Hertford Museum Blog

Hertford Museum & RNLI Town Trail

February 3rd, 2012

This Easter we are teaming up with the RNLI to create our town trail- following on from the successes of our Scarecrow and Doctor Who trails.

The trail has an RNLI theme and any money raised will be split between the RNLI and the museum.

RNLI Lifeboat stations in the UK

Shops are being asked to put up a small display based on one of the towns attached to a lifeboat station and then we will be creating two trails, one for adults and one for children, which will take you round all of the window displays and ask some questions!

Today some (very well wrapped up!) museum staff and RNLI volunteers delivered letters to many town centre businesses and we’ve already had 7 towns snapped up so if you own a town centre shop or business and want to get involved then call us ASAP!

We’ll let you know more about the trails (and some exciting prizes) as well as our other Easter Holiday activities nearer the time!

Tags: Easter Holiday activities, RNLI trail
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Hertford Museum blog and YOU

January 27th, 2012

Now that our Hertingfordbury & the Greens exhibition is open and the accompanying booklet is ready to go (£6 from our shop, call in to buy your copy!) its time to move on to other projects.

There are lots of exciting things coming to Hertford Museum in the next few months- our new (well returning!) Curator, Sara Taylor, starts soon, we’ll be working with Courtyard Arts again this Half Term, there’s an exciting Hertford Town trail again this year after last year’s Doctor Who one and we’re also looking at our next exhibition which will be on Souvenirs (starting with a focus on Royal souvenirs)

So there’s lots going one which we’ll be using this blog, our newsletter, facebook and twitter to keep you up-to-date on but we also want to hear from you.

What would you like to see on this blog?

Perhaps you want to hear more about an exhibition, or our volunteers, or our toothbrush collection! Or maybe there’s a question you’ve always wanted to ask about Hertford or life behind the scenes at the museum! If you have any ideas then get in touch with us on facebook or twitter or email us: hertfordmuseum AT btconnect DOT com

Tags: Blog, Courtyard Arts, Half Term Activities, Hertingfordbury & the Greens, Souvenirs exhibition
Posted in Events, Exhibitions, Uncategorized | No Comments »

The Andrews Room @ Hertford Museum

January 19th, 2012

The Andrews Room at Hertford Museum now has WiFi installed!

Our activity room is used by all kinds of people and groups and so, in honour of it’s new wireless connection, we thought we’d tell you about some of the things that happen in there each week!

Toddler Tuesdays These themed crafty activity mornings are very popular with our youngest visitors. They play with toys, share a story and make something to take home as well as having a drink (with tea & coffee available for parents!)
Adult Learning Our Garden History course, led by Kate Harwood, started yesterday but there are still places available on Margaret Davis’ course on The Renaissance in Florence which will start in May.
Country Market Every Friday morning from 10:30-12:30 the room is taken over by a Country Market where you can buy plants, fruit & veg, jams, cakes and all kinds of other goodies! The first market of 2012 will be tomorrow (20th January)
Schools We offer lots of different workshops for visiting schools including Blanket Archaeology, Tilly’s Toy Box and a session on Inventions (pictured here). The Andrews Room can also be used as a lunchroom by visiting groups.
A space for your meetings The Andrews Room is open to bookings from external groups and in the last few months it’s been used for training days, formal meetings, social gatherings and as a Bridge Club! It’s a flexible space and we can provide a projector, computer and now WiFi as well as Tea & Coffee if requested.

And that’s only the start! It’s where most of our Children’s Activities take place, it’s used as an exhibition space and it’s also where our Afternoon Teas are served in the Spring & Summer!

Tags: adult learning, Andrews Room, Country Market, Schools, Toddler Tuesdays
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Adult Learning at Hertford Museum

January 5th, 2012

A slightly belated Happy New Year everyone! We’re very busy here at the museum getting ready for the opening of our new exhibition, Hertingfordbury and the Greens, next week as well as preparing the new edition of our newsletter.

Hertingfordbury Park and gardens in the 1700s

If you’re looking for something new and interesting to do in 2012 why not sign up for one of our Adult Learning Courses?

Adult Learning 2012 Flyer

Our first course, Romans to Utopians: Hertfordshire gardens through the ages, is starting starting on Monday 18th January so if you’re interested then get in touch ASAP!

Tags: adult learning, Hertingfordbury & the Greens
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Christmas Eve Eve

December 23rd, 2011

There are only two more sleeps till Christmas is here but if you’re still looking for presents or stocking fillers (or somewhere to visit to escape the Christmas shops!) then we’re open all day today and till lunchtime on Christmas Eve!

We’ll be open between Christmas and New Year as well so if you’re going to for a post-Christmas walk then come in and see us!

And if you don’t then we hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year and we’ll see you in 2012 when we’ll be busy putting up our new Hertingfordbury and the Greens exhibition which opens on the 14th January.

Christmas Opening Hours

Christmas Eve 10am -1pm
Christmas Day CLOSED
Boxing Day CLOSED
27th December CLOSED
28th December 10am – 2pm
29th December 10am – 2pm
30th December 10am – 2pm
31st December 10am – 1pm
Open as usual from Tuesday 3rd January.

Tags: Christmas, Hertingfordbury & the Greens
Posted in Exhibitions, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Almost time for the holidays!

December 15th, 2011

It’s only 10 days till Christmas now and nearly time for the holidays to begin!

If you’re looking for something to do in between your Christmas shopping then come along to the museum, we’re open right up until lunchtime on Christmas Eve!

This week saw some of our youngest visitors decorating Christmas scenes as part of our Toddler Tuesday morning.

And next week you can come to our drop in Christmas Table Crafts and have a go at making table mats and a centre piece for the Christmas table as well as Christmas crackers.

Date: Tuesday 20th& Wednesday 21st December 2011
Time: 10.30 am – 3.30 pm
Price: £1.50 per child, just drop in.

And don’t forget this week is also your last chance to see the Hertford & District Camera Club’s exhibition Snapshots in Time!

Tags: Christmas, Toddler Tuesday
Posted in Events, Exhibitions | No Comments »

Christmas Shopping at Hertford Museum

December 8th, 2011

Christmas is approaching fast and if you need some ideas when out Christmas shopping then pop into Hertford Museum where we have a range of presents big and small!

Here are a few suggestions to get you started!

Hertford Through Time

For all local history enthusiasts out there this new book by Peter Ruffles, Jean Purkiss & Stephen Poulter is a must. It’s full of pictures from throughout Hertford’s history.

Haunted Hertfordshire

For anyone interested in the spookier side of Hertfordshire’s history why not try Haunted Hertfordshire by Ruth Stratton and Nicholas Connell.

Peter Ruffles’ Hertford DVDs

Peter Ruffles’ two DVDs on Hertford history also make great presents for anyone interested in the town.

National Trust Toiletries

The National Trust have brought out a range of toiletries inspired by some of their properties from the Wild Rose & Camomile scent of Sissinghurst Castle gardens to a Samphire & Driftwood scent inspired by the coast near the Holnicote Estate. You won’t be able to buy these anywhere else in Hertford!

Minerals & Fossils

We have a large range of minerals and fossils including large display pieces, smaller pieces for stocking fillers and, of course, we also stock Hertfordshire Puddingstone in lots of shapes and sizes!

Tags: Books, DVDs, shopping
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The Polar Express

November 30th, 2011

Did you see the Hertford Christmas lights being switched on last week? It’s was great to see so many people in town and at the museum! Our window is decorated with a 12 Days of Christmas theme (thank you Rebecca!) and our Christmas tree is decorated too so we’re all ready for our Christmas activities to begin!

This Saturday the museum is being taken over by Model Railway enthusiasts again, this time with a special Christmas theme! Come along from 10.30am-3.30pm and enjoy their festive displays!

For all our other Christmas activities see the “What’s On” page on the website or our Poster: Christmas at Hertford Museum

We’ll be open right up until 1pm on Christmas Eve and our shop is full of great presents, cards and last minute stocking fillers!

Tags: Christmas, Model Railway Day, Opening Times
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What’s new at Hertford Museum?

November 24th, 2011

It’s been a few months since we updated this blog and there is lots of news to update you on so here are 5 things that are new or coming soon for Hertford Museum!

This month the Hertford & District Camera Club opened their exhibition Snapshots in Time which tells the history of the last 60 years since they started. It’s full of pictures and cameras as well as a case showing how photos were developed before these days of digital cameras!
They will be holding a drop in session on Saturday December 10^th so if you have any questions about how to get the best out of your camera or anything else to do with photography please do drop in a talk to them!
We have just launched a new Museum audio guide for blind and partially-sighted people! Jack FM came and interviewed Sue Gilkes who tested the guide for us and if you want to hear what she had to say about it visit the Jack FM website.
We have new Adult Learning Classes starting in 2012. The first series is Romans to Utopians: Hertfordshire Gardens through the Ages by Kate Harwood, this will start on the 18^th of January. The second series will start in May on The Renaissance in Florence led by Margaret Davis. Both courses run for 10 weeks and will cost £90 including refreshments.Contact the museum on for further details.
Our next two exhibitions will be on Hertingfordbury (and the surrounding villages), opening in January, and then Souvenirs which will open in May and will have two halves- the first focussing on Royal souvenirs to coincide with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the second half looking more at holiday souvenirs.
If you think you might have anything that could help us with either of these exhibitions please get in touch!
Finally as Christmas approaches there are lots of exciting events on at the Museum in December.
Our Model Railway Day is on December 3^rd , there’s a Victorian Christmas Craft workshop on December 10^th (you need to book for this!) and then on the 21^st and 22^nd December we have drop in workshops to make Christmas Table Crafts!

We’ll also be taking part in the special celebrations this Friday November 26th for the switching on of the Hertford Christmas Lights. The museum will be open until 7pm for you to look around and our shop will be open too (come and have a look at our 12 Days of Christmas window display!)

So you can see there’s lots going on! Over the next few weeks we’ll let you know more about the Hertingfordbury exhibition and some other exciting projects we’re involved in.

Posted in Events, Exhibitions | No Comments »