Habbo Retros are slowly attracting more users with each passing day, most people prefer to play Habbo Retros with pets according to a recent google study, further evidence also supports that Habbo Retros have lead to an annual decrease in revenue for s…

This weekend just gone, my children and I took a trip up north to visit my family for Mother’s Day (We are originally from Denton Manchester). We were looking for things to do and after reading the comments on this page, I thought Beningbrough may be a nice place to visit as it appeared to cater for both adults (of varying ages) and children and it was located not far from my mums.

Sunday was a beautiful day so we decided to go to Beningbrough for a picnic. It is very much out of the way, set back from the A19 and not well signposted, but nevertheless once you manage to get there it is very beautiful. We were welcomed at reception by lovely ladies who were more than helpful. We received a map and information about what was happening on site. We proceeded out into the gardens to settle down for our picnic. The Gardens, found not far from the reception area, were filled with both adults and children who seemed to be having a lovely time. The first thing which surprised me were the people playing ball games on the grass. This was a lovely sight! I don’t think I have been to a Trust place that have openly allowed people to touch the grassy areas let alone play games on them. The gardens are well kept and lovely – I imagine they are amazing in the summer when everything is in bloom.
After lunch and a lot of running around, the children wanted to have a go at the art that was happening on site. With it being a specific ocassion (Mother’s Day) I did expect the activity to have a cost, but as Chris stated in his write up it was free! The activity was ‘funky flower making’. The children were welcomed by a lovely young lady who explained what they had to do. We found a seat and got started. The table was filled with various materials – which was fantastic. Considering the activity was free, there were lots of things to use to make very colourful and creative flowers. I imagine the activity took a lot of thought and setting up as we had everything we could have wanted at our fingertips! Of course, once we sat down and the children had rummaged through the tray of wonderful things, they had indeed forgotten what they had been shown.

Another young lady had obviously noticed we were struggling somewhat and came over to offer us help…thank goodness! I am useless when it comes to arty crafty things! She went through what they needed to do step by step and double checked they knew what to do. She was very friendly and was taking the time to check that other parents and children were ok. I also liked the way she then explained exactly the same activity to me so that I was able to help my children. It was the encouragement given by this young lady that made me realise just how much of a family activity it is. The idea of the workshops, in my opinion, is not for parents to have a half hour break but to get involved in helping their children make something creative. It is opportunity such as that that we were given on Sunday that makes the fondest memories.

Once my children had finished, we handed over one flower which was planted in a rather cute plant pot in the corner of the room. Our flower was planted, using soil…yes real soil by a older lady. The young lady who had taken the time to help us out, commented on how lovely the flowers were and the children enjoyed being praised for the time they had put in. It was nice that the effort was made to comment on the end result even though the room was packed full of people. It was good to see a mix of young and old running the workshop. It was brilliant and I ended up with two wonderful flowers at the end of it.

We then headed up to the mansion. WOW. Very impressive. We were greeted at door and had a brief input on the history. We leisurely walked around the house. I am a bit of a geek when it comes to history so i always have questions. All of the guides i had contact with seemed very knowledgable and those who could not answer my questions, did their very best to find the answers. My children have been brought up to behave in places such as Beningbrough Hall but usually those who man museums often give them the eye or tell them not to touch or to be quiet even when they are not doing anything. The guides at Beningbrough did engage with my children but in a very positive way and not once were they told to be quiet or not to touch.
They thoroughly enjoyed the computer room on the top floor. We now have several emails of their heads super imposed on national gallery portraits! They are genius! My children had a fantastic day and so did us adults!

I am really glad I found this discussion as we had a fantastic day at Beningbrough! My mum and I really enjoyed seeing the kids getting stuck in and enjoying themselves while we were able to enjoy the surroundings and the history of the property. It is undoubtly a place for people of all ages and very family orientated. It is lovely!

Julie

So we ventured up to the Learning Centre (which was filled with lots of portraits created by budding artists) to see what was on offer. It was fantastic! For anyone who has never been to Beningbrough Hall, I would definitely recommend it, if only for the childrens art workshops. The two girls who were running it were young, friendly, good with the children and very helpful – which is quite rare these days. Nothing was a bother. They sat with my children and helped them with the activity which was ‘Wilderness Mask Making’, as well as engaging them in conversation. My son, aged 7, at one point made a comment about how funny the accent was of the young lady who was helping him. My partner and I just looked at each other – kids have a way of totally embarrassing you when you’re not expecting it. Anyway, this young lady laughed it off and explained she was not from York but from a bit further North and people from different places often speak differently. This struck up further conversation. The way in which she handled the conversation was very professional and I myself was impressed with the way in which she came right down to his level. I don’t know what she did when she wasn’t volunteering but she certainly had a way with children. So much so, she was talked about on the way home!

They were also full of positive praise when my children had completed the activity. Both myself and my partner were very impressed with the activity and the way in which we were made to feel welcome. My children absolutely loved it and as a result we will definitely be returning in the near future.

For me, this property should be visited by all and in my opinion is definitely a ‘family friendly’ museum and one which i recommend to parents with children of all ages.

I was so sorry to hear that your visit to Moctezuma was disappointing. British Museum exhibitions are designed to cater for a wide range of audiences by providing lots of different forms of information in addition to the exhibition text. In addition to the free access to the exhibition itself, the Moctezuma offer for schools has included a preview evening for teachers, workshops for pupils lead by our education team and Aztec subject specialist educators and teacher’s notes and activities specifically to help to integrate classroom and Museum based work. These are available for download at http://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/MoctezumaTeacherResource09.pdf and http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/future_exhibitions/moctezuma/for_schools_and_teachers.aspx
We are always keen to receive feedback so that we can keep improving our offers for school and family visitors, so please do get in touch with me if you would like to discuss this further.

Susan Raikes – Head of Learning Programmes, The British Museum

It is something I feel very strongly about. Some years ago my 2 year old granddaughter was told to be quiet at the New York Museum of Modern Art. The woman then proceeded to discuss how awful it was that a child so small should be allowed to disrupt their viewing. I go to art museums frequently with all my grandchildren and make sure they are not restricted in how they express themselves. I stopped my Royal Academy membership some time ago, because I find it too stuffy.

In my retirement have studied a BA in History of Art, an MA in Museum Studies and a PhD in Museum Architecture. I have written freqently about museums being treated like temples and cathedrals where visitors are encouraged to talk in hushed tones.

All the best

Shirley Haines -Cooke

Hearing that, my wife immediately gathered the children together in a nearby alcove and, yet again, made it clear they were not to touch anything in the house. Another attendant immediately came over and told her they were not allowed to stop under any circumstance – the house was almost empty. She told him that she WAS going to talk to the group and asked what was he going to do about it! On another occasion, the cafe had run out of change so they chose to overcharge the children deliberately for drinks! This was only refunded when we complained formally to the house manager.

We now no longer visit the house itself but still take school groups every year to the gardens and the Swiss Cottage and Children’s Museum where the attendants seem completely different.

We went to the National Rail Museum in York yesterday which was great for my 2 year old son who is train mad. There are lifts and ramps for buggies and lots of parking nearby. Baby changing in both the ladies and gents as well as a picnic area. Unfortunately it didn’t have a cloakroom to leave buggies, as we were planning on walking round York we’d take ours but wanted to let our son walk around the museum himself.

The Scottish Museum is also good in Edinburgh though is limited for toddlers with only one interactive room, they often have live music though and the fish pond is always popular.

The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester has lots for children and is the location of the first passenger train service, there are picnic areas and toilets and cafes.

All of the above are free as well.