Special Events
Horniman Halloween Fair
Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 October, 10.30am – 4.30pm
Join us for fiendish fun at our annual Halloween Fair. Enjoy our amazing arts and crafts markets and fabulous food stalls, plus spooky animal handling and more. Come dressed in your scariest costume and join in the Halloween happenings at the Horniman.
Free entry
Exhibitions and Displays
Memorial. A Tribute to Taxidermy: Saturday 22 October 2016 to Monday 1 May 2017
Ethical taxidermist Jazmine Miles-Long challenges ideas and perceptions of this art and craft. Inspired by pieces selected from the Horniman’s historic collection, Jazmine pays tribute to the unknown craftsmen of the past to produce a series of beautiful works that explore the journey from taxidermist to museum. A film featuring rare insights into the process and production of her own work are also presented in this fascinating and thought-provoking display.
Free
Dinosaurs: Monster Families: until Sunday 30 October
Discover the fascinating world of dinosaurs and their young in this family-focused interactive exhibition. Dinosaurs: Monster Families shows how dinosaurs looked after their eggs, nests and babies. Meet ‘Baby Louie’, a cast of the nearly-complete skeleton of a dinosaur hatchling; dig in the discovery pit; touch a real dinosaur leg bone and come face-to-face with T-Rex’s relative – a life-size Tarbosaurus skeleton cast. Have fun at the interactive exploration stations, and enjoy an exciting programme of dinosaur-themed events and activities to complement the exhibition.
Alongside bird and crocodile specimens from the Horniman’s collection, visitors can also see a cast of an extinct Elephant Bird egg, one of which was famously found by Horniman patron Sir David Attenborough in Madagascar in 1960.
Ticket prices: Child £4.40; Adult £7.70: Family (2 adults, 2 children) £18.70. Prices include 10% voluntary Gift Aid donation. See www.horniman.ac.uk/dinosaurs for more information. Horniman Members enjoy free, unlimited visits to the exhibition.
Prehistoric Garden
Look back in time with our Prehistoric Garden, which features ‘living fossils’ – plant and tree species which date back to the time of the dinosaurs. A redwood and a yew tree tower above tree ferns, cycads and ginkgos and even an amazing Wollemi pine, thought to be extinct until 1994. The garden, at the highest point of the Horniman estate, is also home to a velociraptor sculpture, keeping a prehistoric watchful eye on the modern London skyline.
The Prehistoric Garden was funded through Tesco’s Bags of Help campaign, and voted for by Tesco shoppers in the London Borough of Lewisham.
Free
October Half Term
Big Wednesday: Dinosaurs! Wednesday 26 October, 11am – 3.30pm
Join us for a day of activities inspired by the last week of our exhibition Dinosaurs: Monster Families. Take part in The STEAM Powered Big Draw and create your own art inspired by dinosaurs. Listen to stories about the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs and watch some short films and animations about dinosaurs.
For a special dinosaur treat on the day, visit our Dinoland run by Tea Dance for Little People – book tickets online in advance.
Family Art Fun: Monday 24 October, Tuesday 25 October, Thursday 27 October, Friday 28 October, 11am – 2.30pm
Join free and fabulous Horniman craft activities this October half-term inspired by our Dinosaurs: Monster Families exhibition (Monday and Tuesday) and Diwali (Thursday and Friday).
Free. Ticketed on the day.
Hands On Base: Horniman Explorers
Monday 24 October, Thursday 27 October, Friday 28 October 11am – 12.30pm; 2-3.30pm
Discover the collections that make the Horniman special! Touch and explore things from a West African thumb piano to puppets in our Hands On Base and then use your explorer skills to discover the galleries and Gardens in a new way.
Free
Fantastic Fossils: Monday 24 October and Tuesday 25 October
11am, 12pm, 2pm, 3pm (45 minute sessions)
Find out how fossils are made, see some real fossils from the Horniman’s collection and make your own fossil cast to take home.
Tickets: Child £3, accompanying adults free.
Please see our website www.horniman.ac.uk for information on our regular events and activities including Art Makers, A World of Stories and Busy Bees.