150 colourful years at museum
Maidstone Museum is a vision of colour this year as it reaches
its 150th birthday. To celebrate this, the museum has
put together a collage which will be displayed alongside the
Kaleidoscope exhibition to mark the museum’s birthday.
The collage started in March, as part of an activity where
families could get creative and help put together the art work to
promote the exhibition. The collage, divided into squares, is made
with dried pasta, tissue paper, fur, pipe cleaners and other art
materials. All the different sections are divided up into a variety
of colours.
Hayley Stephens, audience development manager said: “The
learning team here at the museum are really excited about the
collage. It has been an opportunity for all our visitors, staff and
volunteers to contribute. For us, this represents what the museum
is all about. The collage is nearly finished now and the 144
squares will be on display in the museum from Thursday, July
24.”
The Kaleidoscope exhibition marks the 150th birthday
of the museum and showcases the history and collections that can be
discovered there. The exhibition explores the historical, weird,
interesting and rare objects, telling the stories of the collectors
and museum benefactors along the way. Displayed in coloured bands
around the room, the 150 objects are taken from the three core
collections: Human History, Natural History and Fine and Applied
Art.
There will also be a mad hatters’ tea party to
say Happy Birthday on Saturday, July 26. Between 10.30am and
12.30pm and 1.30pm to 3.30pm there will be a mad hat making
workshop. Each child will receive a free cup cake and drink and
there will be a free tea and cake for parents. There will also be
party music, face painting and cups and saucers through the ages on
display, while staff and volunteers will be in colourful fancy
dress.
