Explosion! The Museum of Naval Firepower in Gosport is pleased to announce that it will be hosting an overnight sleepover for children and families as part of the ‘Museums at Night’ initiative, sponsored by SKY ARTS. The sleepover will take place on Saturday the 14th of May from 6pm and include a number of specially organised activities.
‘Museums at Night’ is part of Museums and Galleries Month, organised by Culture 24 and the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA). The ‘Museums at Night’ initiative is kindly sponsored by SKY ARTS, who have agreed to subsidise related events up and down the country.
During the evening children will be able to decorate their very own fabulous Explosion tee-shirt, meet Jane Priddy herself for a storytelling session, play giant board games in the Gunpowder Magazine, draw their own postcard design of Portsmouth Harbour to post home, AND there will also be the chance to meet Explosion’s newest residents – the Priddy’s Hard goats! Visitor Services Officer, Marc Farrance said ‘We are delighted to be involved with this initiative, we hope the range of activities and sleepover will appeal to lots of local families. We are very grateful to SKY ARTS for their support with this event’.
The finale of the evening is a sleepover in the Grand Magazine, a former Gunpowder storage vault, for children and their families. In addition to activities and included as part of the evening, children will also be offered refreshments and an evening meal, along with breakfast the next morning. The event is open to families and children’s groups alike (scouts, guides etc.)
Due to the generous subsidiary from ‘SKY ARTS’, the Museum can offer this package for £3 per person, strictly on a first come – first serve basis. It is essential that tickets be booked in advance, and children must be supervised by parents throughout the night. More information on this and other events can be found by visiting www.explosion.org.uk. Alternatively contact the Museum by phone on 023 9250 5600.
Extended Information on Activities:
· Tee-Shirt Decoration – Children will have the opportunity to decorate the Explosion logo using a selection of funky fabric pen colours before having their creation ironed on and imprinted on their shirt for a fabulous memento of the evening.
· Meet Jane Priddy, former owner of some of the Priddy’s Hard site, for an atmospheric and informative talk about Gosport in the 18th Century and life as a landowner before the Board of Ordnance persuaded her to sell up!
· Play Giant Snakes and Ladders, 10 pin bowling and Jamenga in our 18th Century Grade 1 Listed Gunpowder Magazine.
· Draw, address and let the museum post to your home your own drawing of anything you choose across the harbour. Use the binoculars to get a great look at HMS Victory, HMS Warrior, Spinnaker Tower, Portchester Castle and many of the other famous landmarks that can be viewed from the Priddy’s Hard peninsular.
· Meet and feed the museum’s newest employees – The Priddy’s Hard Goats! It’s a night out too for some of the 15 goats who have recently been acquired to do a job nibbling away at some of the vegetation in the 18th Century rampart area. Now you can meet some of them close up, and even choose the name of our 15th and currently unnamed goat!