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 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.

Talks, tours and workshops

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 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

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

1 April—31 December 2026

Blaise 100: Museum Highlight Tours

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

Talks, tours and workshops

13 October 2026

Home Educator activity: Drawing British wildlife

LEARNING: An opportunity for Home Educators to get up close to bird and animal specimens and make observational drawings.

15 October—17 December 2026

Historical Walk: Old City

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

15 October—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.

17 October 2026

Family Storytelling at Blaise Museum

FAMILY FUN: As the autumn days draw in, join us at Blaise Museum for some cosy tales at our free storytelling hour.

18 October 2026

People of Clay – exhibition tour with Akshay Mahajan

TOUR: Take advantage of this rare opportunity to join artist Akshay Mahajan for a walk around his exhibition People of Clay, part of this year’s Bristol Photo Festival.

Talks, tours and workshops

20 October 2026

Home Educator workshop: Ancient Egypt

LEARNING: This Home Educator workshop about Ancient Egypt explores life, beliefs, and mummification, inspired by our fantastic Egypt gallery.

29 October 2026

Curator talk: Colour in Nature

TALK: Join natural history expert Ray Barnett to discover how animals and plants generate colours and how they use them for different purposes.

Talks, tours and workshops

1 November—6 December 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.

5 November 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

6 November—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

11 November 2026

Home Educator workshop: World War One

LEARNING: Our Home Educator workshop explores how World War One affected the lives of people living in Bristol at the time.

12 November 2026

Winter Lecture: The Colour of Cornwall

WINTER LECTURE: Alison Bevan will explore the way that artists have captured the colour of Cornwall through familiar works.

Talks, tours and workshops

19 November 2026

Curator talk: Kevin de Choisy’s ceramic glaze experiments

TALK: Join our Curator of Applied Art in discussing the glaze experiments Kevin de Choisy and how artists test and refine glazes.

Talks, tours and workshops

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

21 November 2026

The Secret Life Of Dinosaurs -Unearthing the Behaviours of Prehistoric Animals

TALK: Dr Lomax provides a fascinating glimpse into the real behaviours of dinosaurs.

Talks, tours and workshops

26 November 2026

Conserving Colour with the Conservation team

TALK: Hear our Conservators discuss some of the challenges and rewards presented by colour in conserving and treating historic objects.

Talks, tours and workshops

2 December 2026

Home Educator activity: Brass rubbing and medieval handling

LEARNING: Home Educators 12-16 years can join us and make rubbings of our replica church brasses, and handle medieval artefacts.

10 December 2026

Curator talk: Colour in Chinese ceramics and glass

TALK: Our Senior Curator of Visual Arts will explore some of the meanings behind Chinese ceramic and glass colours.

Talks, tours and workshops

14 January 2027

Curator talk: Minerals of the Bristol Region

TALK: Focusing on examples in the exhibition and from the museum’s geological collections, this talk will explore the history, uses and beauty of minerals.

Talks, tours and workshops

14 January 2027

Winter Lecture: Great Auk – An Extraordinary Bird

WINTER LECTURE: Join us for the January Winter Lecture to extraordinary Great Auk

Talks, tours and workshops

11 February 2027

Winter Lecture: Why are the Brits crazy about the Bayeux Tapestry?

WINTER LECTURE: Join us for the February Winter Lecture to explore the Bayeux Tapestry and question why the Brits are so crazy about this medieval masterpiece?

Talks, tours and workshops

11 March 2027

Winter Lecture: Uncovering the evolutionary secrets of fossil mammals

WINTER LECTURE: Join us for the March Winter Lecture to uncover the evolutionary secrets of fossil mammals with Professor Emily Rayfield

Talks, tours and workshops

Bristol's Free Museums and Historic Houses

Bristol's Free Museums and Historic Houses

What’s on

Highlights Tour: Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

Highlights Tour: M Shed

Highlights Tour: Difficult Conversations at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

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

Highlight Tours: Bristol’s Dinosaurs

Behind the scenes tours

Highlights Tour: Treasures of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery

The Georgian House Museum Highlight Tours

The Red Lodge Museum Highlight Tours

Blaise 100: Museum Highlight Tours

Home Educator activity: Drawing British wildlife

Historical Walk: Old City

Historical Walk: Bristol Abolition

Family Storytelling at Blaise Museum

People of Clay – exhibition tour with Akshay Mahajan

Home Educator workshop: Ancient Egypt

Curator talk: Colour in Nature

Historical Walk: 1831 Riots

Historical Walk: Pirates and Prejudice

The Bristol Tapestry Talk

Home Educator workshop: World War One

Winter Lecture: The Colour of Cornwall

Curator talk: Kevin de Choisy’s ceramic glaze experiments

William Hogarth’s Altarpiece

The Secret Life Of Dinosaurs -Unearthing the Behaviours of Prehistoric Animals

Conserving Colour with the Conservation team

Home Educator activity: Brass rubbing and medieval handling

Curator talk: Colour in Chinese ceramics and glass

Curator talk: Minerals of the Bristol Region

Winter Lecture: Great Auk – An Extraordinary Bird

Winter Lecture: Why are the Brits crazy about the Bayeux Tapestry?

Winter Lecture: Uncovering the evolutionary secrets of fossil mammals