What's On at the Museums

All our museums have free admission and lots of drop-in crafts and activities that are perfect for a last-minute outing. See www.eastlothian.gov.uk/museums for details.

EVENTS:

Tickets are now on sale for Festival of Museums 2018
Friday 18 to Sunday 20 May. Events in Dunbar, Haddington and Prestonpans.

Stories from the Cells! Come and explore historic crime and punishment at Dunbar Town House Museum and Gallery. We will be bring the cells back to life with the help of Edinburgh based Reactivated History Tours telling the dramatic stories of those who worked here or were imprisoned! This is a fantastic opportunity to see parts of this historically significant building that are only usually available by tour, including the cells which will feature images and audio. Come and try out our drop-in sound effects activity or make a booking for the theatre piece.  Pre booking essential for performances at set times. Theatre piece is aimed at P4 children and above but visit to the cells and craft activities will be open to all and free. Friday 7-9pm adults only, Saturday and Sunday 1-5pm. Tickets can be booked at 01620 820699, museumseast@eastlothian.gov.uk or by visiting museums. Adults £5, Children (under 14s) £3.50, Infants (under 2s sat on knee) and Family (of 4/5) £15.

Hats off to History, Sunday 20 May, time, John Gray Centre. Join us for an immersive and inspiring afternoon!  Listen to an expert talk from designer milliner, Felicity Faichney on the history of hat making and wearing followed by the opportunity to explore hat making techniques and try on historic replicas.  Tickets £5.  Booking essential. 

Play at the Grange on Saturday 19 May, 12noon to 4pm at Prestongrange Museum, Morrison’s Haven, Prestonpans EH32 9RX will be a fabulous festival extravaganza of theatre, magic, singing, face painting, music and more.  Performance highlights include Mark Kydd in character as Bonnie Prince Charlie, Scottish singer-songwriter, Alex Hodgson, The Ministry of Magic, Razzle Dazzle youth performance group.  Adults £5, Children £3 and Family (of 4/5) £15. Tickets are limited so book in advance to avoid disappointment on 01620 820690 or by calling into the Museum.

Regular activities

Fun & Crafty Weekend Drop-in Activities in May
Join us for fun drop-in crafts and activities! Suggested donation £1 per craft
John Muir Birthplace & John Gray Centre Friday lunchtime to Sunday afternoon and school holidays.

In May John Muir’s Birthplace activities will explore Beautifully Recycled, All About Bees and Wildlife Crime! Follow us on Facebook at East Lothian Council Museums Service, John Muir’s Birthplace or John Gray Centre to find out more.

Good Memories Café will be on Friday 25 May in the Star Room at John Gray Centre from 2pm till 4pm. A friendly & informal drop-in cafe for people with dementia & their carers. Join us for tea & cake!  The Café has a lovely atmosphere and often includes singing, music, crafts & museum objects.

Tiny Tuesdays at Prestongrange every Tuesday May to Sept.
Under 5s wee crafts, stories and dance. A great time for adults to meet, find support and bond with their babies and toddlers. £1 per craft

 EXHIBITIONS:

Land Becomes Sea Becomes Land by Susie Goodwin. until Sunday 13 May.  This exhibition is a reflective journey through the artist’s environmental practice over a number of years, her inspiration and her local land and seascapes around Dunbar. The title of the exhibition was inspired by a phrase David Attenborough used in the acclaimed series Blue Planet that seemed to sum up the rhythms of moon, tide and growth that are captured in her work and the timely need to care more for our planet. Rhythms that are soothing and reassuring are seemingly timeless but does this mask the changes that take place, is all as it appears to be? Dunbar Town House Museum and Gallery

William Keith & John Muir: Kindred Souls –  at John Muir’s Birthplace Explore the work of John Muir’s close friend William Keith, a leading American landscape painter. The two friends shared similar interests in, and attitudes towards, nature, and of course their Scottishness. www.jmbt.org.uk

Haddington - Life and Work Saturday 12 May to Sunday 24 June  at John Gray Centre. Haddington Camera Club (HCC) members have been photographing images for the “Life and Work” exhibition as part of the Haddington 700 Celebrations. As a club they will be displaying a real variety of images showing the people of Haddington at work and play in our Royal Burgh in this year of 2018. Come and see some of the characters that make Haddington the diverse and modern market town we live in today.

Wild Prestongrange: Encounter the animals and plants of Prestongrange, April to September at Prestongrange Museum. Discover the animals, plants, flowers and mini-beasts that can be found here, in this lovely exhibition.

HOMING by Dalziel & Scullion. Saturday 19 May to Sunday 24 June at Dunbar Town House Museum and Gallery. The ability and instinct to return to a territory after travelling away from it. NORTH LIGHT ARTS are delighted to announce that the John Muir Artists in Residence 2018 are Dalziel + Scullion. Responding to John Muir’s playful yet insightful interactions with Nature, the artists will work towards an artist’s talk, exhibition at Dunbar Town House and the launch of an associated publication.

Dalziel + Scullion HOMING project has involved them working with a number of local specialists to investigate the nature of the John Muir Way. Focusing on its beginning between Dunbar and Musselburgh, whilst setting a tone that might be adopted further along the length of the 134 mile walk. A number of carefully chosen sites have been identified where visitors can interact with its geology, plants, insects or other life forms with the aid of a series of instructions that invite contemplation, curiosity and interaction. The exhibition will introduce people to these encounters and the potential artefacts that can be made and collected along the way.

The annual John Muir Residency is supported by East Lothian Council Arts Service and Creative Scotland. Further information: www.northlightarts.org.uk

The Coastal Communities Museum are keeping the best of what they already have but refresh and re-new some of the display areas.   There will be plenty of local history objects, images and documents on display to help visitors connect to the past. Drop in to see old favourites such as the Robert Louis Stevenson exhibit, the 1902 Bass Rock Lighthouse Lens and the Beach Hut. The RLS and pirate themed family area full of activities for children is staying too, with new ways to explore together being added.

Visitors will be able to discover new displays on

• Modern and medieval pilgrimages
• Local geology, what shaped the landscape and how the land has been used over the centuries especially for agriculture
• School days - a fitting feature given the museum occupies the former school rooms!
• The end of the First World War, to coincide with the national programme of commemoration.

One star item is a mould for making pilgrim badges, unearthed on Anchor Green in North Berwick. It depicts St Andrew and was used to make lead badges, or tokens, which were sold to pilgrims as souvenirs, to be sewn onto a hat or tunic. The new feature on pilgrims includes a model of the “Auld Kirk” at the harbour too; illustrating how the original 12th century church grew in response to the enormous volume of pilgrim traffic passing through long ago.

A memorial board showing the names of the First World War fallen from the local war memorials has been on show since 2014. This year, the exhibit will be enhanced to show the impact of the end of the fighting and what happened afterwards.

The Museum is open through to the end of November. Days and times vary seasonally; please check www.coastalmuseum.org for details or find us on Facebook.