Join us for our new wellbeing and making workshops for adults at the Polar Museum! Meet and Make at the Museum sessions are all about giving you a supportive and social space to be creative. Making new crafts, making space for yourself, and making new connections. A chance for you to explore working with different materials and learn new skills with others.

For ages 16+

Tuesday 30 August: Where in the World

Join us over Zoom as Professor Jeremy A Thomas talks about extinction and re-establishment of the large blue butterfly in Britain. 

The large blue has long been an iconic species among British wildlife. However, despite many unsuccessful attempts at conservation, UK populations had been in decline for 150 years. Still, this all changed with a successful re-introduction programme guided by research from Professor Jeremy A Thomas.

Cool as a caterpillar: the challenges and opportunities of researching across the life cycle with Esme Ashe-Jepson, PhD student

Climate change is threatening many ecosystems worldwide. In order to manage and conserve species, we need to understand the effects of temperature on wildlife. However, conservation is challenged by knowledge gaps in how this will affect species across different stages in their life cycle.

Join us on Zoom for this free online talk with Professor Jane Hill, Professor of Ecology at the University of York

Many species are shifting their ranges to track climate changes but are hindered by increasing levels of habitat fragmentation. My research uses long-term citizen science data to study changes in species’ distributions to highlight these challenges and help species respond and adapt.’

Join us on Zoom for this talk with Galina Jönsson.

'Many insect species are declining at alarming rates while others are booming, but we do not know precisely why. I am seeking answers to these questions in museums’ preserved butterfly collections. My research extends past population trends back to include earlier periods of accelerating human pressures like climate change and habitat loss.’ 

Join us over Zoom for this free talk by Jamie Wildman on the history of the chequered skipper. 

From being declared extinct in 1976, to its successful reintroduction to its historical stronghold -Rockingham Forest- in 2018, the chequered skipper butterfly has undergone a remarkable journey. Jamie Wildman discusses the chequered skippers amazing 220-year story and the power of reintroducing butterflies to the English landscape.

Join us over Zoom as Matt Hayes talks about the Butterflies Through Time project. 

Over the last two years the Butterflies Through Time Project has aimed to engage people with the natural world and environmental change, both past and present, by linking historical museum collections with contemporary conservation initiatives. Join Matt Hayes as he gives an overview of the project; from museum specimens and modern wildlife conservation, to public engagement events and adapting to a global pandemic.

Fitz Stitch is a community arts project created over the lockdowns of 2020. 65 people took part to create unique textile squares inspired by the museum. These were sewn together resulting in two beautiful textile hangings.

Join us to celebrate these completed textile hangings and work on your own stitch - art piece with textile designer Lucyna Mazur.

MUSE, our series of practical art workshops for adults has returned to the Museum in person! These workshops will take place in the gallery spaces, and in our Education studio making use of materials and techniques that can be safely used in these areas. Art supplies will be provided. Each workshop is 2 hours long.

Nature often provides an escape away from our everyday urban lives and a source of artistic inspiration. But is this a modern concept and does 'landscape' really exist as an artistic genre?

Zensation is a friendly session for all University students, we look at the Museum collection to find improved wellbeing and enjoyment in this informal often practical session. No previous art skills necessary.

Find a place of quiet as you gaze across the landscapes in our exhibition 'True to Nature' compare this experience to David Hockney's reimagined landscapes where the dial is up to 10 for colour saturation. In our studio paint in acrylic on board, a landscape of your own.

This is a practical workshop please wear suitable clothes.