For those that dare, three of West Cheshire’s museums (two located in Northwich and one in Chester) will be getting into the ‘spirit’ by offering spooktacular half-term Halloween events from 25-31 October – many with a climate change ‘twist’. Events range from a (non-scary) walk around Chester to creating Halloween clay models, spooky mobiles and ‘glow in the dark’ spiders. In the lead up to the COP26 summit, innovative and topical Halloween-meet-Climate Change events including a ‘Clothes Swap’ event as well as two Chester BID – funded animated films WALL-E and Coco, to be screened at the Grosvenor Museum. In addition, there will be a fun chance to learn about the impact of plastic on wildlife. For information go to westcheshiremuseums.co.uk
Emily Ghazarian, Marketing & Events Manager, Chester BID: “So many families reached out to us asking if the free family film program would return. We are delighted to be able to bring this back to the Grosvenor Museum during October half term. This program gives families yet another reason to visit our little city with a big heart and we encourage them to enjoy the high street shops, cafes and restaurants along with their cinema experience at the museum.”
Lion Salt Works Museum, Marston, Northwich
Quilling Leaves and Halloween mobiles
Tuesday 26 October – Wednesday 27 October, 10.30- 3pm. Drop-in £2
Free parking, large children’s play area, café and shop. Suitable up to age 10.
In the atmospheric surroundings of the award-winning Lion Salt Works Museum, children can learn to ‘quill’ autumn leaves and make colourful Halloween mobiles. Quilling involves creating an autumn leaf and filling the area between the veins with fabric and tracing paper, creating beautiful autumnal art. Visitors do not have to go around the museum to take part in the half-term events.
Grosvenor Museum, Chester
WALL-E film by Pixar Animations (2008, U)
Saturday 23 October, 11-12.40pm, free, but booking essential through www.experiencechester.co.uk/events/
Courtesy of Chester BID, the Grosvenor Museum’s iconic Victorian-built lecture theatre will show the engaging children’s animation WaLL-E. WALL-E, short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class, is the last robot left on Earth. He spends his days tidying up the planet but over 700 years he has developed a personality and is more than a little lonely until he spots EVE.
A whale and a tale, Saturday 23 October
11am – 2pm. £2 per child. Drop-in. No charge to visit the museum. Suitable for everyone over 4.
Children can learn about the harmful impacts of plastic while having fun creating a piece of a whale out of recycled plastic milk bottles. They can also leave a climate change pledge.
Something to Scare and Something to Wear,
Tuesday 26, Wednesday 27, and Thursday 28 October, 11am-2pm. £2 per child.
Drop-in. Suitable for ages 4-12.
Three days of Halloween fun, when children can make or customise their own ghostly and downright scary mask as well as a life-size ‘glow in the dark’ skeleton or dangly spider.
Children’s (non-scary) Ghost Walk around Chester
Wednesday 27 October 5.30pm – 7pm
Booking is essential 01244 972197 (pay the guide on the day).
£8 per adult with up to 2 free children.
Suitable for children under 12. Meet at Chester’s Visitor Information Centre next to the Town Hall.
Tour guide, Ann Coward, will show Chester’s ghosts are friendly during a fun ghost tour around the atmospheric city centre of Chester. This is not a scary tour but it does include steps.
Coco by Pixar Animations (2017, PG)
Saturday 30 October, 11-12.45pm, free, but booking essential through www.experiencechester.co.uk/events/
Courtesy of Chester BID, the Grosvenor Museum will show Coco. The story follows a 12-year-old boy who is accidentally transported to the Land of the Dead where he seeks the help of his deceased musician great-great-grandfather to return him to his family among the living and to reverse his family’s ban on music.
Day of the Dead, Saturday 30 October
11pm -2pm. Free, Drop-in. Suitable for ages 4-12.
Inspired by the brightly coloured sugar skulls seen during the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday, children can create a garland of skulls to decorate their bedrooms with.
Weaver Hall Museum and Workhouse
Halloween and Climate Change – Clothes Exchange
25 October, 11am-3pm, Free admission, no booking necessary.
On-site Café
Saving the planet can be fun. The Clothes Exchange in Weaver Hall’s spacious and interesting Victorian Boardroom, gives people the chance to get tokens for good clothes that they have either outgrown or are no longer wearing. The tokens can be used to ‘buy’ other clothes at the event. People of all ages and sizes are encouraged to take part and in doing so they will help the planet by saving clothes from going to landfill.
Get Creative with Clay, Tuesday 26th and Wednesday 27th October
10.30am – 3.30pm Drop-in £2
Free parking, café and shop. Suitable up to 12 years.
Imagination is the limit when it comes to children creating a spell-binding clay model over half-term – be it witches, wizards and black cats or knights and mermaids. Visitors do not have to go around the museum to take part in the half-term events.
Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council: “After the disappointment of missing out last year, this is a spooktacular range of imaginative activities for children this Halloween by West Cheshire Museums. In the month of the Climate Change Summit in Glasgow, many are appropriately underpinned by a climate-change message. I hope everyone has the chance to go to one of these fun activities, wherever they are in Cheshire.”
To ensure visitors feel safe when attending the advice is to:
- Carry out and have a negative Lateral Flow Test 24h prior to attending the event
- That people should do a symptoms check prior to leaving home.
- That people consider their own measures prior to attending which could include face masks inside and some social distancing in busy areas.
- Visitors are also encouraged to download and log their Covid status on the NHS app
See full Chester city centre Halloween program here.
Published 11th October 2021
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