Harlow Museum

Happy Holidays from the Harlow Museum team. We will be closed over the festive period from 22nd December until 6th January. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2024.

This photo of Broad Walk shows Christmas shoppers at night in 1958.

Mischievous elves are back...🎄
Each elf represents a figure in Harlow’s history, but they are all hiding around the museum, see if you can find them all.
The trail will be running throughout December, we are open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, 9:30am - 3:30pm (last entry 3pm).

Come and view our temporary exhibition ‘The Bicycle in War’ this remembrance weekend. Learn about the significance of the poppy as well and the role of the bicycle during World War I and World War II. We are open Saturday from 9:30am to 3:30pm (last entry 3pm).

Helping to prepare your child for school. All Parent/carers with their nursery age children are welcome to join us for fun free activities at Harlow Museum, CM20 2LF. Every Tuesday 1:15pm – 2:15pm.

Interactive stories, physical games and craft activities to help your child to develop maths, literacy, and communication skills. Activities are free of charge.

For more information contact:
Julie Cochrane, Harlow Council Community Development Worker [email protected] 07801890761

Remember, remember the 5th of November🎇

These posters, found in our archives, are from historic bonfire and firework nights. Tonight’s event celebrates its 45th year, visit for information and updates.

Step into half term at Harlow Museum & Walled Gardens..spend the day uncovering Harlow’s fascinating history and see the beautiful autumn colours in our gardens🍁🏛️

🏺Discover the Romans in our upcoming activities:

Tuesday 24th learn about the Romans who lived in Harlow. Our morning session is sold out but there are still some spaces available in the afternoon - visit our website to book.

Thursday 26th come and look at our Roman artefacts and make a paper mosaic of your own design in a free drop-in activity.

For more information visit our website: www.harlowmuseum.com/whats-on/

Our Garden Town partners Harlow Council have released their free 2023 Cycling Map which details routes and places of interest around the town.

Places of interest that feature include:

🌳 Harlow Town Park
🏺 Harlow Museum
🛍 Harlow Town Centre
🌷 The Gibberd Garden
🛶 River Stort
🏊‍♂️ Harlow Leisurezone
🦔 Parndon Wood Nature Reserve
🚣‍♀️ Essex Outdoors Harlow

Get your copy of the map by clicking the link below!
https://hggt.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Harlow-cycle-track-map.pdf

Interested in Harlow's history? 📚 Make sure when you visit the Museum to check out our bookshop, which features many local publications on areas you may know but would love to discover more about, such as Mark Hall Manor, the Roman Temple Site or Parndon Mill.

We are open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 9.30am to 3.30pm.
🏛 Our galleries, exhibitions and beautiful gardens are all available for free.
📙 Archives are open, please contact us via email or phone to enquire.

There’s still time to come down to our Community Celebration Fête!

It’s a beautiful day to discover some of the community groups Harlow has to offer, as well as live music, refreshments, games and activities for children.

Hub+Spoke, Harlow will be at our Community Fete on Saturday offering Dr Bike sessions - this includes safety checks and minor repairs/adjustments that do not require replacement parts – so bring your bike along to get it looked at.

🚴 Just 10 days to go until hosts the finish of stage 6 of Tour of Britain - the UK’s leading cycle race! 🇬🇧

On Friday 8 September the race will start in Southend-On-Sea at 11.45am and finish at around 3.30pm along Third Avenue in Harlow 🏁

At our Community Celebration Fête this Saturday, we will be selling flyers/programmes and posters from town events over the years. Pop by the museum stall, from 12-4pm, for a look down memory lane...

*These items are not part of the museum archive and are duplicates of what we have in our collection.

We have had so many brilliant entries for our design a bike competition, the judges have the difficult job of choosing the winner today - best of luck to all those who entered! The prize giving will take place this Saturday, during our Community Celebration Fête.

With less than a week until our Community Celebration Fête, let's look back on the wonderful pride filled day we had last year... This event is promising to be even better with more stalls, refreshments, acoustic music, DJ throughout the afternoon and also a bird of prey display from Pet’s Corner. We hope to see you all again, Saturday 2nd September from 12 - 4pm.

*Please note, there will be limited parking so try to use other forms of transport if possible, thank you.

In the first week of the summer holidays, seven 14 – 19 year olds took part in a Young Specialists programme. The group learnt about creative curation and finished the course by designing their own exhibition. Throughout the process they learned more about Harlow’s history, explored the museum’s stores, and gained an understanding of how museums work, along with discovering career paths available in the heritage sector.

One of students said, ‘I have really enjoyed this programme as it has given me a real insight into a career in curation’ and a parent noted, ‘It was excellent and I so hope this will continue as there are many programmes for sport and drama but nothing for history/heritage enthusiasts.’

Only two weeks until Harlow Museum's Community Celebration Fête! Join us in the Walled Gardens on 2nd September from 12 – 4pm. Discover 30 community groups, enjoy live music, refreshments and a bird of prey from Pets’ Corner.

Ever wanted to make your own board game? 🎲
Get creative this Thursday 10th August and make a something you can take home to play with the whole family. Free sessions, drop by anytime between 10am – 12pm or 1pm – 3pm to take part.

Plus, the Essex Book Bus will be at the Museum📚🚌

We are so proud to have received a fourth Green Flag Award!
Thanks to our gardeners and volunteers for maintaining this beautiful green space for us all to enjoy. If you are interested in volunteering, please email: [email protected]

Visit Harlow Museum this Thursday 3rd August for Marble Bridge Making...
Use your creativity to design a bridge which will become a Tudor game you can play with marbles.
Free drop in session, come by between 10am – 12pm or 1pm – 3pm to take part

Meet the future Tour Riders of Britain!🚲
Summer Playcation has begun at Harlow Museum, today children enjoyed lots of cycling fun and practised new skills.

We have a range of activities throughout August, with bookable taster sessions on Tuesdays and craft drop-in sessions on Thursdays.
For more information visit the What’s On page on our website.

On Tuesday the 1st of August the Harlow Museum & Walled Gardens car park (accessed from Fesants Croft) will be closed until 2pm to allow for a holiday activity to take place safely in the carpark. We will have allocated space for blue badge holders on Muskham Road in front of the Museum and encourage visitors to take alternative forms of transport if possible. Thank you for your understanding.

Can't get to Egypt, or the National Museums this summer? Come and view our fascinating Ancient Egyptian objects in our small temporary exhibition this August!

Our August Playcation Family activities kick off next Tuesday with two Tour Riders of the Future sessions. Book a place and bring along your bike to improve your skills and have some cycling fun. Go to our website https://www.harlowmuseum.com/whats-on/ for more information and to book

The Tour of Britain Cycling Race is coming to Harlow!

To celebrate Harlow Museum is running a competition and all you need to do is design a bike...

It can be anything from a streamline, modern racing bike to a fantasy bike with a propeller that flies through the air.

The prize for the overall winner is their own BRAND-NEW BIKE!

Deadline for museum hand-in entries is August 19th.

Details are outlined in a presentation you can download on our website, along with the entry form: https://www.harlowmuseum.com/whats-on/

The Book Bus is heading back to Harlow Museum!
Come along Thursday 10th August anytime between 9.30am – 3.30pm to see what your local book bus has to offer and take part in the Summer Reading Challenge.

Join us this summer on our Summer Reading Challenge road trip! 🗺️🚌📚

We'll be visiting lots of fun places over the summer holidays, where you can come and take part in the summer read somewhere different! 🤩

We'll also be holding some fun animal themed storytimes and poetry workshops at Colchester Zoo, Barleylands Farm, and Hopefield Animal Sanctuary! 🐒🐑🦜

Find the full list of where we're off to here: https://libraries.essex.gov.uk/news/summer-read-on-the-road

‘Our Community, Our Environment' celebrates the creative works of over 20 schools and their collaborations with local artists and community groups, including Harlow Museum.

Don’t miss out, the exhibition is on until 15th July at the Gibberd Gallery. Open Monday-Saturday from 11:00-16:00.

It’s a beautiful day to visit our Walled Gardens and see the roses in bloom🌹

While here you can also explore the history of Harlow inside the museum. From fossils and Romans to the development of the New Town, there is so much here for you to discover..

Visit the museum this Thursday, 6th July, for a talk on the history of cycles and the story of John Collins and his collection, including a tour with unseen cycles from the stores...

Location: Harlow Museum
Timings: 10am – 12:30pm
Cost: £8 per person

To register your attendance email [email protected]

For more information visit: https://www.harlowmuseum.com/whats-on/

Are you 14 – 19 years old? Do you enjoy History, Classics, Art History and/or Latin? Why not join the ‘Harlow Young Specialists’?

This week long programme is for young people interested in History and the Heritage Industry. It’s hands on, no assessments but will include a certificate of completion and will be great to put on a UCAS application. More importantly it's a chance to get involved with real artefacts and research.

Starting in the last week of July and follow up session in August.

For more information email Annalise Taylor at [email protected]