The Welsh Museums Festival is making a return for the half term holidays (Saturday 28 October – Sunday 5 November) with a week of special events to celebrate the diverse history and culture of our country.
More than 45 large and small museums across Wales are taking part in the festival this week, offering a number of mostly free, exciting and diverse activities for families – from a ‘climate rave’ in Rhayader to a potion-making workshop in Ceredigion and storytelling in Cardiff.
There will also be an exciting, new Wales History Trails Passport Challenge, which will require museum-goers to visit six museums – of their choosing – up until April 2024. Once all visits are completed, passport holders can enter a special prize draw to win two free National Trust family day passes and wireless Bluetooth headphones.
In the lead up to the festival, the Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Dawn Bowden, had the opportunity to visit the Firing Line Museum at Cardiff Castle.
The Firing Line is a military museum which tells the story of 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards and The Royal Welsh. It is one of four accredited military museums in Wales and is taking part in the Welsh Museums Festival.
A brand-new Halloween activity booklet will be available at most participating museums, allowing young visitors to explore the history of Halloween in Wales and across the world with games and puzzles.
The Welsh Museums Festival is made possible by funding from the Welsh Government. The festival is hosted by 45+ museums throughout Wales as part of an ongoing initiative to increase publicity and footfall for individual museums.
Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Dawn Bowden, said: “The Welsh Government is delighted to fund the Welsh Museums Festival through the Welsh Museums Federation.
“The festival is an excellent opportunity for us to highlight the contributions of the local museums sector and showcase the diversity of museums across Wales. With half term taking place this week there are plenty of opportunities for people to discover what their local museum has to offer.”
Rachael Rogers of the Welsh Museums Federation said: “The festival is a great opportunity to showcase the amazing work done by museums across the country. Our museums not only offer visitors the chance to learn about our Welsh heritage, but they also promote the Welsh language, and they offer free events in a warm and welcoming space which is more important than ever.”
The Welsh Museums Festival 2023 takes place between 28th October until 5th November.
