2 April 2024—31 December 2027

Highlights Tour: Difficult Conversations at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

TOUR: Our Difficult Conversations tour offers you a different view of our collections and an insight into the complex ethics of museums in the modern world.

Talks, tours and workshops

2 April 2024—31 December 2027

Highlights Tour: M Shed

TOUR: Join us for a tour of M Shed! Let us introduce you to our museum, share some stories you won’t find on the labels and tell you how we came to be.

2 April 2024—31 December 2027

Highlights Tour: Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

TOUR: Welcome to Bristol Museum & Art Gallery! Our welcome tour offers you a captivating introduction to the magnificent building and extensive collections housed within our walls.

Talks, tours and workshops

2 April 2025—31 March 2027

Highlights Tour: Hidden Histories, Women Artists, Muses and Rebels

TOUR: This tour guides you through Bristol Museum’s Art Galleries, focusing on women’s stories from our art collection and highlighting work by women artists.

Talks, tours and workshops

1 June 2025—31 March 2027

Highlight Tours: Bristol’s Dinosaurs

TOUR: Let us take you on an imaginary trip back in time to meet the dinosaurs of Bristol Museum & Art Gallery!

Talks, tours and workshops

1 January 2026—31 December 2027

Behind the scenes tours

TOUR: Join a tour of M Shed’s collection stores and get up close to the city’s industrial and maritime past.

Talks, tours and workshops

10 January—31 December 2026

Highlights Tour: Treasures of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery

TOUR: Bristol Museum and Art Gallery is a treasure house of beautiful things!

Talks, tours and workshops

10 February—28 June 2026

The Neon Hieroglyph by Tai Shani

EXHIBITION: The Neon Hieroglyph is a feature-length 57-minute video installation by artist Tai Shani.

Exhibitions

13 February—13 September 2026

Mini-museum hunt! 50 years of Aardman

ACTIVITY: Families and curious explorers of all ages can pick up a detective map and track down all the Aardman secret treasures.

1 April—31 December 2026

Blaise Museum Highlight Tours

TOUR: Let us introduce you to our grand historic house and its impressive estate.

Talks, tours and workshops

1 April—31 December 2026

The Georgian House Museum Highlight Tours

TOUR: Join us on an exploratory tour of the Georgian House Museum, learning about the history of the house and the people who lived there.

Talks, tours and workshops

1 April—31 December 2026

The Red Lodge Museum Highlight Tours

TOUR: Let us introduce you to our historic house and share some stories you won’t find on the labels!

Talks, tours and workshops

12 May—21 June 2026

1926 General Strike Bristol

EXHIBITION: Created by Bristol Radical History Group, this exhibition looks at the strike in Bristol, and includes original printed sources and filmed interview.

Exhibitions

16 May—1 November 2026

Train rides

TRAIN: Take a train trip on Britain’s only dockside steam railway behind one of our Bristol-built locomotives.

17 May—20 December 2026

Bristol Museum Morning Yoga

EXPERIENCE: Join us for Sunday morning yoga in the Enlightenment Gallery this year.

Special events

19—26 May 2026

Family activity: Story Box

FAMILIES: Join us in May when we open our Story Box to celebrate National Share-a-Story Month!

19 May 2026

Home Educator workshop: Saxon Bristol

LEARNING: How did the city of Bristol get its name? Our Home educator workshop investigates everyday life in Saxon Bristol.

21 May—18 June 2026

Historical Walk: Old City

WALK: Discover a millennium of history on this 1.8 mile walk around the old city of Bristol.

Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)

21 May—19 November 2026

Historical Walk: Bristol Abolition

WALK: Discover the names and places associated with Bristol’s thousand-year fight to end the city’s involvement in slavery.

Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)

28 May 2026

Family activity: Magnificent minibeasts at Blaise Museum

FAMILIES: Join us for a relaxed family session where children and adults can get creative together.

29 May 2026

Spring Family Fun at The Georgian House Museum

FAMILIES: This enchanting activity weekend will celebrate spring with something to do for all the family.

30 May—26 September 2026

Visit the Villa

VILLA: Visit Kings Weston Roman Villa for some family friendly fun.

Families

30 May—4 October 2026

Crane visits

CRANE: Experience a working crane on the dockside with visits inside the electric cranes, M Shed’s biggest exhibits!

30 May—25 October 2026

Boat trips

WORKING EXHIBITS: Take a boat ride with a difference! All three of our historic working boats offer scenic trips around Bristol Harbour.

Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)

31 May 2026

Spring Family Fun at The Red Lodge Museum

FAMILIES: These enchanting activity days will celebrate spring with something to do for all the family.

2 June 2026

Historical Walk: Floating Harbour

WALK: Join our guides for a tour of Bristol docklands, exploring the maritime heritage of the harbour and its modern regeneration.

Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)

4 June 2026

Historical Walk: Pirates and Prejudice

WALK: Explore Bristol’s old dockside on this Pirates and Prejudice walk, shattering the myths around Bristol’s literary and piratical past

Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)

5 June—4 December 2026

The Bristol Tapestry Talk

TALK: Explore the story of how The Bristol Tapestry came to be made at this talk.

Talks, tours and workshops

7 June 2026

Historical Walk: 1831 Riots

WALK: Our knowledegable guides will vividly retell the history of this tragic episode, exploring some of the sites that played a prominent role in the unrest.

Outdoors (walks, trains, boats, cranes)

8—12 June 2026

Steam engine and crane driving experiences

SPECIAL EVENT: Have a go at driving the steam engine, Henbury and one of the iconic electric cranes outside M Shed.

9 June—15 September 2026

Villa Open Afternoons

VILLA: Visit Kings Weston Roman Villa in the afternoon to find out about this fascinating archaeological site.

Families

18 June—19 November 2026

William Hogarth’s Altarpiece

SPECIAL EVENT: See Hogarth’s vast triptych and learn about its remarkable journey around Bristol since it was painted for St Mary Redcliffe in 1755/56.

Talks, tours and workshops

20 June—13 September 2026

Cracking Exhibition, Gromit! 50 Years of Aardman in Bristol

EXHIBITION: It is time to grab the whole family and jump into the brilliant world of Aardman!

Exhibitions

26 June 2026

Home Educator activity: Kings Weston Roman Villa

LEARNING: Home educators can explore Kings Weston Roman Villa with our Senior Curator of Archaeology.

4 July 2026

Bristol Palaeobiology Festival

FAMILIES: This exciting family day is filled with hands-on activities and adventures for curious minds!

15 July 2026

Home Educator workshop: Ancient Greeks

LEARNING: What was life like in ancient Greece? Investigate pottery and other artefacts in this hands-on workshop.

29 July—1 August 2026

Visit the Villa for the Festival of Archaeology

VILLA: Visit Kings Weston Roman Villa for some family friendly fun.

Families

2—22 August 2026

Summer Family Fun at The Georgian House Museum

FAMILIES: This activity day will celebrate the literary excellence of Jane Austen with something to do for all the family.

8—30 August 2026

Summer Family Fun at The Red Lodge Museum

FAMILIES: These enchanting activity days will investigate the past at The Red Lodge Museum with something to do for all the family.

19 June—19 September 2027

British Art Show 10: A Chorus of Strangers

EXHIBITION: The British Art Show is the largest and most significant recurring exhibition of contemporary art in the UK.

Exhibitions