What’s On Events Calendar
Building closure - upcoming dates
Due to extensive roofing works at Palace Green Library, there will be times when we have to close the building to visitors between summer 2024 and spring 2025, with no access to Museum of Archaeology, Cosin’s Library, Penned and Printed exhibition and World Heritage Site Visitor Centre.
Visit our Tickets and Times pages at each venue for more information.
Little Dragons
14 August 2024 - 04 September 2024
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
Oriental Museum
Join us at the Oriental Museum on Wednesday mornings for Little Dragons, our FREE session for children under 5 and their families/carers. Each session will be packed full of exploring the museum galleries, fun craft activities, singing, games and stories.
- Creative
- Public
- Under 5s
Mountain Zine Making
14 August 2024 - 14 August 2024
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Explore the sights and sounds of the Himalayas and make a cool mountain zine.
- Family friendly
- Children and families
Durham Art Collective
14 August 2024 - 14 August 2024
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
7 Owengate, Art Collection
A youth group for 12-18 year olds to learn practical art skills.
- Creative
- School students
Crazy Creatures
15 August 2024 - 15 August 2024
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Botanic Garden
Get interactive with our Crazy Creatures who are visiting the Garden for the day.
- Family friendly
- Children and families
Games Night Fun: Autism-Friendly Family Activities
15 August 2024 - 15 August 2024
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Explore our new exhibition all about toys and games, then play some fun games like Ancient Egyptian senet, snakes and ladders and more - all while the museum galleries are generally quieter.
- Accessible
- Creative
- Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
- Outreach & community
- Public
- Workshop
- Family friendly
- Children and families
- Everyone
Twilight Opening at Oriental Museum
15 August 2024 - 15 August 2024
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Oriental Museum is open until 7pm the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month.
- Accessible
- Exhibitions
- Lates
- Public
- Everyone
Creative letter writing
16 August 2024 - 16 August 2024
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
7 Owengate
Exploring the LGBTQIA+ histories in the Oriental Museum collection.
- Creative
- Everyone
Sail Away
16 August 2024 - 16 August 2024
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
See a beautiful boat on display and make your own watercolour sail boat.
- Family friendly
- Children and families
Awesome Obelisks
17 August 2024 - 17 August 2024
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Find out about the ancient Egyptian obelisk on display and create your own 3D model to take home.
- Family friendly
- Children and families
Little Dragons
21 August 2024 - 21 August 2024
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Oriental Museum
Join us at the Oriental Museum on Wednesday mornings for Little Dragons, our FREE session for children under 5 and their families/carers. Each session will be packed full of exploring the museum galleries, fun craft activities, singing, games and stories.
- Creative
- Public
- Under 5s
Little Dragons
21 August 2024 - 11 September 2024
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
Oriental Museum
Join us at the Oriental Museum on Wednesday mornings for Little Dragons, our FREE session for children under 5 and their families/carers. Each session will be packed full of exploring the museum galleries, fun craft activities, singing, games and stories.
- Creative
- Public
- Under 5s
Chinese Writing Workshop
21 August 2024 - 21 August 2024
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Learn some Chinese characters and try writing your own.
- Family friendly
- Children and families
Elizabeth Baker, StoryTeller
22 August 2024 - 22 August 2024
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Botanic Garden
Join storyteller, Elizabeth Baker, for a whole host of stories and legends from some of the different countries where the wonderful plants in our Garden grow.
- Family friendly
- Children and families
Dusty Objects and Tough Decisions: The Work of Museum Curators
22 August 2024 - 22 August 2024
5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Durham World Heritage Site Visitor Centre, Museum of Archaeology
Join us for an engaging exploration into the often unseen world of museum curation, featuring insights from the Museum of Archaeology and Bioscience Collection at Durham University.
- Lecture
- Outreach & community
- Public
- Talks, training, seminars & conferences
- Everyone
Beautiful Bastet
23 August 2024 - 23 August 2024
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Bastet was the Ancient Egyptian goddess of protection. Find out why she was so important and make a fun cat painting.
- Family friendly
- Children and families
The Shang Dynasty of China
24 August 2024 - 24 August 2024
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Find out about the Shang Dynasty of China and make a scary taotie mask with embossed metal detail.
- Family friendly
- Children and families
Little Dragons
28 August 2024 - 28 August 2024
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Oriental Museum
Join us at the Oriental Museum on Wednesday mornings for Little Dragons, our FREE session for children under 5 and their families/carers. Each session will be packed full of exploring the museum galleries, fun craft activities, singing, games and stories.
- Creative
- Public
- Under 5s
Little Dragons
28 August 2024 - 18 September 2024
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
Oriental Museum
Join us at the Oriental Museum on Wednesday mornings for Little Dragons, our FREE session for children under 5 and their families/carers. Each session will be packed full of exploring the museum galleries, fun craft activities, singing, games and stories.
- Creative
- Public
- Under 5s
Mughal Miniatures
28 August 2024 - 28 August 2024
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Create your own Indian-style miniature painting.
- Family friendly
- Children and families
Lyrical Poetry Singing Workshop
29 August 2024 - 29 August 2024
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Oriental Museum
Exploring the LGBTQIA+ histories in the Ancient Greek Collections
- Creative
- Everyone
What’s on across our venues
Our unique cultural attractions include Durham Castle, Botanic Garden, Historic Libraries at Palace Green, Oriental Museum, Museum of Archaeology and our World Heritage Site Visitor Centre. Whatever your interest, there's something for everyone to enjoy.