Skip to main content
Show Past Events

You are viewing all events Reset

Journey of a Century: From the Forbidden City to the Palace Museum

Jointly organised by the Palace Museum and the Oriental Museum

26 September 2025 - 31 May 2026

11:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Oriental Museum, Elvet Hill, Durham, DH1 3TH

  • Exhibition
  • Exhibitions
  • Public
  • Family friendly
  • Global

Trapdoor to a Fantastical County Durham

Trapdoor to a Fantastical County Durham presents a fantastical world of monsters, shapeshifting as physical sculptures, Augmented Reality (AR) creatures and as inhabitants of a 3D digital world. Created by students in schools across Country Durham, the monsters represent playful, and sometimes scary, mythical and nostalgic creatures who usually remain hidden within our imagination.

28 March 2026 - 18 April 2026

11:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Courtyard Gallery Palace Green Library Palace Green Durham DH1 3RN

  • Creative
  • Exhibition
  • Exhibitions
  • Outreach & community
  • Partnerships & Collaboration
  • Library and Collections

Family Activities: Colour and Create

Play with colour and light and make your own bold and bright artwork.

10 April 2026

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Oriental Museum

  • Accessible
  • Creative
  • Outreach & community
  • Family friendly

Durham Castle Family Fun Tours

Bring the whole family and enjoy a fun tour around Durham Castle, with activities for children throughout!

10 April 2026

1:45 PM - 4:00 PM

Durham Castle

  • Public
  • Tour
  • Family friendly

Family Activities: Celebrate Vaisakhi

Vaisakhi is the Sikh New Year festival. Find out how Sikhs celebrate and make a Khanda symbol mosaic.

11 April 2026

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Oriental Museum

  • Accessible
  • Creative
  • Outreach & community
  • Family friendly

Crazy Creatures

Get interactive with the Crazy Creatures visiting the Garden for the day.

14 April 2026

10:30 AM - 4:00 PM

Botanic Garden

  • Family friendly

Little Dragons

Join us at the Oriental Museum on Wednesday mornings for Little Dragons, our FREE session for children under 5 and their families/carers. Each session will be packed full of exploring the museum galleries, fun craft activities, singing, games and stories.

15 April 2026

9:30 AM - 11:45 AM

Oriental Museum

  • Creative
  • Outreach & community
  • Public
  • Family friendly

Family Activities: Crack the Code

Learn all about Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, then write your own secret message!

15 April 2026

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Oriental Museum

  • Accessible
  • Creative
  • Outreach & community
  • Family friendly

Family Activities: Spirit of the Bear

Check out an amazing Japanese carving of a brown bear and make your own bear-tastic collage.

17 April 2026

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Oriental Museum

  • Accessible
  • Creative
  • Outreach & community
  • Family friendly

World Heritage Day Celebrations

Come and celebrate World Heritage Day on Saturday 18 April at Durham Castle and Cathedral, with The People’s Story at Durham Castle.

18 April 2026

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Durham Castle

  • Festival
  • Outreach & community
  • Performance
  • Public
  • Talks, training, seminars & conferences
  • Tour