Erasmus Darwin House » Blog

Competition Win for Darwin House!

Manager — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:59:49 +0000

The Yorkshire Building Society recently held a competition where the public were invited to vote for their favourite charity – Saxon Hill Special School, St Giles Hospice and Erasmus Darwin House – to win a share of £1000. Forms were available for people to complete in branch and the competition was open to all, not just account holders.

We are please to say that Darwin House won second prize of £300. First prize of £500 went to Saxon Hill school and third to St Giles. The money will be going to the development of our Education Programme.

Thank you to everyone who voted for us!

Jenny Arthur (centre) representing Darwin House

Erasmus Darwin Academy

Manager — Tue, 17 May 2011 08:33:32 +0000

On 11th May the Govenors of Chasetown Specialist Sports College voted in favour of moving to Academy status. At the same meeeting it was agreed that the new name would be the Erasmus Darwin Academy. The school aims to convert to an Academy on 1st July 2011 and will also include the implementation of a new uniform possibly bearing the shells that appear on Darwin’s coat of arms.

We, at Darwin House, are delighted to be sharing our name with a local school and we look forward to developing good working relationships with the teachers and students of the school. We hope they all take the opportunity to visit the museum and learn about this amazing man.

Honesty Box Days

Manager — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:18:51 +0000

Erasmus Darwin House is starting the New Year with a new idea – Honesty Box Days. On these days, held once a month, the museum will not charge its usual admission but will ask the visitor to give whatever they feel they can afford. Alison Wallis, Curator of Erasmus Darwin House explains ”as a museum we understand that visitors usually expect free entry however for an independent foundation and a charity, like ourselves, it is not always possible to do that. Our Honesty Box Days gives us the chance to welcome visitors and yet still retain some income on which we greatly rely”.

The next admission-free day comes on 2nd June and provides a great opportunity to remind yourself of one of Lichfield’s local gems – you may not have even known the museum existed! Or you may have been one of the thousands of people who visited the House way back in 1999 but the New Year is a good time to reacquaint yourself with an important part of Lichfield’s heritage.

Future dates are as listed below:

February Sunday 20^th

March* National Science & Engineering Week

April Friday 1st

May* Spring Fair& Food Festival

June Thursday 2^nd

July Tuesday 5^th

August Friday 12^th

September* Heritage Open Weekend

October Wednesday 19^th

November Sunday 20^th

December Saturday 10^th

^{*These dates have free entry events}

Family Activities

Manager — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:03:33 +0000

We have been very busy here at Erasmus Darwin House putting together some new events – 2010 was certainly an exciting year!

Tots @ Erasmus Darwin House(TEDs) was an activity group for toddlers and was a great success from the start. We have a group of about 12 families who regularly attend the weekly Wednesday morning sessions for reading, toys and crafts. It’s so wonderful to welcome little people into the museum!

Science on Saturdays was another initiative that took off in 2010. For children aged 7-12, the sessions are focused on a different topic each month. we have already looked at astronomy, taste and sound. These monthly sessions are attended by a group of loyal budding scientists who look forward to testing their brain cells!

Erasmus Darwin Society

Manager — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 11:56:24 +0000

THE ERASMUS DARWIN SOCIETY

The Society has been meeting for the last ten years, usually on the last Wednesday of the month. It meets in the Lunar or Seminar Room of the House, and aims to share topics of interest and expertise, mostly on scientific, ethical,philosophical and religious matters. Although there is, occasionally, an outside speaker, papers are offered by members and lively discussion follows.

A list of papers read is attached to the Library Catalogue, and these can be consulted in the Library, by appointment.

ALL CHANGE!

Manager — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:14:37 +0000

We say goodbye to Katy and Matt our Museum Carteakers for a year-Matt is going onto a full time teaching post in Birmingham and we wish them both luck in their new life.

We say hello to Tom and Rachel who took on the job last September – we are looking forward to working together. They bring a wealth of experience from other heritage sites and hope to get involved with some of the new projects here at the House.

Full Accreditation awarded!

Manager — Mon, 31 May 2010 12:52:58 +0000

On April 29th Erasmus Darwin House was notified that our application for Full Accreditation by the MLA had been approved.

The MLA promote best practice in Museums,Libraries and Archives and we are very proud to have been recognised in such a way.

All thanks goes to Alison Wallis who has managed to bring this to fruition as well as producing a baby boy in January. Well Done Alison!

Grand Opening of New Exhibition

Manager — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:12:09 +0000

The grand opening of the newly refurbished museum happened on Saturday 4th July and the event was truly exciting! During the day we welcomed over 500 visitors to the museum and all seemed to enjoy the new exhibitions. The atmosphere in the House was amazing and it was so great to see so many people enjoying the new interactives.

At 12.30pm a small opening ceremony was held on the steps at the front of the House to mark the occasion. Jenny Arthur, Chairman of the Foundation welcomed Desmond King-Hele (author of the definiative biography) and Christopher Darwin (descendant of Erasmus’s brother William Alvey Darwin) who cut the ribbon. The group, which included representatives from funding organisations and supporters of the House, then moved upstairs to celebrate with a drink of champagne where a few words were said on the importance of the refurbishment, the House and keeping Darwin’s spirit alive.

Desmond, Jenny and ChristopherReception

The museum was free to enter for the whole day and visitors were welcomes by volunteer staff in Georgian costume. Around the outside of the House were a number of stalls selling local home grown produce. The day was sponsored by Waitrose who were selling tea and coffee in the garden. By the end of the day they had raised £57.20 which they donated to the House. Thank you Waitrose!

A very big thank you goes to Helen Clayton who practically organised the whole day. She was working with us on secondment from the Golden Jubliee Trust assisting with the marketing of the House. She has now finished her placement and has set us actions to carry forward. We are very grateful to Helen for all her hard work, committment and, above all, enthusiasm for the post; her assistance on the launch day was very much appreciated!

The design and construction of the work was undertaken by Vertigo Creative, a Leciester based design company. Rhod and John did an amazing job and we would like to thank them for all their hard work during the refurb.

Project working group: Madeleine Budgen, John Moseley, Helen Clayton, Alison Wallis, Jenny Arthur, Rhodri Thomas, Sarah Elsom

The project was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Staffordshire Environmental Fund as well as other local organisations and individuals. The Erasmus Darwin Foundation are very grateful for their support, without which the project wouldn’t have happened.

Voluntary Education Assistants needed

Manager — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:34:33 +0000

Erasmus Darwin House is currently trying to improve it’s education services and require the help of people interested in this area. After the recent refurbishment we feel we have a much brighter museum which can provide a better offer to schools and wider learning. However, Darwin House is mainly run by volunteers and we are always looking for valuable assistance.

You might have some teaching experience, a keen interest in history and science or just a passion for educating. Whatever the reason, if you would like to offer your time to helping out a museum and charity please get in touch with our Education Officer Ishbel Curr on 01543 306260.

10th Birthday Party

admin — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:25:19 +0000

We had a great party on Saturday for the museums 10th birthday – take a look at the photos in the gallery to see what fun we got up to! Needless to say, all the cake disappeared very quickly and was enjoyed by all! Thanks to everyone who turned up to share it with us.