People’s History Museum (PHM) has lined-up a summer of Family Friendly fun for visitors to the national museum of democracy in Manchester’s Spinningfields. Music, adventure and peace are the themes that await discovery, plus two galleries that feature interactive exhibits. Along with entry to the museum, all the activities are free to take part in. You can find out more at the welcome desk and in the Playful Protest space, which is dedicated to Family Friendly activities.
Music is Hope
Families that follow the Music for the Senses trail to People’s History Museum will be able to see not only the colourful guitar created by artist Ella Masters, Music is Hope, but take part in some creativity of their own.
Ella’s design is inspired by her autistic three year old daughter Winnie’s love of music and the connections that it gives her, when words can be hard to come by. Music is Hope is one of 50 decorated guitars that can be found around Manchester as part of the Music for the Senses trail, inspired by the city’s musical heritage and the musical happenings this summer. It is on display in the welcome area of the museum.
To accompany the art installation Ella has designed a colouring activity for younger children featuring the same figures seen dancing, playing and listening to music on the guitar. Whilst for older children, there is the chance to enter a design competition to decorate a guitar from your own imagination, with Ella set to pick a winner at the end of the summer holidays.
You can discover more about Music for the Senses by downloading the app or picking up a
trail map from PHM’s welcome desk. Music is Hope activities take place until Sunday 31 August, are free to take part in, are suitable for children aged 3+ and no booking is required.
The Grimwood Museum Adventure: Rock the Vote!
From a trail to the museum to a trail in the museum! Arriving to PHM this summer, The Grimwood Museum Adventure: Rock the Vote! couldn’t be taking place in a more appropriate setting. In this adventure, the fifth in the series of books by author-illustrator Nadia Shireen, the crazy characters are electing a new Mayor and it’s your job to design a campaign poster. And if you need some design ideas, the museum’s galleries featuring historic posters are there to fuel your creativity!
Everyone taking part in The Grimwood Museum Adventure will receive a free Grimwood sticker and chance to enter their poster into a Kids in Museums competition. This is a free activity which runs from Sunday 3 August to Monday 25 August, is suitable for children aged 7+ and no booking is required.
Doves of Peace
The international symbol of peace, the dove, appears throughout PHM’s collection and greeting visitors to the museum is the Doves of Peace sculpture, by Michael Lyons, which depicts 15 doves intertwined. During summer 2025, the dove is the inspiration for a brand new craft activity, with families able to make their own origami dove of peace from colourful paper to take home or to add to the museum’s ‘flock’.
There will also be the chance to find out about the women-led movement that used the dove symbol as part of its protest when it set up a camp at Greenham Common RAF base in 1981. And on the galleries you can see the dove featured on the Wokingham Peace Group banner (1980) which appeared at the peace camp.
This is a free activity which runs from Saturday 19 July to Sunday 31 August, is suitable for children aged 5-12 years with all the materials provided and no booking required. And if you fly your dove to nearby Comptoir Libanais during the summer holidays you will be able to enjoy 10% off your food bill.
People’s History Museum’s opening hours are 10.00am to 5.00pm, every day except Tuesdays. Open Kitchen Cafe at PHM serves a Family Friendly menu, or you can bring your own food and picnic in the welcome area. PHM has a Changing Places toilet and lifts to its galleries. Museum entry is free, with most visitors donating £10. To find out about visiting PHM, its full exhibitions and events programme visit phm.org.uk and you can keep up to date with the latest news by signing up to receive PHM’s e-newsletter.
ENDS
For further information, to arrange a visit or interview please contact Fido PR:
laura.sullivan@fidopr.co.uk / clare.short@fidopr.co.uk
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About People’s History Museum
People’s History Museum (PHM) in Manchester is the UK’s national museum of democracy, telling the story of its development in Britain: past, present, and future. Through an eclectic and colourful mix of historic and contemporary collections, featuring banners, badges, posters, photography and more, the museum celebrates the radical stories of people coming together to champion ideas worth fighting for.
Offering an engaging programme of exhibitions and events, collaborating with communities to create authentic content, the museum is Family Friendly throughout – inspiring the next generation to be active citizens.
People’s History Museum encourages visitors to be empowered by the past to make a change for the future. We are all together in the fight for a fairer world.
About Arts Council England (ACE)
PHM is an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO). The work of PHM is supported using public funding by ACE, the national development agency for creativity and culture. ACE have set out their strategic vision in Let’s Create that by 2030 they want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where every one of us has access to a remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences. From 2023 to 2026 they will invest over £467 million of public money from government and an estimated £250 million from The National Lottery each year to help support the sector and to deliver this vision.
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