News & Events

Diary
Looking for something to do? Our events, activities, talks and tours are all listed here.
Or download our audio diary

Exhibitions
Information and dates for current and upcoming Exhibitions

Just In
View the latest additions to the collection

Museum Surgery
Have your mystery object identified

What's New

  Teacher training events in the Autumn term

Professional development dates

Wednesday 10 September 4.00-5.30pm
For Newly Qualified teachers with Reading Borough Council

Tuesday 30 September 4.30-6.30pm
Handling the past – fun with archaeology
An exciting opportunity for secondary teachers to join staff from the Museum and Reading University’s Department of Archaeology

Wednesday 15 October 4.00-6.00pm
Free event for all teachers helping you use fantastic loans boxes in your planning. Join us for tea and cake and explore our hands-on museum objects.

Tuesday 11 November 4.00-5.30pm
Free twilight INSET for all teachers. Discover what museum sessions are on offer for your pupils.

Wednesday 10 December AM
Free half-day training for all Early Years practitioners. Explore the museum and investigate resources to help with Foundation Stage planning.

All the above events are FREE but booking essential.
Please contact 0118 939 9800 or
rebecca.james@reading.gov.uk
joanne.lonsdale@reading.gov.uk

  Behind the scenes store tour

Following on from our highly successful store tours in previous years, the Museum is offering a further opportunity to explore behind the scenes of our South Reading store. This year's event has a crime and punishment theme as part of the Reading Festival of Crime Writing. You will see a range of objects from gibbet irons to perilous plants.

FREE 45 minute tours for adults and children over 12, drop in between 11am and 3.45 pm (last tour 3pm), please call us on 0118 939 9800 for directions to our South Reading store.

Please note this event is at our off site store not the Museum of Reading.

  All Aboard!

Discover what life at sea was like on board HMS Belfast.

Hear the stories of naval veterans from the Belfast Association and handle real objects associated with the Royal Navy.

Wednesday 24 September
1.00-1.30pm in 'The Sea, The Sea' exhibition

Suitable for all ages

FREE, drop in

  New look for Corporate Membership scheme

We are delighted to unveil our new Corporate Sponsorship Programme Viva Reading! launched on 15 July.

The new programme unites the existing Reading Museum Service and Reading Arts And Venues Corporate Membership Schemes, opening the doors for current and new members to enjoy the full range of benefits offered by both the Museum and Arts Development.

Look at our corporate membership pages Viva Reading! for more details.

Patron - John Madejski, OBE DL

  See Britain's Bayeux Tapestry

A major conference about the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum in July considers where it was made and by whom and whether it should be displayed in England. The current edition of BBC History Magazine explores these issues with leading historians. Carola Hicks, author of The Bayeux Tapestry (2007) thinks that the tapestry should remain in Bayeux, ‘if people in Britain want to experience the tapestry without going to France, they should go to Reading Museum and look at the absolutely excellent Victorian copy that was sewn in the 1880s’.

You can see Britain’s Bayeux Tapestry at the Museum of Reading, there are free guided tours every Saturday at 2.15pm.

‘The great embroidery is, perhaps better displayed [at Reading] than the original in Normandy….complemented by Norman remains from Reading’s 12th century abbey.’ The Guardian, 25 June 2008

  The Sea, The Sea - now open

The Sea in all its moods has inspired generations. Paintings and drawings from the Museum collection evoke the cry of gulls, the smell of salt spray and the feel of sand beneath your feet. Complementing the art works are seldom-seen objects collected and created by people who lived, worked and dreamed by the sea - from shells and fossils to models and tools. The exhibition includes works by Maggi Hambling, Johannes Lingelbach, Eric Ravilious and Joan Eardley and there will be things for all the family to do as well as see.

Throughout the exhibition enjoy a varied programme of events and activities including live music in the art gallery, talks and artist-led workshops.

  Silchester Photographs - browse online

The museum holds an archive of over 600 historic photographs documenting the early excavations at the Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum, near Silchester. These images record the excavations from about 1870, when the Revd J. G. Joyce was investigating the site, to 1909, when the Society of Antiquaries completed their project to excavate and record the whole area enclosed by the town wall.

This photographic record offers an insight into the excavations and the methods used at the time. It also shows the people involved in the work, ranging from the team of diggers who came from the surrounding villages to the members of the Committee who ran the excavations for the Society of Antiquaries. Some of the objects now on display at the Museum of Reading appear as they were when first recovered.

A project to identify and scan these images has been completed. To browse and search 120 of them click here

  The Biscuit Tin Café

The Museum's family-friendly café, just behind the Town Hall reception area, is open daily. Aimed at families and children, the café sells fair trade tea and coffee, homemade biscuits and cakes.

The cafe is open Monday - Saturday, 10-4 and 11-4 Sunday.

  Riverside Museum open every day

The Riverside Museum at Blake's Lock tells the story of Reading's two rivers. Its centrepiece is the Dunton's gypsy caravan that was built on the banks of the River Kennet. Admission is free. The Museum is open daily in partnership with the Bel and The Dragon restaurant that also occupies the site.

A Riverside Trail leaflet links the Museum with central Reading. Pick up your free copy from our museums or call us on 0118 939 9800. See the ‘About Us’ page for a location map and opening hours.