The wide range of events and exhibitions
reflect the Museum's core themes of exploring
the past, present and future of the River
Thames, the historic riverside community
of Henley-on-Thames and the international
sport of rowing.
These themes and the varied mix of events
prove hugely popular and over 90,000 people
visited the Museum last year. The Museum
also has an active education department
with over 14,000 pupils visiting every year
on school visits.
Peter McConnell, Marketing Manager, The
River and Rowing Museum said: "We
continue to demonstrate that the River and
Rowing Museum is so much more than rowing
and our forthcoming exhibitions, events
and wider activities reflect this: For example,
RRM Funtime is all about engaging youngsters
with their environment, while Fragments
from the Foreshore provides a unique view
of the past not only of the Thames but also
the local communities it serves."
GALLERY
EXHIBTIONS
Permanent Exhibitions: |
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The Wind in the Willows
Walk-through the story of Mr Toad, Badger,
Ratty & Mole and relive their adventures
in this charming recreation of the classic
book, perfect for all the family. |
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Our Neighbours from
the Past: Stone Age to Saxon Times
A fascinating insight into the way our
ancestors lived, displaying some of
the finest antiquities from the Thames
Valley. |
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The Invesco Perpetual
Henley Gallery
An insight into the town built by the
river. From industry to arts, Civil
War to sports, Henley has had a fascinating
history. Travel back through time to
find out when the town was established,
why it has changed over time and how
it became world famous. |
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The Schwarzenbach International
Rowing Gallery
The new-look gallery tells the story
of international rowing in a truly dynamic
way, allowing people to experience the
sport and understand what it's like
to compete on the water. |
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The Thames Gallery
The largest of the River & Rowing
Museum's permanent galleries, it provides
a unique interpretation of the River
Thames from source to sea. |
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Temporary Exhibitions:
Full press releases on each
temporary exhibition will be issued
soon.
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RRM Funtime
(14 July - 23 September)
RRM Funtime is packed full of hands-on,
interactive things to do for children
- guaranteed to provide lots of fun
and a bit of learning during the summer
holidays. Stand on an 'Olympic' podium,
build a bridge, identify the mystery
smell, dress up in amazing historical
costume or crack the answer to a devilish
puzzle! The possibilities are endless
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Fragments from the
foreshore photographs by Michael O'Reilly
(21 July - 4 November)
This striking display of contemporary
still-life photographs features found
objects washed up and revealed on the
foreshores of the tidal river Thames
by each outgoing tide. From World War
II bottle tops to Victorian shoes and
medieval pottery, the fragments provide
an insight into the area's history and
heritage as well as glimpses into our
ancient past. |
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In the Footsteps of
Henry Taunt
(6 October - 20 January '08)
An exhibition of Taunt's stunning Victorian
photographs of the River Thames, accompanied
by contemporary shots of the same views.
The display includes some 30 pairs of
photographs, revealing a depth of information
about the river and its changing history
over the intervening century. |
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Undercurrents:
Art works by Cynthia Barlow Marrs
(10 November - 3 February 2008)
This series of visually stunning works
draws an analogy between the flow of
a river and the narrative flow of stories.
The artist's background in environmental
planning and her experience in the River
of Words creative writing course at
the Museum come together in this unusual
interpretation. |
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| REGULAR
CLUBS FOR CHILDREN |
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Taylor Tug's Under
Fives Club
(Creative activities for ages 18months
to 5 years. Wednesdays during term time
10am-11.30am or 1pm - 2.30pm. Half a
term -5 weeks- £32.50 Whole term
-10 weeks- £63)
Interactive sessions for parents to
enjoy with their children. A range of
creative activities including craft,
stories, song and free play which explore
the Museum. Sessions are led by a trained
teacher and are informal and fun for
all. Sessions must be booked in advance
for a half or whole term only. |
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Artways Art Club
(Saturday 9 June, 15 September, 3 November
10.30-12.30pm £50 for each 5 week
course)
Come and join a Saturday morning art
club for 7 -11 year olds. Five -week
courses will explore ways of making
art in a wide range of media. The courses
alternate between two-dimensional practice
in drawing, painting, printmaking and
mixed media work; and three-dimensional
practice in clay work, environmental
media, felt and construction. The course
includes all materials and refreshments
and is led by experienced, qualified
tutors. Sessions must be booked in advance
and start Saturday 9 June, 15 September,
3 November 10.30-12.30pm £50 for
each 5 week course. |
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| FAMILY
AND CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT |
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Flotsam & Jetsam
(Tuesday 14 August 10.30am-12.30pm age
7-11 £8 - £7 members)
Explore the weird things found on the
foreshore of the Thames through Michael
O'Reilly's photographs. Make your own
foreshore and create a special message
in a bottle. |
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Taylor Tug Holiday
Happenings
(Wednesday 15 August & Wednesday
29 August 11am-12.30pm age 18 mths to
5 years £6.50)
Come & enjoy the summertime with
Taylor Tug creating exciting things
inspired by the Museum. Interactive
sessions for parents to enjoy with their
children. |
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Mini Beast Feast
(Thursday 16 August 10.30-12.30pm age
4-7 £8 - £7 members)
Find out about the mini beasts that
live near the river, how they dance
and hide and even frighten birds away.
Make yourself a mini beast costume.
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Lets Go Fly a Kite
(Tuesday August 21 11am - 4pm Families
with children aged 5 and over Free with
Museum admission)
Make your own dream kite out of scrap
materials and see how well it flies.
All materials will be provided but you
are welcome to bring your own secret
ingredient. |
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Drums & Dragons
(Wednesday 22 August 10.30am-12.30pm
age 4 -7 £8 - £7 members)
Use the Greek Trireme in the Rowing
Gallery as inspiration to make your
own drums and Dragon Boat. Does the
rhythm of the drum help you pull together?
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Jokes & Jesters
(Thursday 30 August 10.30-12.30pm age
4-7 £8 - £7 members)
Imagine Henry VIII gliding down the
Thames in his Royal Barge with his Jester
to keep him laughing. Train to be a
Tudor Royal Jester…can you make
the king laugh? |
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Beadylicious
(Saturday 15 December 2-4pm £8
- £7 members + £8 materials)
Choose from a beautiful selection of
freshwater pearls and crystals to make
your hand-crafted necklace, using tiger
tail & sterling silver finishing's.
Learn the basic but effective techniques
needed to design and create this sophisticated
and up-to-the-minute piece. For 12-16
year olds. |
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Floating Story
(Saturday 22 September 2-4pm age 4-7
£8 - £7 members)
Come and listen to stories about the
river and Mr Toad and his friends. Then
create your own floating mobile to help
you tell stories to your friends and
family. |
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Voice-Over! Bring your
own words to life on CD
(Sunday 23 September 2.30pm-5pm age
7-15 £15 - £13 members)
Calling all young writers! Bring a poem
or story, even if it's not quite finished,
learn how to perfect it and record yourself
bringing it to life. Design your CD
cover for the finished recording. |
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The Longest River of
Drawing
(Saturday October 13 10am -5pm all ages
Free with Museum admission)
This is your chance to take part in
a nation-wide event and have a go at
drawing in the Thames Gallery on the
'longest river of drawing'. Everybody
has experience of drawing and you can
take inspiration from the Museum's collection
of boats and add your imagination! All
drawing materials provided. Please see
the Big Draw website for further information
and events: www.thebigdraw.org |
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Felt Lantern
(Tuesday 23 October 10.30-12.30 age
7-11 £8 - £7 members)
Learn how to make felt and create your
own magical lantern for the winter months
ahead. Please bring your own jam jar.
All other materials including tea lights
are provided. |
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Pirates of the Thames
(Monday 22 October 11.00am - 4.00pm
all ages Free with Museum admission)
Ever wanted to walk the plank or find
buried treasure? Well shiver me timbers
here's your chance. Bring some pieces
of eight or dress as a pirate and get
in free. (Pirates courtesy of Langtree
School). |
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All Creatures Great
and Small
(Wednesday 24 October 10.30-12.30pm
Age 7-11 £8 - £7 members)
Have fun using a video microscope to
look closely at tiny creatures you find
near the river and discover what KPCOFGS
means! This workshop also celebrates
the tercentenary of Carl Linnaeus and
his work in classifying all living things. |
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River Collage
(Wednesday 24 October 2 - 4pm age 7
- 11 £8 - £7 members)
Help to create a magical river collage
of laminated threads & glitter for
the Museum, and one to make into a card
to take home |
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Too Whit Too Woo
(Thursday 25 October 10.30-12.30pm age
4-7 £8 - £7 members)
As the nights draw in by the river,
the owls wake up earlier to go hunting.
Listen to the story of Little Hoot the
owl and make your own Little Hoot and
tree where he can sleep during the day. |
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Spooky Lanterns
(Friday 26 October 10.30-12.30 age 7-11
£8 - £7 members)
Forget carving pumpkins- make a ghostly
glowing lantern from willow and paper
to light your way home. |
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Christmas Decorations
(Saturday 1 December 2-4 pm age 4-7
£8 - £7 members)
Make some fabulous Christmas decorations
to hang on your tree! Stars, angels,
Christmas gnomes, and festive fantasies!
All materials provided. |
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Christmas Baubles
(Saturday 8 December 10.30-12.30 pm
age 7-11 £8 - £7 members)
Make unusual Christmas ornaments to
hang on your tree- little lanterns from
natural materials such as willow and
paper. |
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Christmas Sacks
(Saturday 15 December 2-4pm Age 7-11
£8 - £7 members)
Screen-print your own designs onto a
Christmas sack, ready to fill up with
presents, or to jump into yourself! |
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Toad's Christmas
(Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23 December
11am-3pm all ages £1.50 per child)
Come and visit Toad in his caravan and
tell him what you would like for Christmas.
Help Toad decorate his Christmas tree
and make a variety of decorations fit
to grace Toad Hall. |
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Shadow Puppets
(Thursday 3 January 10.30-12.30 Age
7-11 £8 - £7 members)
Make some shadow puppets in black card
and create a puppet show for parents
and carers to watch when they come to
pick you up. |
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| SPECIALLY
FOR ADULTS: LECTURES & EVENTS |
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From Redgrave to Vancouver
(Sat 8th September, Mike Spracklen,
£5/£3, 11am for 11.30am)
Mike Spracklen, is one of the world's
most successful rowing coaches. Currently
coach of the Canadian men's Olympic
squad and sometime coach to Marlow,
Leander, Steve Redgrave, Silken Laumann,
Oxford, India, GB and the US, Mike will
tell the enthralling story of his travels
and triumphs around the world. |
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In the Footsteps of
Henry Taunt
(Saturday 20 October, Graham Diprose,
£5/£3, 11am for 11.30am)
Graham Diprose will talk about his project
to make over 80 contemporary shots of
the views originally photographed by
Henry Taunt. The Thames' greatest Victorian
Photographer photographed the river
from 1859, working from an out-rigged
dinghy with a mobile 'dark-tent'. He
published his photographs as 'New Map
of the River Thames', which proved an
instant success. |
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Henley's Workhouse:
Paupers & Poor Law
(Saturday 3 November, Valerie Alasia,
£5/£3, 11am for 11.30am)
To be poor in Henley in the 19th Century
could mean going into the workhouse-
now part of Townlands Hospital. Find
out about the lives and living conditions
of the paupers in Henley's workhouse. |
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Bug World: sex, violence
& a cast of millions
(Saturday 17 November, Dr George McGavin,
£5/£3, 11am for 11.30am)
Open your eyes to the lives of the most
successful and diverse group of animals
on Earth, the insects. George McGavin
has published many books on insects
and was Consultant for the BBC series
'Life in the Undergrowth'. |
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Paper Boats & Baths
4 December (weekday evening), Tim Fitzhigham,
£5 (£3), time
Tim Fitzhigham is an award winning stand
up comic and raconteur. He is also an
adventurer whose exploits have earned
him honours, meetings with the Queen
and no little pain! In 2003 Tim broke
a 383 year-old World Record by paddling
a paper boat 160 miles down the River
Thames to raise money for Comic Relief.
He nearly died in a failed attempt to
row a copper bath across the Channel
in 2004 but was victorious in 2005.
Hear about Tim's amazing and hilarious
waterborne exploits at this very special
talk. |
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ADULT
WORKSHOPS
Stimulate your imagination and
explore your potential at our weekend
workshops for adults. |
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Beadylicious Basics
(Sat 8Sept, Diana Mowatt, 10.30 - 1.00.
Second session 1.30-4pm if there is
the demand, £18/£15 + up
to £18 for materials)
Learn the basic and versatile techniques
required to begin creating beautiful,
personal pieces of jewellery using tiger
tail, crimp beads, sterling silver findings
and various tools. Using these skills,
design and make a beautiful "illusion"
necklace and/or earrings and a bracelet. |
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Beadylicious Working
with wire
(Saturday 6 October, Diana Mowatt, 1.30
- 4.00pm £18/£15, + up to
£18 for materials)
If you already have basic jewellery-making
skills, this workshop will lead you
into the versatile techniques involved
in wire working to create beautiful,
personal pieces of jewellery using sterling
silver wire, beads, crystals and various
tools. Design and complete a beautiful
piece of jewellery using your new skills.
Create earrings, a bracelet or a necklace. |
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Fruits of the Autumn
(Saturday 20 October, Joy Boddington,
10.30-4pm £36/£30 + £3
materials)
Learn how to display fruits within a
small modern flower design and an unusual
way of displaying flowers. Take home
a basket of mixed flowers, seed heads
and berries and a smaller design using
flower heads and fruits. |
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Moving Images
(Saturday 3 November, Jane Draycott,
2pm - 4pm £18/£15)
A writing and film workshop. Explore
the film in your head: a session of
informal kick-start exercises taking
film extracts as inspiration for your
own writing. No experience necessary.
Bring your own popcorn (and notepad!). |
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Christmas Card Workshop
(Saturday 17 November, Camilla Shelley,
1.30 - 4.00 £18/£15)
Put time aside to make some special
Christmas cards for your nearest and
dearest. Try out some new skills including
screen-printing, mono-printing, calligraphy
and collage to create an original and
thoughtful small edition of up to ten
cards. All materials will be provided
but you may like to bring some old Christmas
cards to recycle or get ideas from. |
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Beadylicious Working
with Wire
(Saturday 1 December, Diana Mowatt,
10.30-1pm £18/£15 + up to
£18 for materials)
If you already have basic jewellery-making
skills, this workshop will lead you
into the versatile techniques involved
in wire working to create beautiful,
personal pieces of jewellery using sterling
silver wire, beads, crystals and various
tools. Design and complete a beautiful
piece of jewellery using your new skills.
Create earrings, a bracelet or a necklace. |
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Christmas Table Flower
decoration
(Saturday 15 December, Joy Boddington,
10.30-1pm £18/£15)
Make a simple but stunning Christmas
table decoration. Learn how to fix and
decorate a large candle securely into
oasis and how to use seasonal plant
material effectively and how to make
it last. |
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CREATIVE
COURSES FOR ADULTS
Further your creative
or academic skills through an intensive
course in conjunction with Buckinghamshire
Chilterns University College Combined
Studies programme. All courses are credited
at degree Level 1. For more information
phone the Education Department on 01491
415605 or www.rrm.co.uk
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Drawn to it
(7 three-hour, fortnightly sessions
starting Saturday 15 September 1.30-4.30pm
£90 for 7 weeks, Camilla Shelley)
Explore drawing for fun, to enhance
your portfolio or to indulge a passion.
Rise to the challenge of drawing in
a variety of materials from memory,
from artefacts, from a life model and
from the unique surroundings of the
Museum. |
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Victorian Painting:
The Bigger Picture
(7 three-hour, fortnightly sessions
starting Saturday 15 September 1.30-4.30,
£80 for 7 weeks, Vivian Northcote)
This course will examine Victorian painting
in relation to some of the major issues
and major players in Victorian society.
The relationship between art, society,
literature and industry will be discussed
fully to bring alive this fascinating
period in British history. |
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Making Yourself Heard
(12 three hour fortnightly sessions
starting Saturday 29th September, 10am
to 1pm, £120 for 12 weeks, David
Grubb)
A practical course exploring short story,
poetry, radio and stage drama, travel
and documentary writing. Students will
write, discuss and compile portfolios
of their work, inspired by the Museum
itself and the world beyond. Advice
on routes to publication or production
will be provided and the course will
culminate in a performance of work. |
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| HENLEY
LITERARY FESTIVAL |
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The Poetry School:
Sonnet Workshop
(Saturday 22nd September, 10.30 a.m.
- 1.00 p.m. £20/£18 concs
& members, Jo Shapcott)
A workshop led by one of the UK's most
exciting contemporary poets. A morning
of thinking and breathing sonnets, looking
at sonnets old and new, turning them
inside and out and taking the chance
to try writing your own. So please bring
pens/pencils, notebooks and a willingness
to have a go. |
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The Poetry School :
Jo Shapcott
(Saturday 22nd September, 2.30 - 3.30
pm, £7/£5 concs & members)
A not-to-be missed reading by one of
the UK's finest poets. Jo Shapcott is
the author of four books of poetry.
Winner of Forward, Cholmondeley and
Commonwealth awards for her work, she
is currently Deputy Director of Creative
Writing at Royal Holloway University
of London. She is President of the Poetry
Society. |
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Run River Run
(with Graham Fawcett. Sunday 23rd September,
2pm - 3 p.m, £9/£7 concs
& members)
(in association with The Poetry School)
The breathtaking energy and grace of
water in full spate and gentle flow
has drawn poets to the banks of rivers,
real and imagined, in Asia and Africa
or threading their way across English
and European and American open country.
Graham Fawcett finds their currents
running in some of the great river poems
of all time |
