December 2011

A full programme of events for children and family visitors to the historic Greenwich National Maritime Museum (NMM) and Queen’s House (QH). For Royal Observatory, Greenwich and Peter Harrison Planetarium events please contact the Press Office on 020 8312 6790/6732/6545

December Highlights

The Traders Unpacked season continues at the National Maritime Museum in December and as part of this a special series of Festive Family Food events runs throughout the school holidays.

Festive Family Food

Tuesday 27–Thursday 29 December 2011

Family meals are a special part of every festive celebration. Come along to a series of events as part of the Traders Unpacked season –share your stories about secret family recipes, and explore how the range of spices brought to Britain by the East India Company changed the taste of festive food, making it truly scrumptious and memorable.

Secret recipe cookbook

Make an alternative cookbook to remember your festive family foods. Write and draw your secret family recipes, and discover more about where the ingredients come from.

Dates: 27–29 December
Times: 11.30–13.30, 14.00–16.00
Venue: NMM: Propeller
Ages: Suitable for all ages
Admission: Free

John Morgan: voice of a lascar

Go on a journey with South Asian lascar John Morgan, as he tells you about working for the British East India Company to bring spices, fabrics and tea to Britain. His extraordinary story will take you on a voyage from Chennai (Madras) to London and reveal the people, places and ideas that shaped his life.

Interactive performance
Dates: 27–29 December
Times: 12.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15.00
Venue: NMM main entrance foyer (in the Sammy Ofer wing) and Traders gallery
Ages: Suitable for ages 6+
Admission: Free

The Company that changed the world

Explore the Traders gallery with your family and discover more about how the clothes we wear, and the food and drinks we consume are connected to the Company that changed the world.

Gallery guide and trail – available from the information desk (of the Sammy Ofer wing)
Dates: 27–29 December
Venue: NMM main entrance foyer and ‘Traders’ gallery
Ages: Suitable for ages 7+
Admission: Free

Traders Unpacked, sponsored by Sharwood’s, is a wide-ranging season of music, film, fashion, debate and spoken word celebrating the opening of a new gallery at the National Maritime Museum: Traders: The East India Company and Asia. The gallery opened on 28 September and the season of events runs from October until February 2012.

Weekly Events

Explore Saturdays

Meet a character from the past and take part in an exciting performance that will bring maritime history to life.

Dates: 10, 17 December. NB: the event will not run 24 or 31 December
Times: 12.00, 13.00, 14.00, 15.00
Venue: National Maritime Museum
Ages: Suitable for ages 6+
Admission: Free

Discover Sundays

Be inspired by our maritime past and explore your personal connections to the sea. Ask staff at the admissions desk where the activity is today.

Dates: 4, 11, 18 December. NB: the event will not run 25 December
Times: 11.30–13.30, 14.00–16.00
Venue: NMM
Ages: Suitable for all ages
Admission: Free

Play Tuesdays

Young children can have fun with their families as they explore the Museum through making, music, dance and stories.

Timed sessions; collect free tickets from the admissions desk
Dates: 6, 13, 20 December. NB: the event will not run 27 December
Times: 10.30, 11.30, 13.00, 14.00
Venue: NMM
Ages: Suitable for under-5s
Admission: Free

Galleries for Young Visitors

Ship Simulator

Step aboard the Ship Simulator and discover the art of navigation and communication at sea. Become the captain of a ship and try your hand at manoeuvring into port using the state-of-the-art bridge simulator. Equipped with the very latest technology used to train real seafarers, the simulator brings to life the excitement, difficulties, hazards and skills of handling ships at sea. You could find yourself at the helm of a fishing boat navigating buoys in New York Harbour, following a helicopter rescue mission to a sinking vessel, navigating a frigate into position off Sydney shores or steering a P&O ferry into port in Dover. Admission: Free

General Information

The National Maritime Museum, Queen’s House and Royal Observatory open at 10.00 and close at 17.00 daily (last admission 16.30). All three sites are closed 24-26 December and close early on 31 December.

General admission to National Maritime Museum and Queen’s House is free.

Admission to the Royal Observatory’s historic Flamsteed House, Time Galleries, Meridian Line Courtyard and Meridian Building is £7 for adults (£5 concessions). Entry for children under 16 is free. An annual pass is also available for adults priced at £10 (£7.50 concessions); this pass allows visitors to return as many times as they like within 12 months for no additional charge.

A new ‘Astro Ticket’ combining access to the historic Royal Observatory buildings and Meridian Courtyard with a Planetarium show is now available offering savings for both individuals and families. An adult Astro Ticket is priced at £11.50. Family Astro tickets are priced at £19.50 (one adult and three children) and £24.50 (two adult and two children). Contact the bookings team or see the website for further information. Admission to the Royal Observatory’s Astronomy Centre which houses three state-of-the-art modern astronomy galleries is free of charge.

All events included here are free of charge to all visitors unless stated.

The Museum is located a short walk from the Cutty Sark DLR, and Maze Hill and Greenwich train stations. The closest tube stations are North Greenwich (to change to local buses) and Canary Wharf (to change to DLR), both on the Jubilee line.

For updated information prior to visit please visit our web site: http://www.rmg.co.uk or phone (020) 8858 4422.

-ends-

Issued October 2011 by the National Maritime Museum Press Office.

For further information or images please contact:
National Maritime Museum Press Office
Tel: 020 8312 6545/6732 | 07960 509 802
Email: press@rmg.co.uk