Wednesday 2 April 2025
Bring the history of County Durham to life in a full day of activities just for families with children who are Home Educated or not currently in school education. A varied programme of workshops are available to book, and we encourage you to explore our exhibitions and self-led activities at your own pace with other local home educating families.
Choose from a range of workshops for varied age ranges. Booking is advised, however walk-in slots will be available on the day.
Due to restricted parking on site we recommend, where possible, accessing The Story via public transport or on foot. Thank you for your cooperation.
Illustrations of Childhood: Bernie Nixon | Ages 5+ | 90 minutes
Local Illustrator Bernie Nixon showcases his unique artwork depicting life and childhood in a mining community in County Durham. Create your very own illustrations inspired by the gallery of Nixon’s work.
Durham Light Infantry family store tour | Ages 7+ | 60 minutes
Come behind the scenes with our DLI Collections Team to see how we look after the historic objects in our stores.
Significant People: Tom Lamb | Ages 5-11 | 90 minutes
Explore local history through Tom Lamb, an artist and miner from Pelton who began work at 14 and sketched his working life in Craghead colliery.
Using archives and local studies children explore comparisons and differences between his life and theirs, and how history is recorded in County Durham, using art, archives and artefacts. Through this, the children will have a broad appreciation of how life in Durham has changed, Tom Lamb as a significant person, and why he is important in the story of Durham.
What can a gravestone tell you? | Ages 11+ | 90 minutes
Explore local individuals through research into gravestones in a nearby cemetery. Children can use our Search and Discover facilities and request items from our archive collections to research local individuals from County Durham’s past.
Participants will use the skills and techniques of historians to explore The Story’s archives to piece together the lives of local individuals buried in St. Oswald cemetery. Discover where your individual might have lived or worked on our interactive maps and request archives from The Story’s historic collections to investigate the life of individuals from historic County Durham.
Book a lunch space | 30 minutes
Why not book a lunch space? Bring a packed lunch and book your lunch spot for the day.