Essential Information Type Talks and tours Location National Maritime Museum Date and Times Saturdays Join an exciting performance and see maritime history brought to life. Visit the Museum every Saturday to discover a different character from history with their own fascinating story to tell! Neptune Meet Neptune, god of the oceans, as he tries to gather help from people across the earth to save the oceans that are his home. Dates: 28 October Times: 11.30am | 12.30pm | 1.30pm | 2.30pm Discover more about the Great Map John Simmonds John Simmonds (1783–1858), was a black sailor who served with Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, 1805. Developed with John’s descendants and using over 40 years of family research, the performance will take you on a journey through the museum, from Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle by Yinka Shonibare CBE to the Nelson, Navy, Nation gallery. John Simmonds plays an important part in bringing hidden black British histories into the mainstream, and exploring the histories of the culturally diverse crews that the British navy relied upon. Dates: 21 October, 9 December Times: 11.30am | 12.30pm | 1.30pm | 2.30pm Who was John Simmonds? John Simmonds – joining the Royal Navy John Simmonds and the Battle of Trafalgar John Simmonds – The French admiral surrenders at the Battle of Trafalgar James Robson Explore Traders: the East India Company and Asia gallery with James Robson, a Chinese sailor who served on the fastest and greatest of the tea clippers, Cutty Sark. Find out about the struggles of the tea trade between Britain and China on your journey, and the impact of the 19th-century Opium Wars on both countries. James Robson is an important character in revealing hidden British Chinese histories, and his story relates to Traders, our permanent gallery on the British East India Company. Dates: 4, 25 November Times: 11.30am | 12.30pm | 1.30pm | 2.30pm Visit Traders: the East India Company & Asia Pearl Morris Meet Pearl Morris, a Caribbean woman who travelled to Britain in 1948 on the Empire Windrush, a passenger liner that brought one of the first large groups of post-war West Indians to the United Kingdom. A matron of the Windrush Generation, Pearl will tell you what life was like for a Caribbean woman in Britain in the 50s, and how she made this island her home. Suitable for 6+ What was the Empire Windrush? Alice Leghorn Meet Alice and find out about life at sea during the Golden Age of Piracy. Alice has found her way on board a pirate ship dressed as a man and will tell you what life is like as a woman disguised as a man at sea. Dates: 2 December Times: 11.30am | 12.30pm | 1.30pm | 2.30pm Alice Leghorn on the different types of pirate The Golden Age of Piracy? Pirate or privateer – what's the difference? Masters of disguise: women pirates Tamera the Time Traveller Join Tamera as she travels through time and place exploring stories of encounter, exploration and endeavour across the Tudor and Stuart Seafarers, Polar Worlds, Pacific Encounters and Sea Things galleries. Dates: 18 November, 16 December Times: 12pm | 1pm | 2pm | 3pm. What’s On Find more events at the National Maritime Museum. Workshops | Talks & courses Saturday Art Club Join the weekly creative drop-in for young people aged 13-16 Saturdays from October - April | 10am-1pm Free National Maritime Museum Free displays Sea creatures: real and imagined See this beautiful banner created by Willow Dene School, inspired by maps and monsters in the National Maritime Museum Open daily | 10am-5pm Free National Maritime Museum Exhibitions Our Connection to Water Life source, sacred ritual, scarce commodity? Seven artists share what water means to them at the National Maritime Museum Open daily | 10am-5pm Free National Maritime Museum Talks and tours Character Encounters Visit the National Maritime Museum every Saturday to discover a different character from history with their own fascinating story to tell Saturdays Free Entry National Maritime Museum Exhibitions Astronomy Photographer of the Year See the world's greatest space photography at the National Maritime Museum Open daily | 10am-5pm Adults £10 | Concessions £6.50 | Children £5 National Maritime Museum Free displays | Identity Pioneers: A Renaissance in South Asian Creativity A series of portraits of South Asian creative individuals, on display at the National Maritime Museum. Are you ready to meet the pioneers? Open daily | 10am-5pm Free National Maritime Museum Talks and tours | Identity Open Mic Poetry: This is Who We Are Whether you are an experienced writer, an aspiring poet or want to hear Jenny Mitchell launch her new collection, come along to our Open Mic event Cancelled Pay what you can: £3, £5 or £8 National Maritime Museum Family fun Play Tuesdays Bring your under 5 on a different adventure every week! Explore the Museum together through song, dance and stories Term time Tuesdays | 10.30am, 11.30am, 1.00pm, 2.00pm £4 per child and accompanying adult | Under 6 months free National Maritime Museum Workshops | Identity Writing Workshop: Poetry and Freedom A relaxed workshop themed around freedom and identity Thursday 7 December | 10.30am to 12.30pm Free National Maritime Museum Family fun SENsory Sailors Come along and enjoy this brand new sensory play session for children with special educational needs Once a month on Saturdays | 11am-12.30pm Free, pre-booking required National Maritime Museum Talks and tours | Member events Flamsteed lecture: Are We Alone? Are we the only technologically advanced beings in the Universe? Find out in this talk by Dr Robin Catchpole. Monday 11 December 2023 | Doors at 6.30pm, event starts at 7.15pm Free | Flamsteed Astronomy Society Members only National Maritime Museum Talks and tours | Identity Seeing Ourselves: Sharon Walters in conversation with... Ekow Eshun Join artist Sharon Walters and journalist Ekow Eshun for a discussion exploring representation in museum spaces Wednesday 13 December 2023 | 6pm-8pm Pay what you can National Maritime Museum Family fun | LGBTQ+ LGBTQ+ Family Network A safe space for local LGBTQ+ families to meet one another, get involved in creative activities for all ages and explore the stories within the collection 20 January 2024 | 10am-12pm Free National Maritime Museum Family fun | Christmas Members' crafting: Christmas stars Join us for a special Christmas themed craft workshop Sunday 17 December 2023 | 11am-11.45am, 12.15pm-1pm, 1.30pm-2.15pm, 2.45pm-3.30pm Free for Members – booking required National Maritime Museum Family fun Safe Harbour A programme for foster and adoptive families. Monthly: Next date 30 December| 12.30pm - 2.30pm Ticketed | Free National Maritime Museum Talks and tours | Member events New Members' Tour Embark on a voyage of discovery around the Museum in the company of one of our volunteer guides Various dates | 11am - 12pm Free | Booking essential National Maritime Museum Conferences Weaving Waves: The History and Conservation of Maritime Tapestries Join us for 'Weaving Waves', a symposium welcoming speakers and attendees interested in the curation and conservation of maritime tapestries. 12 January 2024 Adults £30 | Members, online, students, unemployed or underemployed, retired, early career researchers £20 National Maritime Museum Talks and tours | Member events Finding horror in the white spaces with Ally Wilkes Find out about the real-life - and terrifying - Antarctic expeditions and tales of the supernatural which inspired author Ally Wilkes Thursday 25 January 2024 | 6.30pm - 7.30pm Free for Members – booking required National Maritime Museum Events and festivals | Identity Lunar New Year Celebrate the Year of the Dragon with a whole host of Lunar New Year activities, videos and performances Saturday 3 February 2024 Free National Maritime Museum Family fun Discover Sundays Each Sunday come and explore the Museum's collection through hands on creative activities Term time Sundays | 11am - 1pm | 2pm - 4pm Free | Drop-in National Maritime Museum Events and festivals | Identity Women's History Month 2024 From fearless fighters to female activists, join us to celebrate the contributions and resilience of women throughout history Throughout March Free Entry National Maritime Museum Events and festivals World Oceans Day A family-friendly celebration of our ocean hosted at the National Maritime Museum Returning in 2024 Free National Maritime Museum Events and festivals Windrush 75 Celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Empire Windrush's arrival in Britain, and find your own Windrush connection at the National Maritime Museum Throughout 2023 Free National Maritime Museum Events and festivals International Slavery Remembrance Day Explore the legacies of the transatlantic slave trade and its abolition at the National Maritime Museum Returning in 2024 Free National Maritime Museum