This May half-term, families visiting Stratford-upon-Avon are invited to explore the family homes of William Shakespeare in a new way, as the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust unveils its special programme of events that explore the world of sustainability and biodiversity.
From Tuesday 14 May, a new series of events promoting sustainability is taking place across the Shakespeare family homes as part of the Trust’s Great Big Green Month celebrations. As part of this programme, from Saturday 25 May to Sunday 2 June, families are encouraged to explore the outside spaces surrounding the historic properties, with a focus on discovering new stories about the women who once lived there through a host of interactive and insightful activities.
Highlights include the launch of Nurture in Nature and Explorer Backpacks, each providing children opportunities for hands-on exploration and discovery. The talented team from Events from History will also be in the garden of Shakespeare’s Birthplace acting out some of Shakespeare’s most famous scenes, featuring his iconic female characters.
‘’As part of our Sustainable Shakespeare initiative, we are focusing on embedding sustainability in our programming. Through this we are helping to take visitors and the local community on our journey towards net zero by 2030 and creating biodiverse spaces.
‘’In the run up to Sustainable Shakespeare Community Day, we are excited to be launching these new family-friendly events that invite visitors to learn more about our incredible green spaces and showcase the work that has gone into maintaining and diversifying them.’’
Said Andrew Anderson, Environmental Health and Safety Officer at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, the organisers of Sustainable Shakespeare Community Day, which is taking place on Saturday 8 June at Shakespeare’s New Place.
Explorer Backpacks
Launching on Saturday 25 May, young adventurers are invited to embark on a journey of discovery as they explore the scenic grounds of Shakespeare’s New Place and Anne Hathaway’s Cottage.
As the team continues its Great Big Green Month celebrations, at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, children can pick up a Nature Explorer Backpack, equipped with essentials like butterfly nets, tweezers, bug jars and animal footprints, which they can use to explore the abundance of biodiversity thriving at the cottage that young Anne Hathaway once called home.
Meanwhile, at Shakespeare’s New Place, budding artists can unleash their creativity with a Creative Explorer Backpack as they discover the place where William Shakespeare himself wrote many of his most well-known plays.
As they roam the impressive site, the children can take a closer look at the sculptures in the Great Garden using magnifying glasses or sketch their interpretation of Shakespeare's home on portable chalkboards, which are all found in the backpack.
Nurture in Nature
Launching on Wednesday 29 May, and taking place every Wednesday throughout the Warwickshire School Holidays, young children and their families are invited to get closer with the incredible biodiversity found in the gardens of Anne Hathaway’s Cottage through a series of engaging activities.
From creating wildflower-bombs to attract bees to their garden, to seasonal flower crowns, the little ones can get stuck in making something special to take home using recycled and natural material found in the garden.
Led by the Trust’s expert team, for the first event on Wednesday 29 May, visitors will use flowers and pieces of foliage found in the garden to craft flower crowns that they can take home with them.
‘’As we continue our Great Big Green Month celebrations, I’m incredibly excited to be rolling out this series of green family-friendly events. These activities offer an enhanced level of freedom for our younger visitors, allowing them to have fun exploring our sites, getting up close and personal with nature, whilst discovering the rich history of the women who once resided in these properties.’’
Commented Jennifer Shufflebotham, Audience Engagement Manager at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
Sundays at New Place
During the half-term holiday, on Sunday 26 May and Sunday 2 June, families are invited to the home of Shakespeare’s daughter, Susanna, to explore the impact of the extraordinary women who lived and worked at the property through hands-on craft activities led by local female artists.
On 26 May, Ania Bas is inviting visitors to create Climate Placards and on 2 June, Caitriona Dunnett will be teaching guests to make unique Cyanotype Prints that they can take away with them.
Sundays at New Place offers a unique chance for both visitors and residents, with those living in a CV37 postcode having the chance to visit Shakespeare’s New Place as many times as they wish during the season for free, to learn a new craft. Organisers are promising visitors the chance to create art, meet the artist and gain insight into the various techniques or processes used during the workshop.
Hidden Voices Exhibition
Whilst at Shakespeare’s New Place, visitors are encouraged to explore the new Hidden Voices exhibition, where they have the opportunity to discover special objects from the Trust’s impressive collections that help tell fascinating stories about the women closest to William Shakespeare.
Objects on display include an unfinished coif, which would have been worn by women of the Shakespeare family’s social status. Medicine jars and cabinets are also on display. Women often acted as the main healers in the family and had an understanding of the medicinal properties of many plants; these items explore this fascinating story.
‘’As the weather warms up, there's no better time to explore our properties and learn about new stories through the lens of the Women Who Made Shakespeare.
‘’We want everyone to experience the Shakespeare Story, so our aim is to ensure that we offer a wide range of experiences for audiences to enjoy. So, whether you're bringing your grandchildren for a fun day out or seeking hands-on craft experiences to learn something new about the environment, there's something for everyone to enjoy."
Added Rachael North, Director of Museum and Public Programmes.
Visitors are encouraged to get the most out of their experience visiting Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and Shakespeare’s New Place with the Story ticket.
This year, tickets are priced at £26 for adults, £13 for a child (aged between 3-15 years) and £39 for one adult with three children or £65 for two adults and two children, providing visitors the opportunity to explore the three properties for one great price.
As the Shakespeare Story ticket is valid for 12 months, visitors have the flexibility to return and take part in the range of events and activities across all the family homes throughout the year at no extra cost.
For more information, visit https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/visit/whats-on/may-half-term-24/.