Published: 23/05/2018
TIME is running out for visitors to enjoy two exhibitions at The Beacon Museum.
Pirates: Fact and Fiction and Waggonways to Whitehaven: West Cumbria on Rails have both proved popular attractions at the Whitehaven harbourside museum and will be coming to an end on June 3.
Costumes from film and television combine with real artefacts in Pirates: Fact and Fiction to create a fun re-telling of myths and legends as the exhibition takes visitors on a journey through pirate history, film and literature.
From the Cicilian pirates of the Roman Mediterranean to the 'golden age' pirates of the Caribbean, visitors can also meet Vikings, Barbary corsairs and Chinese pirates on the way and discover facts about their ships, weapons, tactics and, usually, short lives!
While the locally produced exhibition Waggonways to Whitehaven: West Cumbria on Rails features a timeline of the west Cumbrian rail network from its inception until the modern day.
Rail enthusiasts and newcomers alike are being drawn to the stories of the people behind the technology, trains and stations that facilitated a boom period for rail travel in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The exhibition features railway totems from stations in Copeland and Allerdale, as well as various images and exhibits from times gone by. A replica model of the old Bransty Station accompanies a working model railway.
The Beacon Museum is collaborating with a host of organisations to bring together the exhibit including Derwent Railway Society and West Cumberland Railway Museum.
The museum is also teaming up with Cumbria County Council to help parents learn useful maths skills over the May half-term.
Aimed at those who struggle to help their children with maths homework, the free scheme covers numeracy skills in a relaxed way, with activities and family learning at the museum.
The theme for the programme of four two-hour sessions will be trains, linking in with Waggonways to Whitehaven as a tool to rediscover maths skills in a fun environment. Those who complete the course will get a free family day pass to visit the upcoming Brick Dinos feature exhibition in June as well as a family learning certificate.
Also during half-term, super science sessions are available and visitors of all ages will be able to discover how gases move and impact the world around us through fun simple experiments.
A range of interactive science exhibits are also available in the Sellafield Story exhibition, and the ongoing link with Sellafield Ltd continues to promote the arts and heritage as a means of understanding science, technology and mechanics.
To book places on the course, or for any other information about the exhibitions, telephone 01946 592302.
