Sensory play sessions 2024
Hands-on play sessions for under 5s
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WEEKEND SESSIONS NOW AVAILABLE
Come along to our monthly sensory play sessions, where under 5s explore a different theme each time and get hands on with crafts, interactive activities, songs, stories and more. Drop in at any time between 10.30am-12.30pm or 1pm-3pm to join in the fun. No booking required and it's FREE for visitors with a museum ticket.
Saturday 16 March 2024: Spring into action
The daffodils are blooming and the days are getting longer; it must be spring time! In our sensory play this month we’ll be looking at what a special time this is in the natural world. We'll be tending to our own flowers to take home, making some bunny ears, and using our stuffed animal friends to learn how to look after some baby animals. And our usual songs and stories will have a spring twist too.
Friday 12 April 2024: Blue light heroes
We've all seen ambulances with their blue lights flashing, heading to the scene of an emergency. The Ambulance Service does so much for us, we wanted to celebrate them in this session. Join us to make your own ambulance and test out your bandaging skills. Can you get the ambulance to where it needs to be? Of course there will be songs and stories too.
Thursday 30 May 2024: A day at the museum
Ever wondered what it is like to work in a museum? Well in this session you get to find out. Little ones will become mini museum curators for the day. There will be a chance to handle museum objects and create your own exhibition, and learn all about what it is like to work in a museum. We’ll have a story, crafts and songs as usual too.
Sunday 23 June 2024: Doing our bit
In this session we'll learn about the little things we can do to look after our planet. We'll find out how to recycle by sorting what we use at home into different materials. We'll create a rainfall measure using some recyclable materials and find out about our earth and how amazing it is! Plus there will be our usual songs and stories too.
Friday 26 July 2024: Saving lives at sea
This year the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) celebrates its 200th birthday. This session is all about the emergency services that help us on the water - the RNLI and the Coastguard. We’ll find out about how to stay safe at the beach over the summer and what different beach flags mean. We’ll explore the vehicles the RNLI and the Coastguard use and how to use torches to send signals. With songs and stories too.
Friday 23 August 2024: Become a firefighter
In this session you can become a firefighter for the day. Drive the fire engine, wear the uniform and, most importantly, put the fires out! We’ll also learn about how to stay safe when there is a fire and what number to call. Plus a story and some songs too.
Saturday 21 September 2024: Boys (and girls) in blue
Do you have what it takes to become a police officer? Find out in this sensory play session. Search for hidden clues, get messy with finger painting (and printing) and catch the criminals. After all that we should still have time for some police themed stories and songs.
Saturday 26 October 2024: A ghoulish gathering
It’s (almost) Halloween and as we love everything ghostly and ghoulish here at NESM, how could this month's sensory play session not have a spooky theme? We’ll be creating our own peg bats, doing some invisible writing and there will be apple bobbing too. And of course some spooky songs and terrifying tales.
Sunday 24 November 2024: Celebrating you!
Universal Children's Day falls on 20 November, so let's celebrate what makes you so wonderful and special! We’ll do a picture all about you, and think about the different and big feelings we have and ways we can handle these. We'll also have time to read a story and sing songs together about you too.
Friday 20 December 2024: Christmas cheer
Merry Christmas everyone! We're getting festive at the last sensory play session of the year. We’ll be singing Christmas songs and listening to a special story. We’ll be getting messy creating tree ornaments and Christmas cards too, and wrapping presents to put under our very own Christmas tree.