Egg Dancing and Easter Bonnet contest at Blists Hill Victorian Town
Join the residents at Blists Hill Victorian Town, near Ironbridge in Shropshire as they celebrate Easter over the school holidays from Saturday, 28th March to Sunday, 12th April. A highlight will be the unusual pastime of Egg Dancing, which will take place twice a day opposite the Print Shop. Once blindfolded, the townsfolk will dance across the street without stepping on eggs that are carefully placed along their route. After the demonstration, everyone can have-a-go with mini Easter Eggs as rewards for completing the course without stepping on an egg!
From Friday, 3rd April to Monday, 6th April visitors are invited to come wearing their best Easter Bonnet, as the Town’s Milliner will be judging the finest creations at 2pm in the Pleasure Gardens; there will be prizes for the best entries and everyone taking part receives a small Easter egg.
Great Easter Bunny Hunt at Blists Hill Victorian Town
Go along to Blists Hill Victorian Town, near Ironbridge during the Easter school holidays between Saturday, 28th March and Sunday, 12th April and join in the Great Easter Bunny Hunt to find the ‘rabbits’ hiding in the Town’s woods. Free, self-led trail sheets contain clues to help you find the bunnies; copies can be collected from the admissions desk when you arrive at the open air museum. There will be a small ‘prize’ for every child correctly following the trail and finding all the bunnies.
Make Easter Shadow Lamps at Blists Hill Victorian Town
Make and decorate an Easter themed Shadow Lamp at Blists Hill Victorian Town, near Ironbridge at a drop-in hands-on workshop in the Goods Shed between Saturday, 28th March and Sunday, 12th April. Using craft materials such as cardboard, you can design and make your own Shadow Lamp which, when lit by a battery powered tea light, will cast delicate shadows. Suitable for children of all ages, sessions will take place daily between 11am – 1pm and 2pm – 4pm.
Discover more about light and create a kaleidoscope at Enginuity
Illuminate your understanding of light during the Easter school holidays at Enginuity, near Ironbridge, Shropshire. Drop-in family workshops from 28th March until 12th April will celebrate the 2015 Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies (www.light2015.org) and look at reflection and how light can be used to make electricity. Use craft materials in different colours and shapes to make your own kaleidoscope and watch the silhouettes of the shadow puppets perform in the theatre. Sessions will take place between 10.30am and 3.45pm, activities will vary from day-to-day and some additional costs will apply in addition to the museum admission fee.
Make ceramic Tea-Light Holders at Coalport China Museum
Join in the Easter family workshops at Coalport China Museum, near Ironbridge and make your own Tea-Light Holders, inspired by the beautiful and intricate china cottage models known as the Coalport Pastille Burners. At the sessions you can try your hand at sculpting a cottage, castle or lighthouse from clay, which can be fired and sent to your home. Then put a small candle inside your sculpture and transform it into a beautiful Tea-Light Holder. The ‘Home Sweet Home’ hands-on sessions will be held between 30th March – 3rd April and 6th – 10th April from 11am until 1pm and 2pm until 4pm; fired ceramic activities carry an additional fee from £4 per item, plus a postage charge from £3.50, if you want to have your creation sent home after firing.
Easter themed ceramic tile decorating workshops
Create your own Easter themed ceramic tiles at family drop-in tile decorating workshops during the Easter school holidays at Jackfield Tile Museum in Shropshire’s Ironbridge Gorge. Designs can be as colourful and original as your imagination allows, perhaps an Easter bunny, baby chick, chocolate Easter egg or spring flowers. The fun and informal sessions will take place between Saturday, 28th March and Saturday 11th April, excluding Sunday 29th March and Easter Sunday 5th April. The Victorian tube lining technique will be used to decorate the tiles, which are priced from £5 per tile (p&p extra to have your tile sent home after firing) plus the museum admission fee. Workshops start from 10am, but allowing up to 1½ hours to decorate your tile, last admission is at 3.15pm.
Opening times and ticket prices
Blists Hill Victorian Town, Enginuity, Coalport China Museum and Jackfield Tile Museum are open 10am-5pm during the Easter holidays. A great value Annual Passport Ticket allowing entry into all ten museums and unlimited return visits, costs £27.95 per adult, £21.50 for the 60 plus, £16.95 for students and children, £68 for a family of two adults and all their children aged up to 18 years in full time education (terms and conditions apply) and £50 for a family with one adult; under 5s free. Activities and workshops vary day-to-day and some carry an extra charge in addition to the museum admission fee. Individual museum entry tickets are also available.
For further information, contact the Ironbridge Visitor Information Centre on Tel: 01952 433 424 or visit www.ironbridge.org.uk. The Gorge is easily reached via the M6 and M54 motorways exiting at Telford (M54 junction 4 or 6).