Spring is in the air and staff at Dumfries and Galloway Council museums in Dumfries, Annan and Sanquhar have been busy preparing for the 2017 summer season.
Seasonal staff are in training, new acquisitions have been added to the museum displays, exhibitions hung and a fun filled programme of family activities prepared for the Easter holidays.
Annan Museum, Sanquhar Tolbooth Museum and The Old Bridge House open their doors for this year on Saturday 1 April. On the same day Dumfries Museum and Camera Obscura, Robert Burns Centre and Robert Burns House change over to their extended summer opening hours.
The exhibition of contemporary wearable and decorative felt by local and national felters continues at Dumfries Museum until 17 April. Members of the local Spinners, Weavers and Dyers Guild have planned some fun felt activities for families on Tuesdays during the Easter holidays – snake and monster bookmarks on 4 April and natural felt wall hangings on 11 April.
Annan Museum opens with the Annan Amateur Art Club’s 50th anniversary exhibition which runs from 1 to 22 April. Beautiful water colours, acrylics and oil paintings are on show. Fun family activities on Thursdays 6 and 13 April during the Easter holidays will have a suitably arty theme. Exciting new additions to the Annan Museum displays for 2017 include a rare Roman coin and a collection of medical instruments from the Gretna general practice.
For the Easter weekend children can hunt for hidden eggs at Annan Museum and fluffy ducklings are waiting to be discovered at Dumfries Museum. RSPB officer Paul Coultard will be on hand with information about birds to look out for in our local area at Annan Museum on 12 April and Dumfries Museum on 14 April. He will also be helping children to make apple bird feeders.
Yuri’s night on Thursday 12 April is the annual celebration of the first space flight made by Yuri Gagarin in 1961. Along with Dumfries Astronomy Society, Dumfries Museum is hosting an evening of space poetry with Dom Conlon and a talk by astronomer Hayden Goodfellow entitled “Steven Hawkins and Philanthropist’s Probes.”
Councillor Tom McAughtrie, Chair of the Council’s Communities Committee said:
“We are very proud of our local heritage and it is good to see our museums working with local community groups and opening their doors to give a warm welcome to visitors from near and far. There is a widely varied programme of exhibitions and events – something for everyone.”
Full details of opening times, exhibitions and events can be found in the museums’ programme which is available to pick up at venues around the region and can be downloaded from www.dumgal.gov.uk/artsandmuseums
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