Now that it’s officially September, and everyone is starting to accept that summer really might be over, we wanted to take some time to reflect on the fantastic summer holidays we enjoyed here at the Museum.

In August, we hosted families from across Rochdale for a fun packed programme of crafts, cooking, games & more. The sessions were funded by Rochdale Council’s Holiday Activity Fund. We offered loads of opportunities to get creative and try new things – as well as learning all about the power of co-operation, of course!

Our first session was delivered in collaboration with Pat Collinge, a Rochdale based family nutritionist. Families explored food from around the world and made empanadas and Greek orange cake to reflect the spirit of peace and international co-operation embodied in the Olympic Games. Crafts included making colourful salt-dough medals (pictured) and making our own flags.

Week 2 was all about co-operative games. In teams, families worked together to complete a series of active challenges. Often, it was the most collaborative and supportive team which was most successful. Families also got to try making delicious rainbow fruit skewers to enjoy at a tasty picnic!

In our final week, we made sweet polish dumplings and then got messy with some painting. Families worked together to paint a new wooden little library that will be located outside our museum to offer free book sharing in the local area. Everyone wanted to make library users feel inspired by the magic of stories, so spent the morning inventing a character that they could then paint onto the library. If you’re interested in using the library, you’ll hear more from us about that soon!

We had the best time getting to know all the families that joined us this summer. If you’d like to take part in our family workshops in the future, keep an eye on our website in the lead up to school holidays.