Northampton Museum & Art Gallery

15/10/2026

🎃🍂 Pottery Pumpkin Patch at Northampton Museum & Art Gallery! 🍂🎃

Get into the autumn spirit and join us for a creative clay workshop where you can make your very own pumpkin tealight holder or autumn ornament!

📅 Thursday 29 October
🕚 Session 1: 11am – 12.30pm
🕑 Session 2: 2pm – 3.30pm

🎨 Create a cute clay pumpkin to take home
🏡 Let it dry, then paint or varnish it to decorate your home this autumn
🍁 Perfect for getting crafty during the half-term holidays

🎟️ 20 places available per workshop
📌 Booking required
👧 Suggested age: 7+
👨‍👩‍👧 Children must be accompanied by an adult throughout the workshop

Spaces are limited, so don't leave it too late to book!

Book online here: https://wnc.ai/VwAp4
Tickets are also available to book in person or by phone direct from the museum on 01604 526321 (Tuesday–Saturday 10am–5pm | Sun 12–5pm)

📍 Northampton Museum & Art Gallery

🎃🍁

15/10/2026

🏛️🔍 Can You Master Our Architectural Antics Trail? 🔍🏛️

This half-term, put your detective skills to the test with our Architectural Antics Trail at Northampton Museum & Art Gallery!

📅 Saturday 24 October – Sunday 1 November

Explore the museum building and discover fascinating details in our From the Collection: Architecture exhibition as you follow clues, solve puzzles and complete the trail.

🧩 Hunt for hidden clues
🏛️ Discover amazing architecture
🔎 Explore the museum in a whole new way
🎁 Complete the trail and collect your puzzling prize!

Perfect for curious young explorers, budding architects and families looking for a fun museum adventure.

🎟️ £2 per trail
📍 Northampton Museum & Art Gallery

How observant are you? There's only one way to find out! 👀✨

🏛️�

15/10/2026

Looking for half-term fun? 🎃🚀🤖

Join us at Northampton Museum & Art Gallery and Abington Park Museum this half term! Enjoy Halloween-themed activities, hands on object sessions with The Hitchhiking Historian, activity trails and much more. There's plenty to spark curious minds!

Full details of all activities are on our website here: https://www.northamptonmuseums.com/whats-on/family-activities/

14/10/2026

The search continues - do you have the oldest photograph in Northamptonshire?

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of photography, Northampton Museum and Art Gallery are creating an exhibition to celebrate photography in Northamptonshire and we are looking to find the oldest photograph of a Northamptonshire subject to feature in the exhibition.

One of the oldest photographs we have found so far is held at Northamptonshire Archives. Taken in 1854, it captures Norman Ramsay, whose family lived in Brackley when he died abroad in the Crimean War.

On the reverse is written ‘Norman Ramsay, 34th Regiment, died of fever in Crimea R.I.P.’ Along with his photograph, Northamptonshire Archives holds two letters sent from ‘Camp before Sebastopol’ to Ramsay’s relatives, and the Crimea Medal with Sebastopol Clasp, awarded to Lt. Norman Ramsay, 34th Foot.
For more details, see Northamptonshire Archives Online Catalogue: https://wnc.ai/4xAke

Share your old photographs with us by email to [email protected].

13/10/2026

📚 Book lovers, this one's for you!

Join us at the Northampton Museum & Art Gallery Book Fair on Saturday 7 November, 11am-4pm.

Browse over 30 stalls packed with local authors, booksellers, and literary treasures. Whether you're hunting for your next great read, searching for a unique gift, or simply love the magic of books, there's something for everyone.

Come along, discover new stories, meet fellow book enthusiasts, and celebrate Northampton's thriving reading community.

📍 Northampton Museum & Art Gallery
📅 Saturday 7 November
⏰ 11am-4pm
🎟️ Free entry

Browse more than 30 stalls featuring local authors, booksellers, and book-related treasures. Whether you’re searching for your next favourite read, a unique gift, or simply love the world of books, there’s something for every age and interest.

13/10/2026

🎨 Featured Artist: Angela Parker 🌻

Meet Angela Parker, a Scottish artist from Edinburgh who now lives and works from her studio in Mears Ashby.

Working across painting, sculpture, jewellery, printmaking and poetry, Angela brings a rich and varied creative practice to her work. For her current collection, she has explored new approaches to painting, combining mixed media and acrylics with her more familiar watercolour and ink techniques.

Inspired by the beauty of everyday natural subjects, Angela's work celebrates simple forms and colours, from vibrant sunflowers to humble rhubarb. Her artistic journey began after a lifelong career in nursing, when she fulfilled a long-held ambition to study art, graduating with a First Class Honours degree in Fine Art seven years ago.

🖼️ Angela's work is currently on display in The Selling Gallery, and all pieces are available to purchase, offering the opportunity to own an original artwork from this talented local artist.

Visit The Selling Gallery to discover Angela's thoughtful and beautifully observed work.

🌻🎨✨

12/10/2026

🌾🍎 Harvest Time at Mini Museum Explorers! 🍎🌾

This Friday, we're celebrating Food Glorious Food! with a fun-filled Harvest adventure at Northampton Museum & Art Gallery!

Join us for a morning of:
📖 Stories
🎵 Music
🎨 Creative art activities
✂️ Hands-on crafts
🌽 Harvest-themed fun and discovery

Perfect for little explorers aged 2.5–5 years and their grown-ups, our popular Mini Museum Explorers sessions are packed with creativity, learning and play in a friendly museum setting.

☕ Plus, while the children enjoy a refreshment, adults can relax with a well-earned tea or coffee.

📅 Friday 16 October
⏰ 10.15am – 11.45am
💷 £6 per child
📍 Northampton Museum & Art Gallery

Spaces are limited and booking is essential, so don't miss out on this harvest-time treat!

📞 Book online here: https://wnc.ai/Vp0JV
Tickets available from the museum or by calling 01604 526322 .

🍂🌻✨

10/10/2026

Verity Babbs – Art History’s Funniest Bits

Friday November 13
7pm
Northampton Museum & Art Gallery

What are we missing out on when we take art too seriously? Some brilliant stories.

Join us as art historian & comedian Verity Babbs leads us through some of art history’s funniest bits: artists stabbing, sh****ng, and slagging each other off included. Sharing stories from her recent book The History of Art in One Sentence, Verity takes us on a journey of 500 years of artists behaving badly, jaw-dropping artworks, and manifestos that’ll make you say “oh my!”. Come and celebrate the power of laughing at art, and leave seeing some of your favourite artists in a whole new light.

Verity was named one of BBC History Extra’s ’30 Under 30′ in 2024 and has appeared on BBC 2, BBC Radio 4 as an arts expert. She has worked on filmed projects for Tate, British Museum, and London Art Fair, and has written for the Guardian, RA Magazine, and Artnet News.

Tickets £10

Book online here: https://wnc.ai/N2Dge

Tickets can also be purchased in person from the museum or over the telephone on 01604 526322, Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 5pm, Sunday 12-5pm.

Photo: Paul Gilbey

Join us as art historian & comedian Verity Babbs leads us through some of art history’s funniest bits: artists stabbing, sh****ng, and slagging each other off included. Sharing stories from her recent book The History of Art in One Sentence, Verity takes us on a journey of 500 years of artists beh...

09/10/2026

📼🎮👾 Last chance to see I Grew Up 80s!

Whether you lived through the decade or want to show the kids what life was like before smartphones, don't miss this nostalgic journey through 1980s Britain.

Discover iconic toys, games, music, technology and pop culture favourites in an exhibition featuring more than 200 objects collected by cultural commentator Matt Fox.

📅 Closes Sunday 11 October 📍 Northampton Museum & Art Gallery 🎟️ FREE