There are just 10 days to go until the Welsh Museums Festival returns this autumn half term (Saturday 28 October – Sunday 5 November) with a week of special events to celebrate the diverse history and culture of our country. The Festival – organised by the Welsh Museums Federation – began back in 2014 to shine a light on museums and galleries across Wales and to increase publicity and footfall. 

Well over 40 large and small museums across Wales will participate in the Festival this year, offering a number of exciting and diverse activities (mostly free) for families – from a ‘climate rave’ in Rhayader to a potion-making workshop in Ceredigion and storytelling in Cardiff. 

A brand-new Halloween Activity Booklet will be available at most participating museums, allowing young visitors to explore the history of Halloween in Wales and across the world with games and puzzles. There will also be an exciting, new Wales History Trails Passport Challenge, which will require museum-goers to visit six diverse museums – of their choosing – up until April 2024. Once all visits are completed, passport holders will be entered into a special prize draw to win two free National Trust family day passes and wireless Bluetooth headphones.
 

Rachael Rogers of the Welsh Museums Federation said: “The Festival is a great opportunity to showcase the amazing work done by museums across the country. Our museums not only offer visitors the chance to learn about our Welsh heritage, but they also promote the Welsh language, and they offer free events in a warm and welcoming space which is more important than ever. 

“Like all places, museums took a hit during covid, but visitors are steadily returning year-on-year. We hope that the Festival gives our museums a boost and helps us see a return to pre-covid visitor levels. So if you’ve started to think about what you might do during half term, think no more – just head to our website to see what’s on!”