-built theatre will be installed in the gardens, seating 1,400, so that these traditional plays can be performed against the backdrop of the St Mary's Abbey ruins.
Tickets range from £12 to £42 and can be booked online at the York Theatre Royal website or by telephoning 01904 623568.
For more information, visit our special pages or visit the York Mystery Plays 2012 website.
